Member Contributer Skids Posted November 2, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted November 2, 2014 On Friday, 27 of us, riding a variety of bikes and even some in cars, are planning to commemorate Remembrance Day by visiting the Tyne Cot cemetery where the gravestones of over 3500 soldiers from WW1 are located. On Sat, we move to Ypres to visit the Menin Gate, then on to the Wellington Quarry, the British Cemetery and Flying Services Memorial, then on Sunday, we plan to be at the Thiepval Memorial for the 11am remembrance. We Will Remember Them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Cogswell Posted November 2, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted November 2, 2014 I wish there were more rides such as this. Too often those that gave their lives are forgotten. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Dutchy Posted November 3, 2014 Member Contributer Share Posted November 3, 2014 My son and his classmates went to Ypres 4 days ago on a history excursion. They went to "In Flanders Fields", Exeter Farm Cemetary, Tyne Cot (above) and Menin Gate. Menin Gate was unveiled in 1927. 1927 also the year Barlach sculpted the "Floating Angel". Like himself, many ordinary Germans too were abhorred by the "Great" war, but sadly many of their war memorials/arts were subsequently removed and destroyed by the Nazi regime who deemed them as degenerate art. As the loosing side, commemorating their dead was/is still done quietly. We visitied the city of Gustrow this year; it features an exact copy of the "floating angel". Its eyes closed as it floats over what mankind is capable off, for it can no longer watch the horror. It originally floated over a stone plate engraved with "1914-1918". After WW2, when the replica was installed (the original mold had been kept hidden from the Nazis), "1939-1945" was also included in the stone plate. In fact the sculpture is in the British Museum in London at the moment. Wishing you a safe ride, bring your rain gear and warm mittens!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Roebling3 Posted November 3, 2014 Share Posted November 3, 2014 My sincere thanks to all whose feelings I'll share from this side of the pond. When I was based in France and subsequently travelled about Europe for business it was always essential to visit war memorials and cemeteries. I'm hoping to hear back from a close friend today. A Marine, who landed in the 1st wave on Iwo Jima. There are so few left. Thank you for keeping the flame lighted. Good fortune, R3~ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Skids Posted November 11, 2014 Author Member Contributer Share Posted November 11, 2014 Thanks for the good wishes....back safe after a very enjoyable weekend with friends and yet again, sobering moments, sad and difficult to comprehend. The weather, though wet on the way there, proved to be very decent. The Channel Tunnel was, as usual, the best way to cross the Channel. First stop was the memorial at Tyne Cot with over 55000 British & Commonwealth men commemorated, most of whom don't have graves. We then stayed the night in Kortrijk nearby then moved south to Ypres on Saturday. The Menin Gate is a truly moving monument to those who died but have no grave. Every evening of the year, at 8pm, there is a ceremony of Remembrance for those lost. Every wall lists the names of those who died. After that, we stopped at the Wellington Quarry, one of many chalk quarries the British armies connected with tunnels. Stretching for miles, 24000 men stayed hidden here for 8 days prior to an offensive which marked the worst losses the British Armies have ever suffered. On 1 Jul 1016, 20000 men died and over 38000 were wounded and for the following 2 months, an average of 4000 men per day died. Numbers we simply cannot imagine these days. These are one of the sets of steps leading up to the surface, a mere few metres from the German front lines. From there, we stayed overnight in Arras. And finally, On Sunday, we rode to the Thiepval Memorial, again marking the loss of those with no graves. On the way home, we spied the bomb crater at Lochnagar. The British Army tunnelled beneath German positions, laid explosives and detonated them to mark the start of the offensive. It is said they could hear the explosion in London. Over this northern France/Southern Belgian landscape, there are cemeteries literally everywhere, some small, some large. This is one we passed and decided to stop at. And finally, a quote at the Tyne Cot memorial. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowdog Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 My great uncle, Edward.Parrott, on the Theipval memorial. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowdog Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 Prep for this years trip is now underway Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Switchblade Posted May 19, 2015 Member Contributer Share Posted May 19, 2015 I found this site a while back. http://peopleus.blogspot.com/2013/09/the-crucified-soldier-wwi-documentary.html R.I.P. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Member Contributer Skids Posted May 19, 2015 Author Member Contributer Share Posted May 19, 2015 Prep for this years trip is now underway Don't keep us in suspense m8, where are we going? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowdog Posted May 19, 2015 Share Posted May 19, 2015 Discussion still on-going at the other place, I'll give it another week on the site and we can discuss next week and then we'll see. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VFR4Lee Posted May 20, 2015 Share Posted May 20, 2015 It is good to remember history. Hopefully we can avoid repeating it for a change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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