Bop Posted February 15, 2017 Share Posted February 15, 2017 Hi Team, I was wondering if any of you fine people had traveled recently to France to partake in a battlefield tour. I was just hoping for a few pointers from you guys regarding routes/locations/favorable camp sites/costs, besides your own experiences. All info is much appreciated. All the best, Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starvin marvin Posted February 15, 2017 Share Posted February 15, 2017 You could start by looking at the Commonwealth War Graves web site, there are maps showing the location of cemeteries. Being located in Durham, you might be interested in visiting the Tyne Cot cemetery, which is the largest WW1 cemetery. Strictly speaking these are not battlefields, but generally overlook the area concerned. The Thieval monument to the Somme is a good example, as are many more. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
colin Posted February 15, 2017 Share Posted February 15, 2017 A friend of mine went on a bus tour of sites, he found it very interesting as they where taken to different locations and the guide would describe the battle and point out the landmarks and ebb and flow of engagements. It sounded to me that an organised tour with a knowledgeable/entertaining guide would be worthwhile for those with an interest, as if you look out across many of the battlefields it is hard to imagine what went on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
causley1 Posted February 15, 2017 Share Posted February 15, 2017 As you are from Durham. I went to the Tilly-S-Surs war cemetry 2 years ago to remember my uncle he was in the Durham light infantry they were ambushed in a lane(I could only walk part way up lane very emotional) they were coming down from bayeux to Tilly. My uncle was from Devon he was killed on 13th June after D-Day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
timeonmyhands Posted February 15, 2017 Share Posted February 15, 2017 Hi Andrew, We also live in Durham and are happy to meet to pass on our experiences of visiting various sites. PM me If you're interested. We've visited, Verdun, Maginot Line, Somme, Ypres, The Vercours Plateau, Normandy. Argonne Slightly further a field Hurtgen Forest, Bastogne (Band of Brothers) We have also visited Orador, Struthof and similar sites. I get ideas reading books and then follow up the sites mentioned either a Battle site or French Resistance activities Museum, CWGC sites etc.it spirals from there. We stay on Aires or ACSI Camping Card sites. Travel via DFDS Dunkirk French Fuel price today from €1.23 (£1.04) we shop locally, markets, Lidl. Graham Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJay Posted February 15, 2017 Share Posted February 15, 2017 If you know of any relative who was killed in the WW1 , it can be really enlightening! I have over the years been making a family tree. While in the process, I came across a brother of my grandmothers, of whom I knew nothing about, or even his existence . I was able to trace him through his regiment, who where very helpful, and informed me that he was commemorated on the war memorial at YPES. (THe Menin Gate) For those of you who have been there, you know how big it is. WELl I was able to find him , so was very pleased to complete that bit of history.We also discovered the area where he was most likely killed, and where able to visit that place, sadly just a hill now, with no markings . The bookshop in the town where also very helpful , and at that time was run by an english guy. A very poignant trip , but well worth it, if you like history PJay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bop Posted February 16, 2017 Author Share Posted February 16, 2017 Thanks for all of the comments and advice guys, much appreciated. Graham, we'll have to have a catch-up at some point. I did once know a guy who left the Army to become a battlefield tour guide but sadly for me I've lost contact with him. It was his passion and what he didn't know about the history in France just wasn't worth knowing. If anyone has any details of their own visits then please post-up if you don't mind. All the best, Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Violet1956 Posted February 16, 2017 Share Posted February 16, 2017 Hi Bop. We visited Messines just south of Ypres last year because my maternal grandfather was awarded the DCM for his actions in the Battle of Messines in June 1917. Going again this year for the Centenary. The town of Messines is very small but has a couple of campingcar bays right in the centre near the Church. There is a WW1 Museum there too. The war graves around Messines have English and Anzac troops buried there. We were on our way back home from a longer trip and stopped overnight at a campsite in Houplines. Pitches and facilities OK nothing special and around 25 Euros a night. Can’t say it was great but we chose it for the location and we were limited for choice. I’ve been looking again for our trip this year so have found some links about other sites in Belgium instead of France. Links