The Western Front - A Family Legacy

Tony had four great uncles who served in the AIF on the Western Front during WWI. Three died in France and one died soon after returning to Australia from wounds he had received. A very high family attrition rate.  We wanted to visit the western front - an area stretching the length of the Belgian/French border from Switzerland to the sea - to better understand the circumstances under which they had served and died. We were advised that two bodies had been recovered and were interred in Commonwealth War Cemeteries and that the third had never been recovered but that his name was recorded on a memorial wall.

We headed south-east from Brugge towards the famous (infamous?) city of Verdun where the major French - German engagement of the war was staged. We dropped into the town of Dinant on the way, a place where we had stayed and enjoyed during our 2010 trip. The River Meuse winds its way through this area and is a dominant feature in the landscape. Dinant was as pretty as we remembered on this bright and warm early Autumn day. We pushed on to our home for the next 3 nights at the village of Dun-sur-Meuse and the Bikers B&B of 2 Wheel Moorings. Carol & Ian our hosts provide a great little B&B specifically targeted at Bikers with garage facilities on site, comfortable accommodation on the river and a wealth of information on the surrounding areas especially the war sites. We visited museums, grave sites, memorials and the Ossuary - a 'home' for some 130,000 unidentified human remains from the Verdun battle sites. This theatre is where the Americans had fought after their late entry into the conflict and we visited their meticulous memorial and cemetery. We happened on the gravesite of Freddie Stowers standing out from other crosses by the gold lettering signifying the interred was the recipient of the 'Medal of Honour' America's highest military award - an award he would not receive until 1991, 73 years after his death. We were to discover later that Freddie was an Afro American and the only one to receive this honor. The "Black Division" was however fighting under French command such was the state of apartheid in those days in the USA. The scale of the loss of life in this theatre of war is impossible to comprehend, no amount of reading or research can prepare you for the stark reality that confronts you at this place. The terrain is now quiet rolling farmland with poppies growing wild along the roadside, a very pretty picture compared to the graphic images from the First World War of mud, bodies and total devastation. The city of Verdun is a top spot to visit with many historical buildings and war memorials as well as eateries stretching along the banks of the River Meuse.

Verdun had been a stark introduction to the realities of WW1 but it had not been personal - that family element lay further north-west along the battlefields of the Somme where the Commonwealth troops - British, Australian. New Zealand, Canadian, South African & New Foundlanders - had fought and died. We stayed in the small village of Combles at another Biker friendly B&B where our hosts Martin & Kate have an encyclopedic knowledge of the WW1 conflicts on the Somme. Our first stop was the Australian War Memorial and Cemetery at Villers-Bretonneux where we expected to visit the gravesite of Great Uncle William Linsket and the memorial where Robert Elliot was remembered. We were very disappointed to find that the grave site details for William that we had been given were not accurate and we instead found his name along with Robert on the memorial wall - a clear indication that his body had never been recovered from the battlefield. We visited many battlefields, memorials and cemeteries, got a much better understanding of the various battles and discovered that Newfoundland had fought as an independent Division under British Command as they were not part of Canada during those years and had refused to fight under a Canadian flag. They did not become part of Canada until 1949 following the Second World War. We visited one of the most famous of Australian Battle site Memorials at Poziers where G/Uncle Robert Elliot had fallen and happened upon a ceremony where a 'no name Australian Politician' was being welcomed. The Mayor was there with formal ceremonial sash, there were four aged flag-bearers, kind words were spoken and the last post was played along with the National Anthems for Australia, France & England. It was a sign for us of the enduring respect and gratitude that the French people have for those who gave their lives to defend France's freedom.

