So much emphasis is sometimes placed on WWII, that I'd kind of forgotten the history of all that took place in regards to the first World War. But today we had a big refresher course!
We spent the morning visiting the Flanders area (which inspired of course the famous Flanders Field poem) in Belgium. We started with the Tyne Cot (Commonwealth) Cemetery with 12k graves...and the names of almost 35k who weren't able to be given a proper burial. Not far from that was the German Military Cemetery with over 44k buried there. Whoa...and that's just the beginning. There are monuments and memorials all over as we were driving. One we visited was a Cemetery with mostly Canadians - including men from the Princess Patricia light infantry - with whom Graham and Owen's maternal grandfather fought with back in 1915. Again - whoa!
Our last stop of the day was Vimy Ridge (now back in France)...a massive memorial honouring (the correct Canadian spelling) all the Canadians who fought (and especially those who died) in WWI. It's amazing how important it was to have the advantage of height or being on a hill/ridge during the battles. Close by there is a ton of land cordoned off due to live munitions still in the ground. Scary. As recent as 1994, someone was killed when he accidentally tripped/stepped on one.
A full day ending at a cute converted farmhouse avec restaurant in Dieppe - finally the French coast!
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