below if you are interested. First is the campsite in Houplines, second a general website I have yet to explore for alternatives and third a bit about Messines from a New Zealand website. If Kiwis can make the trip I’d be ashamed if I didn’t. http://www.campinglille.fr/tarifs-location-mobil-home-chalet.html http://www.greatwar.co.uk/places/ypres-salient-camping.htm http://ww100.govt.nz/battle-of-messines-centenary Veronica Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wirehaired Posted February 18, 2017 Share Posted February 18, 2017 I will be going to Nomandy this June,Dover Calais,then driving to Ranville,managed to book a site not far from Pegasus Bridge,then I will visit some sites from there like the Merrville battery and the Beach landing sites,the French war sites are new to me but have visited the ones in the Netherlands many times,I would also like any information from people who have visited the area. cheers Don. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJay Posted February 18, 2017 Share Posted February 18, 2017 Wirehaired - 2017-02-18 10:51 PM I will be going to Nomandy this June,Dover Calais,then driving to Ranville,managed to book a site not far from Pegasus Bridge,then I will visit some sites from there like the Merrville battery and the Beach landing sites,the French war sites are new to me but have visited the ones in the Netherlands many times,I would also like any information from people who have visited the area. cheers Don. We have friends who live very close to the landing beaches. They get involved with 1940's days, when they dress as we did then, and all the old cars come out. They have a couple of cars which they take , and dress up, look really good.They usually have something going on in June They live very close to the tank museum as well .June is a good month to be in Normandy PJay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wirehaired Posted February 19, 2017 Share Posted February 19, 2017 Thanks,yes that's why I will be in Ranville on the 6th June,probably spend most time at the Pegasus Bridge that day,was in Arnhem last September and saw many of those old Military trucks,very interesting. cheers Don. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PJay Posted February 19, 2017 Share Posted February 19, 2017 Wirehaired - 2017-02-19 12:51 PM Thanks,yes that's why I will be in Ranville on the 6th June,probably spend most time at the Pegasus Bridge that day,was in Arnhem last September and saw many of those old Military trucks,very interesting. cheers Don. Chances are they will be in St Marie les Eglise, as they live close by PJay Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wirehaired Posted February 19, 2017 Share Posted February 19, 2017 That's good,i may just get down that way,its where the US airborne forces came in I believe right on top of the Germans. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
malc d Posted February 19, 2017 Share Posted February 19, 2017 Wirehaired - 2017-02-19 4:21 PM That's good,i may just get down that way,its where the US airborne forces came in I believe right on top of the Germans. There's an interesting Airborne Museum in St. Mere Eglise - with a municipal campsite very close. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bop Posted February 19, 2017 Author Share Posted February 19, 2017 Violet1956 - 2017-02-16 11:19 AM Hi Bop. We visited Messines just south of Ypres last year because my maternal grandfather was awarded the DCM for his actions in the Battle of Messines in June 1917. Going again this year for the Centenary. The town of Messines is very small but has a couple of campingcar bays right in the centre near the Church. There is a WW1 Museum there too. The war graves around Messines have English and Anzac troops buried there. We were on our way back home from a longer trip and stopped overnight at a campsite in Houplines. Pitches and facilities OK nothing special and around 25 Euros a night. Can’t say it was great but we chose it for the location and we were limited for choice. I’ve been looking again for our trip this year so have found some links about other sites in Belgium instead of France. Links below if you are interested. First is the campsite in Houplines, second a general website I have yet to explore for alternatives and third a bit about Messines from a New Zealand website. If Kiwis can make the trip I’d be ashamed if I didn’t. http://www.campinglille.fr/tarifs-location-mobil-home-chalet.html http://www.greatwar.co.uk/places/ypres-salient-camping.htm http://ww100.govt.nz/battle-of-messines-centenary Veronica Hi Veronica and may I thank you for such a wonderful reply. You must be really proud of your Grandfather if he holds the DCM; a truly brave man. If I had my way then everyone who fought in the Great War would get some form of distinguished medal. Best wishes, Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bop Posted February 19, 2017 Author Share Posted February 19, 2017 Wirehaired - 2017-02-19 12:51 PM Thanks,yes that's why I will be in Ranville on the 6th June,probably spend