We pushed further north towards Belgium where we found the grave-site of Great Uncle T.W. (Billy) Elliot who at age 21 had given up his life in a foreign land. It is a very moving experience to visit the grave-site of someone connected by blood who you never knew but feel you know through photographs and family stories. Our last stop on this family journey was the Belgian City of Ieper (Ypres) which is surrounded by famous battle sites and boasts the Menin Gate, a lasting Memorial to the fallen of the Great War and where the Last Post is played at 8pm every night. It is a very popular location especially for Brits as we listened to the various conversations around the Gate. There must have been a thousand people gathered in reverence for the ceremony. There were young and old all respecting the sacrifice these young men had made almost 100 years ago. The words from the ode hold true - " they shall not grow old as we that are left grow old" . Lest We Forget.

Return to the Flatlands

Day 108 of our trip was to be a special day in many ways. We were leaving Norway and with it the magnificent mountains for a return to the flatlands of Denmark, Netherlands and Belgium AND it was Jane's birthday, one she will never forget. Breakfast was taken in our Larvik hotel before an early departure to the ferry terminal and a fast smooth 3.45 hour crossing to Hirtshals on the northern coast of Denmark. We filled the Gray Ghost on the cheaper petrol and headed south towards the German border. Lunch was taken before an unscheduled stop as storm clouds brewed ahead. We donned our wet weather gear just before the heavens opened and then had one of those moments that only bikers will understand. We had been joined in the open rest area by two German bikers preparing for the downpour as we were. As the skies dumped their watery load we stood around in a circle with our helmets on exchanging stories of our respective travels - they were just returning from 10 weeks touring Iceland.

The rain reduced to a steady flow and we moved on eventually to find sunshine as we approached Germany. Our hotel for the night in Flensburg was run by Greek Germans and they set a fine table so Jane was eventually able to enjoy her birthday - breakfast in Norway, lunch in Denmark and dinner in Germany. Next day was a long one as we headed to Amsterdam but the flat stretches of highway promised a fast passage. Unfortunately a combination of GPS navigation, roadworks congesting the approach to the Elb Tunnel in Hamburg and another torrential downpour saw us entering Amsterdam after sunset. There was a significant mark on this stretch as  we passed 20,000 kilometers on our trip. We had a full day looking around this fascinating city whose reputation is dominated by canals, pot smoking and its famous red light district. It is an easy city to walk around as long as you keep an eye out for bicycles which are everywhere and demand their patch of road. The Dutch also have the smallest cars we have seen as well as every form of modified bicycle for commercial and domestic use. The red light district proved to be as 'interesting' as we had expected but we declined to explore the inside of the "coffee shops" with their bong smoking and hash brownies. A canal cruise showed off life on the canals as well as some of the new Architecture of the city especially the modern Nemo Science Centre. A lot of the "Old City" architecture is reminiscent of Venice with walls at odd angles as the foundations have settled into the soft underbelly of the canals.

We pressed on to Belgium and the city of Antwerp that had been recommended to us earlier in the trip. Our hotel was near to the magnificent Central Railway Station whose combination of Old and new Architecture made it one of the most impressive buildings we have seen on tour. The area is dominated by diamond shops which seems to go hand in hand with the Jewish Religion - we have never seen so many orthodox Jews going about their everyday lives in full dress, the men with their black coats, forelocks and head coverings and the women in dark formal dress. The area also has a large Muslim  population showing that it is possible for the two faiths to live together in harmony. Antwerp itself is a beautiful city with many fine buildings from its 'Golden Age' in the first half of the 16th century. It is also the home of Rubens the great painter of the renaissance period. His stately home is now a museum containing many of his works as well as those of his contemporaries.

Next stop was Brugge a canal city in Belgium that is credited as one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. It is an attractive place with many fine buildings, impressive squares, canals and some fine beer houses. Belgium is also world famous for its chocolate and there is no shortage of shops selling every design of chocolate you could imagine. If we do have a criticism of Brugge it is that it is a bit 'too touristy' and commercial lacking the natural feel of other less frequented European cities. Our whirlwind trip through the low countries of Denmark, The Netherlands and Belgium had come to an end as we had a date with some family War history along the former WW1 Western Front in France.