Visit the British Normandy Memorial, a remembrance site commemorating D-Day, which opened in 2021.

Walking amongst the white stone columns of the British Normandy Memorial on a stunning blue-sky day, I can’t help feeling that my father would have thoroughly approved. In June 1944, the 20-year-old farmer’s son landed at Sword Beach as part of the D-Day landings that kick-started the liberation of France. He had never been out of England before and he wasn’t to see home again for nearly three years. G

They were difficult years but at least my father came back. He resumed his legal training, met my mum, and together they worked hard to build a future and a family together. Fast forward to my teens and we enjoyed many holiday road trips round France, but we never went to Normandy. Maybe there were just too many memories for a conscripted ex-soldier.

A moving memorial

But strolling around the tranquil cliff-top site at Ver-sur-Mer with its sweeping views over land and sea, I know my dad would have loved this stunningly beautiful commemoration of the comrades he left behind. He rarely showed emotion but my father was moved to tears by the television coverage of the 70th anniversary of D-Day in 2014. A month later, he slipped quietly away aged 90, perhaps to meet up with some of those who never caught the troop carrier home.

For many years, families of Allied soldiers have been able to visit memorials, museums and beaches on the Normandy coastline in the footsteps of relatives who fought for freedom in Europe. But only now is there a memorial to the British soldiers who didn’t return from the conflict, a spot where relatives can see the names of lost family members inscribed for posterity.

A long campaign

The campaign for the British Normandy Memorial began in 2015 when D-Day veteran George Batts, formerly of the Royal Engineers, pointed out to BBC broadcaster Nicholas Witchell that no national memorial in Normandy recorded the names of all those under British command who had died on D-Day and during the Battle of Normandy. As a result, the Normandy Memorial Trust was established and the project began to move forward.

In March 2017, the British government pledged £20 million towards the construction of the Memorial on farmland overlooking the shoreline codenamed Gold Beach. The site was formally inaugurated on 6 June 2019 in the presence of then British Prime Minster Theresa May and French President Emmanuel Macron, and construction work began soon afterwards. Despite delays due to the Covid pandemic, the Memorial was officially opened by video link by HRH The Prince of Wales on 6 June 2021.

‘Stonehenge by the Sea’

Carved on 160 stone columns are the names of 22,442 individuals – British personnel and other nationalities serving British units – whose lives were lost in the Normandy campaign. Also included are members of the RAF who supported the mission, and secret agents and Special Forces personnel working behind enemy lines. Names are listed in chronological order of death, day-by-day, and grouped by branches of the armed forces. This huge undertaking was greatly aided by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and supplemented by other military institutions and individuals.

But you don’t need a family connection to enjoy a visit to this special place which is easily reached by car, midway between Bayeux and Caen. Buses also run from both towns, except on Sundays, stopping outside the Memorial gate. Admission is free with just a 3€ parking charge that goes towards the upkeep of the site. Visitors will find toilets at the entrance and a picnic area near the car park, but no visitor centre, no shop, no guides, and no cafe. Nothing that detracts from the tranquillity and beauty of the site. If you need snacks, the village shops are just five minutes’ walk away.

Access to the Memorial is via a level gravel path, suitable for wheelchairs and walking aids – expect an 8-10 minute walk from the car park. Along the way, stone information panels are carved with the story of the D-Day landings, English on one side, French on the other.

As the Memorial came into view, my first thought was ‘Stonehenge beside the sea’, its uniform stone columns topped with a lattice of timber. The full beauty of the design doesn’t hit you until you get close and can see the layout, a rectangle criss-crossed by paths in the shape of a Union Jack, which flies on a tall flagpole at the centre beside the French tricolore.

A worthy memorial

More flags fly on the grass between the columns and the natural meadow that overlooks the sea, ablaze with a Monet palette of wildflowers during my June visit. I stopped to take in the dramatic sculpture of three soldiers ‘running’ in from the beach, an iconic moment frozen in time that could so easily have shown my dad.

Then I crossed the grass for a close up view of the five wrought iron panels designed by sculptor Charles Bergen, each one pointing towards a D-Day landing beach and illustrating key elements from the battle – the British soldiers at Sword beach to the east and here at Gold; the Canadian assault between the British beaches at Juno; and to the west, the American targets at Omaha and distant Utah.  On such a clear day, the floating Mulberry harbours at neighbouring Arromanches were clearly visible, and beyond them, the headland of Pointe du Hoc pinpointed the beaches of Omaha and Utah, a unique and moving panorama.

