7» 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.

HISTORISCHE KRANTEN

The Ypres Times (1921-1936) | 1932 | | pagina 16