Another beautiful sunny day to visit the Somme valley. As we drove along we saw many crosses of sacrifice marking the cemeteries of commonwealth soldiers. We were looking for the memorial remembering the armed forces personnel from Newfoundland that gave their lives in the First World War.
Many of the cemeteries seemed to be land-locked, although with careful searching a path or track could be found. This particular cemetery had a more substantial road leading up to it so we set out to get closer.
The ever-present bomb craters and warning signs. This particular track had bomb craters on one side and farmer's fields on the other. We kept a close eye out to see we we could see any metal objects turned up by plowing. More about that later.
We missed seeing the memorial to the 51st Division, which took the village of Beaumont-Hamel on 13 November 1916
We found this sign which told us we were on the right track for the Newfoundland memorial, but the vehicle could go no further. Jeff decided that he would take the car back down the track and find another road to the memorial while we walked.
Jeff eventually met up with us with quite a tale to tell. As he was driving down the trail back to the main road he passed a farmer plowing his field. The farmer caught Jeff's attention and pointed to the rear of the tractor. He had uncovered an unexploded artillery shell; which he calmly picked up and set it down beside the road. Jeff was able to handle the shell and live to tell us about it. Further investigation on unexploded munitions brought up the fact that most injuries occurred when people tried to fiddle with the shells. The farmer will leave it beside the road and call somebody who will come to dispose of the shell. A common occurrence I am told.
A view of the battlefield at Beaumont Hamel. Q1523: Photograph courtesy of the Imperial War Museum, London.
Hunter's Cemetery in the Newfoundland memorial Park. Forty-six soldiers of the 51st Division who fell during the taking of Beaumont Hamel were buried here in a large shellhole, and this is reflected in that the headstones do not stand as grave markers, but are set into a central wall around the Cross of Sacrifice.
We could see the caribou off in the distance so Alexander led us through the trenches towards the monument.
The Newfoundland Regiment attacked as part of the second wave, at 9.15 a.m. Within half an hour they had suffered terrible losses, with more than 90% becoming casualties. Set into the stones at the base of the mound on which the caribou stands are three bronze panels listing Newfoundland's missing. The central panel (pictured below) lists the missing of the Newfoundland regiment, whilst the two smaller panels on either side list the naval and mercantile missing.
The caribou was chosen as the symbol for memorials to the Newfoundlanders, and similar statues are also located at a number of other sites on the Western Front where the regiment was in action.
The original trenches and no man's land
From the Newfoundland Memorial Park we made our way to the Thiepval Memorial to the Missing. On the walls are listed over 72,000 soldiers whose final resting place is unknown.
Beyond the arch is a cemetery with both French, on the left and British grave sites. There were no Canadian troops involved in the battle for Thiepval, but we did find the graves of two unknown soldiers from the Royal Canadian Dragoons. We placed a poppy at each grave.
In driving around the Somme River valley we saw this tower of in the distance and decided to investigate.
The Ulster Tower is a memorial to the men of the 36th (Ulster) Division. It is located very near to the famous Schwaben Redoubt (Feste Schwaben) which the Division attacked on July 1st, 1916. The Scwaben Redoubt was a little to the north-east of where the tower stands, and was a triangle of trenches with a frontage of 300 yards, a fearsome German strongpoint with commanding views.
The tower is a copy of Helen's Tower in County Down, where men of the 36th Division trained. The tower (plus a small cafe nearby) is staffed by members of the Somme Association which is based in Belfast.
Jeff handed Maeghan the door stop, spent artillery shell. The first floor is devoted to the memory of the soldiers while the upper floors are for the staff who run the canteen and look after the grounds.
Lunch break was in a town with a name that fails me right now, and probably forever. The only memorable thing about the town was this Morgan Roadster which we first saw at Menin Gate.
The Lochnagar Crater, at La Boiselle, is privately owned by Richard Dunning, having been bought in 1978 to save at least one of the original 1 July 1916 Somme craters from being filled in and built upon by local farmers.
An annual ceremony takes place every year at a wooden cross at the crater on 1 July to commemorate the first day of the Somme offensive.
The crater itself was caused by two charges of ammonal, of 24,000lb and 30,000lb.
It was blown along with 16 others at 0728 on the morning of 1 July 1916 as a two-minute precursor to the start of the offensive. The Lochnagar Crater measured 300ft across and 90ft deep (200ft wide and 81ft deep by 1919).
Debris from the explosion rose some 4,000ft into the air.
After the crater was blown the crater, which was in German hands, was charged by the Tynesiders, without success, for by the time the attack was made following the explosion the Germans had regrouped and repelled the oncoming British.
However the Worcesters took the area around the crater two days later on 3 July.
We ended the evening back in Lille, France where we had supper and an early evening; all very tired after a full day.
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