Turning my back on the waves that brought the Allied troops to France, I stopped by the tablet commemorating the many French civilians who also died in the summer of 1944 in Normandy. And to read the stirring words spoken as the assault began – the D-Day broadcast by King George VI, the address by General de Gaulle on BBC Radio, and the speech by Sir Winston Churchill.

This Memorial may be long overdue but it’s a fitting tribute to all those young men who sacrificed their futures in France. A real must-see on this beautiful stretch of Calvados coastline.

Further information from www.britishnormandymemorial.org 

For tourist information on Calvados, visit www.calvados-tourisme.co.uk

For the best battlefield and memorial tours of Normandy see sophiesgreatwartours.com

Gillian Thornton is a writer who specialises in France and lifestyle.

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No matter how many years have passed since the two world wars took place – remembrance of those tragic times, of the people lost and the sacrifices made, remains an important part of our lives today. Though for those of us born in peacetime, those wars may seem far removed from our lives, by remembering, we recognise the freedom that those who fought, sought to preserve, and the peace that prevailed.

We talk to Sophie Shrubsole, a historian and guide to the battlefields of France…

How did you become interested in battlefield history?

I first made my way to the battlefields of the Somme at the tender age of just five months old! My parents had taken me with them for the 1st July commemorations. I grew up with a Dad who was passionate about all things First World War. And, for as long as I can remember, I’ve been in wellies exploring the famous fields and paying my respects to soldiers in the beautiful Commonwealth War Graves cemeteries.

There were 16 Shrubsoles killed in the Great War. Eight of them on the Somme. Five of them have their names engraved at Thiepval, the memorial to the missing of the Somme, and two can be found on the Menin Gate in Ypres. Whenever I’m in Ypres, I always make my way to the Hooge Crater Cemetery, as there lies Walter Frederick Shrubsole. He was killed in March 1918 and he came from the village in which I grew up.

What grabbed me when I first started visiting the battlefields, was just how easy it was to stand in exact spots where history happened. Some of the most infamous moments in world history are right in front of us and we can explore them. We can stand and imagine the landing craft coming into Omaha Beach. Or stand in the spot where a relative won a medal for gallantry in the First World War. In many places, there are original trenches to walk through, German bunkers to explore and even relics of war still coming to the surface. When you can conjure the images of history, history is never that far from you.

Can you tell us about a memorable tour you’ve taken

One of my previous clients sent me a photo of her Grandfather walking down a road in France in April 1918. It was her dream to walk in his footsteps exactly 100 years later. He had survived the war and spent many nights giving snippets of information of his service to his granddaughter. But his memories and stories were not complete. My client wanted to piece together his service and finally get a full picture of what his time in the British Army would have been like. After much research, I was able to take her to the precise location at which that photograph was taken. For the rest of the day, I sat with her and explained month by month what her Grandfather had done in the Great War. It was an incredibly special opportunity to share history with a relative. We are still in touch and meet to reminisce about a very special tour.

How do you help people find out more about the history of their ancestors in World War I/World War II

I use a combination of resources to put together the service of a soldier. This includes enlistmentment records and official military files. I may research pension records and crucially, the Battalion War Diaries. It takes a lot of patience – and deciphering 100-year-old handwriting isn’t always easy! What’s really important is to check and double-check every fact. As with any large organisation, clerical errors creep into record keeping.

Thankfully I learnt to be patient while completing my degree in history at The University of Birmingham.

What areas do you cover with your tours?

Sophie’s Great War Tours delivers memorable tours across the UK, France, Belgium and the Netherlands. From the English Civil Wars to Waterloo and the battles of 1945, and the sites of the Second World War, where we tour the well known places as well as places that are special to individual visitors. My team of guides and I can help guests get under the skin of historical events, the characters that shaped events and the locations we are exploring. As a bespoke tour operator, we can react to almost any special request from customers. And we truly relish creating special moments and memories for customers.

Why do you feel it’s important that the battles, those who took part and those who were lost are remembered?

