Today we set off and Rod started the day by explaining to us that the USA joined WWI in 1917 because the Germans kept attacking their navy fleet and telling Mexico to do so as well. Even though they joined late in the piece, they lost 105,000 men between 1917-1919.
We made another quick stop in Ypres this morning. We picked up six new people this morning so we had another look at the Menin Gate. Last night I had posted a video of the Last Post service and Maureen who I worked with at Capital commented saying her great uncle's name is on the gate. So in the five minutes we had, Troy and I found Jo, in the registry and found his name on the wall!! Maureen said this is a really big deal for her family because her mum never got to come here and it's going to give her family a sense of closure. He died at Polygon Wood which we went to later today (more on that soon!).
We next stopped at Bedford House cemetery. Jan (one of the new people) had a great uncle who was buried here. We found his grave!! Amazing. I've found myself starting to wonder how many people buried in the cemeteries we go to are related to people I know. A strange thought! Rod told us here that the unknown warrior buried in Westminster Abbey had 1.25 million people pass it when the tomb was initially left open for the public to pay its respects! It was meant to be open for four hours but due to the overwhelming amount of people it took seven full days and nights!!
We then went to Hooge Crater. We saw another cemetery here where Troy we visited the grave of a VC recipient and Rod had Troy read out his story. We had lunch in the cafe (for me, Carol and Janet that was food we stole from breakfast!!) and then went to the museum. It had a lot of models and props. We then also saw some old trenches and craters.
Our next stop was Polygon Wood. With the knowledge that Maureen's great uncle was here amongst the woods somewhere (his name is on the Menin Gate due to him never being found) this now had some special significance to me. We walked through the woods here, the trees were really thick. We saw the grave of J Hunter, whose brother hid him and four others during the war and who were only found in 2005 when the road near here was being widened. We also saw a really sad gravestone where the line the family had put down the bottom were the last words the son (Rowland Hill) said to his mother "I'm alright mother - cheerio!". Made me cry. He was only 22 and Rod had Troy read it....and Troy and I are both 22.
Our next stop was Polygon Wood. With the knowledge that Maureen's great uncle was here amongst the woods somewhere (his name is on the Menin Gate due to him never being found) this now had some special significance to me. We walked through the woods here, the trees were really thick. We saw the grave of J Hunter, whose brother hid him and four others during the war and who were only found in 2005 when the road near here was being widened. We also saw a really sad gravestone where the line the family had put down the bottom were the last words the son (Rowland Hill) said to his mother "I'm alright mother - cheerio!". Made me cry. He was only 22 and Rod had Troy read it....and Troy and I are both 22.
We saw some bunkers and walked to the cemetery. I had bought two poppies - one for Maureen and one for her 89 year old Mum. Her great uncle's name was Gordon Patterson and he died here on 20th September 1917 but his body was never found. I decided the best place to put them were at the foot of a gravestone for an unknown Australian soldier. We saw the various memorials and then got back in the bus because the clouds came out today and it was soooooooo cold!!
Our last stop for the day was Tyne Cot cemetery in Passchendaele. This is the largest commonwealth cemetery in the world with 12,000 graves - 8,300 of which are for unidentified soldiers. There was a huge memorial on top of an old bunker, and Rod took us to see two more Australian VC recipients. He also told us how in Passchendaele it rained for three weeks solid in the summer of 1917. The mud here in the trenches became hell, a death trap that soldiers got stuck in. The more other men tried to pull them out the more stuck they got, and many of those who got stuck asked to be shot to put them out of their misery. It's so surreal being at places like this...it really hits home how real it all is.
It's been a really heavy few days but I'm glad I can be here to commemorate the centenary of the war and pay my respects. I was especially glad today that I could find Maureen's great uncle's name and leave a poppy for her at Polygon Wood. Got s bit teary knowing how much it meant to her family that I found him here. So many people were so profoundly effected by the war and the loss and pain it caused. It was the least I could do to make her and her mum feel some closure!!
Tonight we are going out for dinner as a group!!
Love to all
Claire
Xoxox
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