| Since Noel's Jeep was making sounds that it was not happy with life, he was reluctant to drive it any distance, so on Wednesday, we took our normal car the long trip south to Albert, to visit some of the WW1 museums around that area. Under the Church/Cathedral, there were several tunnels used as shelters and these had been turned into a museum to 'The Great War'. The church itself had been almost completely destroyed and yet had been rebuilt to its original design, complete with statue on top of the spire. A mural on a nearby wall shows the statue during the war, partially toppled from the spire. | |||
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From Albert, we headed North North East to Vimy Ridge, the scene of some very bloody fighting during WW1. This hill had a commanding view over the battlefield and was held by the Germans through many attacks until finally taken by the Canadians. The land around the memorial is still heavily cratered, 'though overgrown, and also protected behind an electric fence as there is still uncleared munitions buried there. |
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| Further back from the memorial, there are still trenches, lined with concrete sandbags. The land around these trenches is also heavily cratered and again protected by electric fences. Only sheep walk into the 'live' area, the only safe way to keep the grass short. The memorial itself is now gleaming white having undergone a multi-million dollar refurbishment in the last few years. | |||
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