The biggest dishonour we can give servicemen and women is to forget. We must never forget what they endured to keep others safe and to liberate countries so that we may be free.

Sophie Shrubsole

Owner, Sophie’s Great War Tours

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The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) Experience in Arras is where a group of extraordinary men and women work to honour and maintain the cemeteries and memorials of the Commonwealth soldiers who lost their lives in WWI and WWII. Based in France they operate on a global basis and a visit to their workshops at the CWCG experience makes for a poignant and fascinating visit.

This is an important stop on the memorial route, and essential for those visiting the battlefields of the Western Front.

History of the CWGC

A couple of miles from the historic city centre of Arras, the CWGC has had workshops in the small town of Beaurains since the early 1980s. In June 2019, the CWGC Experience opened up the workshops so that visitors can view the ongoing work that takes place here.

Because these are real people with jobs, it’s only open when they’re working – week days and some special days like heritage days, but not weekends or national holidays.

The CWGC was established in 1917 while WWI was still being fought. Their work was only completed in 1938, just a year later, WWII began. So far, the CWGC has established 2,500 war cemeteries, memorials and plots to commemorate those with no known grave. More than a million burials are marked at military and civil sites. They operate in more than 150 countries and territories and at 23,000 locations. More than 100 years later, their work still remains incredibly important.

What to see at the CWGC experience

Your visit starts with a short film which explains the history and work of the CWGC. There’s a small but poignant museum. But it’s the workshops that hold your attention. It’s instantly clear that those who work here are not doing any ordinary job. They take their responsibilities seriously and they give of themselves with their unique work, it’s humbling to witness their dedication.

Around a central courtyard, you can visit a series of workshops with glass fronts. Here gravestones are produced for CWGC cemeteries around the world – around 4000 a year. Some are replacements for gravestones that have been damaged or are too worn out to mend. Some are brand new: “On average we find the remains of 50 casualties a year, sometimes more” says Audrey Chaix, Head of Tourism and Marketing WEA. “We make new headstones here and when the soldiers are finally laid to rest, it is with full honours. Their former regiments attend, and for families it is a very emotional event”.

Guardians of memory

In the workshop, great lumps of Portland stone from England await transformation into gravestones to be engraved with the soldiers regiment. Astonishingly there are more than 1000 different regimental badges for the UK and Ireland alone. You can watch as the masons work on the cutting and engraving process. It’s a sobering thought to know that more than 1 million have been produced here since 1917.

Stones are checked every five years. “They used to be replaced if there was wear and tear or damage” says Audrey “but these days we try to mend them first”.

If you get a chance to chat to the masons they will tell you: “this is much more than just a name carved in stone”.

Other workshops include the forge where the gates are made for cemeteries, as well as metal ornaments such as swords, chain and shells. The memorial registry books and the cases in which they are kept are also made here. The windows, wooden gates, benches etc are made in the joinery shop to traditional methods, there’s no use of glue or nails. There’s a lawnmower repair shop that’s constantly busy maintaining the mowers used in France – more than 2000 of them. Some of them are tailor made to ensure the grass is kept in pristine condition.

In the sign workshop, Michel Grare works alone, creating the metal signs for the cemeteries and directions.

Everything is made to imperial measurements and often made to traditional methods. It’s not unusual for skills to be passed down the generations within families. “We have 1300 staff” says Audrey “and it’s not just any job, the average length of employment here is 22 years”.

The gardeners of the CWGC

The CWGC has gardeners all around the world. In France there are 320 making sure every one of the cemeteries is well maintained and treated with respect. One of thegardeners, William Moody, started the job at the age of 17 and has been there for 52 years. His dad was a CWGC gardener, and his grandfather too, as are his son, brother and nephew. Those who work for the CWGC take their responsibility seriously, this is not just a job. Speak to them and you will hear phrases like “we owe them our freedom”. They will tell you what an honour it is to look after these “precious places”. When the CWGC first started in operation “many of the old soldiers used to carry out the work” says Audrey “they wanted to stay near their lost friends.”