most time at the Pegasus Bridge that day,was in Arnhem last September and saw many of those old Military trucks,very interesting. cheers Don. It's nice when good guys like you make the effort to visit these locations. I'm not sure if we'll beet you to it but I hope to read some of your travel points when you return to Blighty. All the best, Andrew P.S. If you are Para Regt affiliated then good on you ;-) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nowtelse2do Posted February 19, 2017 Share Posted February 19, 2017 I really enjoyed going to Vimy Ridge for a couple of reasons. My wifes grandfather was a tunneller there and my own grandfather was also attached to the tunnellers on the logistics side, seems strange that because he was a machine gunner in the Border Regiment. The thought of them both maybe knowing each other would be unbeleivable especialy since their two grandchildren met in the 60's and got married, but that we will never know. The Vimy Ridge memorial is spectacular and the views North to Lenns and South to Arras makes you understand the importance of this ridge. There is a good little memorial/museum nearby with short trips by guide down into the tunnels and trenches, it's free but donations are welcome. The Wellington Tunnels at Arras were really good, well worth it My grandfather and his brother both joined up in 1914, his brother was killed just South of Ypres and is buried at The Belgium Battery Corner Cemetery near Dikenbuss. He was with a platoon repairing a road when a shell came over and killed seven soldiers and injured another twenty or so, all those killed are buried next to each other. Granddad survived the war and only being wounded once. He always said he had no idea how he had survived, just luck i guess. Someone in the family became very ill while he was on leave at Billericay, he asked for compassionate leave but was denied it, so he went awal which was a pretty stupid thing because he could have been shot, anyway he came home did what he had to do then his father (my gt grandfather) shopped him to the local police. The MP's picked him up on Preston station (he was trying to get back to camp) escorted back to wherever, court martialed and sentenced to two days in the Tower of London and ordered back to his regiment. I wonder if Vimy Ridge was part of his sentence. He kept a diary throughout the war (which really was a no no) but never mentioned about shooting anyone. All it said was about marching to diffrent places on the front line for a few days then back to his camp, do some training then back to the front line, one thing he did mention was that he had to get out in a hurry....that was at Devils Wood or De'villes Wood at the start of the battle of the Somme. Back to my wifes grandfather. He was Irishman from Dum Drum nr Dublin. He got into some very serious trouble whilst working on the docks and had to get away. He managed to get to Liverpool by 1901 then to Wrexham where he joined The Welch Fusiliers until his discharge in 1907. He join up again in 1914 and because he was a miner he was transfered into the Royal Egineers and became a Sapper. He spent most of the war tunnelling on the Somme, Vimy Ridge and all around the Passchendaele area. At the last month of the war, he was badly injured when a roof caved in. He was sent to a military hospital nr York until he recovered enough to be sent home. Due to stress, and after a few months at home he was rushed to Wrexhan hospital and died of a heart attack. Tyn Cot and Sanctuary Wood are near to each other so can be seen easily the same day along with the Menin Gate. Very good museum at Sanctuary Wood. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulletguy Posted February 19, 2017 Share Posted February 19, 2017 Wirehaired - 2017-02-19 12:51 PM Thanks,yes that's why I will be in Ranville on the 6th June,probably spend most time at the Pegasus Bridge that day,was in Arnhem last September and saw many of those old Military trucks,very interesting. On the subject of bridges.....some years ago i visited Arnhem on the way back home specifically to see THE bridge! I spotted this old Dutch guy smartly dressed with military beret, tie and jacket stand by a little table. Turned out to be a local chap who'd been a 10 year old boy at the time of THE bridge battle and he just liked to chat to any tourists about his experiences! Spoke perfect English.......naturally! He told me whenever the fighting had gone a bit quiet, him and a few lads would sneak out and go rooting around for any bullets or discarded guns they could find. His mother caught him coming back in once and gave him a good belting! :D I always think of him whenever i'm returning back home from a trip and pass through Holland. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
