ON THE TRAIL OF THE
GREAT WARS
BELGIUM & FRANCE
It has been 100 years since the Great War in Europe where
thousands of our Canadian soldiers died in the name of freedom and democracy.
This spring a small group of guests equipped with war stories from their grandfathers or fathers set off on
a one week visit of the memorial sites of WWI and WWII on the battle fields of
Belgium and France.
We started off on a lighter note – beer, chocolate and fries
in Brugge, a small town dating back to the 14th century which,
miraculously was untouched by either war! What fun wandering the cobblestone
streets, climbing the 366 steps to the Belfy Tower for a magnificent view and
staying in the quaint Hotel Groeninghe with host Laurence. Did you know that
Belgium produces over 400 kinds of beer ! –yes we tried to taste them all!
Early the next morning we had to defog our brain cells as we
set off on our quest to relive the lives of our soldiers. In Belgium we concentrated our efforts on WWI.
Our first surprise was discovering the
Atlantikwall, a German Battery just
outside of Oostend which was built for
WWI to protect Belgium from the invasion of the Brits and then refitted by the
Nazis for the same purpose in WWII. Amazingly we wandered through bunkers,
armory storage units and past artillery guns for 2 hours!! . A real” diamond in
the rough” as the guests commented.
On to Ypres, Belgium.This town was flattened in WWI and the
citizens rebuilt it to the original – amazing feat! We checked into our family run Hotel Ambrosia
before attending the Last Post at the Menin Gate at 8pm sharp. This was
followed by a quiet moment strolling by the names of thousands of soldiers lost
in the war, bodies never recovered. The Flander’s Museum in the centre of town
is housed in the rebuilt Cloth Hall – again a vivid explanation of the Great
War.
Driving in Belgium is not easy!!! After all who understands
Flemish??? It was quite the challenge for me at the helm and Dez in the
navigator’s seat! Nice thing about roundabouts, you can go around as many times
as you like!! However, on our excursion we managed to find the monument “The Brooding
Soldier”, Tyncot cemetery and the Passchendaele museum in Zonnebeke, a somber
drive through the countryside once decimated by bombs craters, trenches, and
fallen soldiers. The culmination to our WWI circuit was the fabulous monument
at Vimy Ridge, Canadian soil as they took the ridge on April 9, 1917 and helped
change the course of the war.
Switching wars was a challenge for the head as we headed off
to Dieppe where the Canadians played a vital role in the “raid”, most losing
their lives! M Jaspart welcomed us to the Operation Jubilee Canadian War
Memorial and was overcome with emotion for the sacrifice the Canadians made to
the liberation of France! Carol located
the beret of soldier of the South Sask. Regiment, the only uniform they are
missing in their grand collection of artifacts.
From the defeat in Dieppe to the huge success on June 6,
1994 on the beaches of Normandy, we understood its significance. Juno Beach, where the Canadians land , Dez’s
grandfather for one, portrayed the D Day landings with videos real footage of
our Canadian Soldiers! A happier end to this story compared to Dieppe!
Yes, our brains were full of war details and after 5 days were tired of reading, but what an insight to this aspect of Canadian history!
