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THE YPRES TIMES
wonderful sight; this was the huge mine crater on the roadside, which exploded
by Scottish troops along with other mines on the day of the Somme offensive.
A stay of one hour was made at Thiépval to enable those of the party to pay
their respects to their dear ones as at the Arras Memorial. Here again the War
Graves Commission Gardeners, on duty at the Memorial, were most attentive
to our requests for finding the names on the piers, and one felt whilst viewing the
various piers with the thousands upon thousands of names carved in stone what
a price was paid for victory, but also what a wonderful achievement has been
accomplished by the Imperial War Graves Commission in erecting such a splendid
monument to the memory of our fallen heroes, whose actual graves have not
been identified. It will indeed be a memorable occasion for those privileged
to be present on August ist, when the Memorial will be unveiled by H.R.H. The
Prince of Wales, a popular and beloved comrade of those who gave their all for
King and country.
At Albert a visit was made to the Cathedral, remembered by all troops passing
through that area as a landmark, and for the gilded bronze statue of the virgin
and the child bent over, face downwards, as if watching the marching columns below
in the square. The superstition among the British troops that the fall of this
world-famous Leaning Virgin would betoken the end of the war was disproved
by the destruction of church and tower in March, 1918. Bapaume and Peronne
were other interesting places visited and thence to 'Arras in time for dinner, the
party by now looking a little the worse for wear. Our itinerary concluded on
Monday by visiting that interesting area between Monchy and Notre Dame de
Lorette, including such places as the Labyrinthe, Roclincourt, Vimy Ridge,
Givenchy, Souchez, and the outskirts of Lens. A protracted stay was made on
the famous Vimy Ridge, where one could stroll for hours around the maze of
trenches which are, incidentally, the best on the whole of the front from a per
manent preservation point of view. A visit to this spot is not complete without
seeing the Grange tunnels beneath the Ridge. As there are roughly sixteen miles
of these chalky subterranean passages it is advisable to enlist the services of the
guide at the entrance.
On the return again to Arras the whole of the party voted this as being a memor
able week-end, and were very enthusiastic in their thanks for the way everything
had been so arranged which permitted them seeing so much in the time. Their
only complaint seemed to be that they were unable to remember or record half the
places they had visited.
A PARTY of pilgrims left Victoria on Saturday morning for Ypres, via Dover
and Ostend. Dover was safely reached, and we all settled down on the boat,
with the sea very smooth, but after going just over half-way we ran into
fog, and then the siren blew-off every two minutes for about an hour. How
ever, the net result was a missed train at Ostend and two hours to wait for the
next.
This enforced wait was soon employed; the party dumped their baggage
and searched for a cup of tea among the many shops boldly stating English
Teas," though hardly of the Sergeant-Major's calibre. Thus refreshed we
leisurely turned to the station, found our reserved compartments, and eventually
off to our Mecca Ypres.