keninpalamos Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 Thank you all very much for the stories of relations and people you have met and places you have visited. I covered many of these terrible places as a tour guide 25 yrs or so ago with the men that were there in WW11 and to see their reactions on returning to these locations and their vivid memories of what they did and what happened to them and their friends was an expirence I will not forget Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulletguy Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 keninpalamos - 2017-02-20 12:52 PM Thank you all very much for the stories of relations and people you have met and places you have visited. I covered many of these terrible places as a tour guide 25 yrs or so ago with the men that were there in WW11 and to see their reactions on returning to these locations and their vivid memories of what they did and what happened to them and their friends was an experience I will not forget. Ken......for me that bit would mean more than anything. When i was in education WW2 history wasn't taught...i was born five years after VE day so by the time i was at my final school it was still considered "too early" and all i was being taught about in history was the damn Boston Tea Party wallers and some chap playing a game of bowls on Plymouth Hoe. *-) No ww2 tv documentaries and of course, no internet, so all i had was any books i could find. The World at War series was the breakthrough.....though by then i was 23. I've since visited many ww2 sites in France, Holland, Germany, Poland, Austria and Czech. Lots of concentration camps and all extermination camps. Oddly i've never met any ww2 veterans but always wanted to meet a Holocaust survivor. Realising time is fast running out i've been in touch with http://www.het.org.uk/ who i now hope will help arrange a meeting with someone. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wirehaired Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 Thanks Andrew,like I say the Normandy sites are new to me so it will be interesting,i have visited Arnhem many times was there last year,stayed on a site at Oosterbeek,not many veterans left anymore but I managed to talk with one or two,one had been a Glider Pilot who brought his Glider in with 12 Soldiers on board they were from the KOSB regiment,he was captured and spent rest of war in a POW camp,my own late father served with the Coldstream Guards,part of the Guards Armoured Div,also one of his boyhood friends served with the DLI you might find that interesting and he also was captured I believe on Crete,not sure if he was with the DLI at that time,he was being sent to Grreece on a fishing boat when a British warship stopped the boat and they wee all taken off and back to England,sorry if I have gone on a bit. cheers Don. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wirehaired Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 Great stuff,yes some of these things stick in our minds,i still remember people I met there many years ago and their stories,they are getting fewer so I like to hear their experieces from the war when I can,it still mazes me what those Men did. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wirehaired Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 Thanks for that very interesting account. cheers Don. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wirehaired Posted February 20, 2017 Share Posted February 20, 2017 Yes you must try and meet some of those Men,i have had the privilege of meeting many over the years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bop Posted February 21, 2017 Author Share Posted February 21, 2017 Wirehaired - 2017-02-20 6:43 PM Thanks Andrew,like I say the Normandy sites are new to me so it will be interesting,i have visited Arnhem many times was there last year,stayed on a site at Oosterbeek,not many veterans left anymore but I managed to talk with one or two,one had been a Glider Pilot who brought his Glider in with 12 Soldiers on board they were from the KOSB regiment,he was captured and spent rest of war in a POW camp,my own late father served with the Coldstream Guards,part of the Guards Armoured Div,also one of his boyhood friends served with the DLI you might find that interesting and he also was captured I believe on Crete,not sure if he was with the DLI at that time,he was being sent to Grreece on a fishing boat when a British warship stopped the boat and they wee all taken off and back to England,sorry if I have gone on a bit. cheers Don. Hi Don, This is fascinating stuff and I for one am pleased to read it. If I can recall from my own military education, the KOSB suffered a huge depletion of its ranks due to the sheer numbers of gliders that were destroyed during the first few waves of the operation. Sadly for us in Durham the local County Council has just closed the DLI Museum due to council funding shortages. The medals, uniforms, equipment and vehicles of the DLI have now been placed in secure storage. This is a very sad reflection of the times when the VC collection is in some county council safe somewhere. If you've got any more facts then post them up as it would be a great pleasure to read them. Very best, Andrew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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