The CWGC today

The work of the CWGC is never done. Records are updated daily as more details about soldiers lost and found are discovered. There are two trained officers based here and they are constantly researching. When a call comes in to notify them that remains have been found, often from farmers working in their fields or builders at a construction site, Paul Bird and Steve Arnold hurry to the site. They transport remains to the CWGC mortuary, so as to free the farmers and builders to go back to work immediately. Then the work begins to find out who the soldier was, locate his family and report to the government.

Sometimes there is a name tag or details that help identify the soldier. Some cases take years. Some are never known. Finding family, testing DNA, it’s part forensics and part detective work and not easy. “They have a success rate of 10-18%, the same as it was in 1919” says Audrey. If they are able to make an identification then the remains are buried in a cemetery with former comrades. Their former regiment will be in attendance to honour them. When the service is over the Mayor of the town where they are buried will usually offer the family a “Vin d’honneur”, a glass of wine in memory of their lost relative, at the local town hall. Two hours later, the family will return to the cemetery and find that everything has been completed. The grave is covered over, flowers are planted and everything is in pristine condition – like all the others.

Lest we forget

The work of the CWGC remains as important now as it ever has.

Entry to the CWGC Experience is free but donations in a collection box are welcomed: www.cwgc.org/visit-us/visitor-centres/cwgc-experience

There is also a membership programme, Proceeds go towards a non-profit making charity, the Commonwealth War Graves Foundation which funds education and activities highlighting the work of the CWGC: www.cwgc.org/support-us

The CWGC also has a website which tells the tales of those who work at the CWGC all around the world: www.fourcorners.cwgc.org

Discover more at www.cwgc.org Note: The CWGC Experience is closed from end November until beginning of February.

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Saint Omer in Nord, Hauts de France is a quintessentially French market town. It has a long and illustrious history. Thomas a Becket AKA Saint Thomas Becket took refuge from Henry II of England in there in 1165. Centuries later, three of America’s Founding Fathers, Daniel, Charles and John Carroll, studied at the Jesuit Chapel.

It is also where aviation history was made in several ways, including as the symbolic home of Britain’s RAF.

And, it’s where Douglas Bader, hero of the RAF in WWII was shot down, escaped from his captors and was sheltered in the town where he is remembered and honoured with a Douglas Bader trail tour.

The Birth of the RAF in Saint-Omer

At Longuenesse on the outskirts of Saint Omer, there is a small aerodrome set among the grassy fields of the countryside of Pas de Calais. It was the location of one of the earliest air shows in 1910.  For most of World War I, it was a British airfield with a base of 4000 personnel. More flights took off from here than anywhere else in France.

It was also the site of the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) HQ which became the RAF, Royal Air Force on 1 April 1918 and it’s this that makes Saint-Omer the spiritual home of the world’s first air force.

Today there is a memorial at the airfield which reads “PER ADUA AD ASTRA”, Latin for “through hardship to the stars”, the motto of the RAF.

Poignantly, opposite the airfield is the immaculately maintained Commonwealth War Graves Longuenesse Cemetery, the last resting place of many air force personnel.

Follow the Douglas Bader Trail

In World War II, the airfield at Longuenesse was once more pressed into action, this time the German forces occupied the land making it a target for the RAF. It was close by that in 1941, Douglas Bader flew over the Saint Omer along with dozens of British aircraft. Bader was already a hero. He had lost both legs in 1931 in a demonstration of aviation acrobatics. It didn’t stop him from enlisting in the RAF and becoming an “Ace” pilot.

On August 9, 1941 during a strike over Saint-Omer, Bader’s plane was hit and he had to bail out, losing one of his tin legs in the process, landing in what is now an agricultural field. Taken prisoner, he was sent to hospital in rue St Bertin, Saint Omer. Such was Bader’s reputation that he managed to persuade his German captors to allow a replacement to be delivered by air and when they agreed to not shoot the delivery plane down, the leg was dropped in a box and handed over.

Bader, with the help of a French nurse, promptly escaped out of a window at the hospital, shimmying down the wall with help of bed sheets knotted together. He was sheltered by the Hiecque family in rue du Haut-Pont in Saint-Omer. Recaptured, and several escape attempts later, he was finally sent to the notorious Colditz Prisoner-of-War camp, where the Germans, weary of the extraordinary British airman’s escapades, confiscated one of his legs until he promised not to try to escape any more. Bader’s story was told in the book and film Reach for the Sky.

The Hiecque family and the nurse who helped Bader were sentenced to execution, commuted to hard labour. Bader returned to Saint-Omer in 1965 to see Madame Hiecque receive the Legion d’Honneur. He himself was given a Knighthood in 1976 to honour his work on behalf of the disabled community, 8 years before his death in 1982. The Times reported in his obituary: “he became a legend by embodying the heroism of the RAF during the World War II”.

Book the Douglas Bader Trail tour, Saint Omer

Discover Saint-Omer and the surrounding stunning countryside in style with www.les-belles-echappees.com who hire out 2CVs and VW vans plus solex bikes and other retro vehicles. The head-turning rides are available with route plans, picnics and more. You can find them at the site of the former Abbaye Clairmarais, where you’ll spot a giant pigeonnaire, reportedly the biggest in northern France.

Take a break at: Le Saint Sebastian, Blendeques. A lovely traditional restaurant with friendly service and delicious dishes with a Flemish touch

Stay at: Chateau Tilques at Tilques, a gorgeous 19^th century chateau set in a large park where peacocks roam, the rooms are roomy and elegant, and the gastronomic restaurant delights. www.tilques.najeti.fr

Get there: DFDS ferries to Dunkirk or Calais daily; Eurotunnel to Calais.

More on St Omer

Take a cruise on the UNESCO listed marshes of Saint-Omer – Audomarois. Criss-crossed by canals where wild life thrives and vegetables grow lush, you can stop your boat to buy at the riverside. It’s the only place in France where the postman delivers by boat!

The library of Saint-Omer – from the outside it looks like any municipal library, but inside is a very special room. The Salle Aubin was once part of an ancient Jesuit College and contains books from the 7th century onwards. It’s an astonishing collection, and included a priceless first Edition Shakesspeare only discovered recently!

Best beer in France! The Brasserie de Saint Omer…

10 things to do in the summer in Saint Omer

Discover more about the history of Pas de Calais: www.history-pas-de-calais.com; More about what to see and do in Pas-de-Calais: www.pas-de-calais-tourisme.com

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Several years ago, on my way south from Dunkirk in northern France, I stopped off at Eperlecques, a small town you access off the main autoroute. A sign for the Blockhaus d’Eperlecques was intriguing enough to lure me from my travel plans.

What I discovered, in an area of beautiful countryside where the sound of bird song competes with the chug of a tractor – idyllic, was the most enormous bunker, left over from the German occupation of France in WWII. It was an incredible sight and left a lasting impression.

I recently stopped off for a return visit and found that over the years, a huge amount has been done to make the Blockhaus more accessible to the public, to expand the information available to help us understand and discover the tale of this enormous bunker and its place in history. Artifacts have been added to the grounds and the interior and this time round, it was even more impressive than I remembered.

History of the Bunker of Eperlecques

It is the biggest bunker in northern France, monumental in fact, and is privately owned. It is essentially in the back garden of a local family though not your average back garden since the dimensions of the bunker have to be seen to be believed.

Building began in March 1943 and its purpose was for the assembly and launch of V2 rockets aimed at England. Construction of the bunker was rapid, 3000 people were forced to work around the clock, and by August, it’s presence was sufficiently huge and worrying to provoke the British to start a bombing campaign. Though the bunker wasn’t destroyed it was enough to halt plans for its use and development. The original plan was for a bunker three times the one that’s left, the sheer size of what’s there is breath-taking, it’s impossible to envisage how it might have looked had the build been completed.

What to see at Eperlecques

You can take a guided tour as I did, with an excellent English speaking guide whose father actually worked on the construction, forced to be there against his will. Or you can use an audio guide. There are information boards all around the area and audio points as well and they really bring the past alive.

The bunker is 7 stories high and there are underground tunnels. Work is ongoing to open more of the bunker as the team continue to discover openings, rooms, halls, tunnels, equipment. The building has a 58 feet high gateway, large enough for exiting the V2 rockets that were to be built.

A monstrous building

At an audio point to one side of the bunker, the 5-metre-thick walls dented and cracked in places but standing pretty much intact, you push the button and played out loud, you can hear the sound of planes approaching. It is a re-enactment of events that took place here on August 27, 1943 when British planes dropped bombs that caused sufficient damage to halt the progress of this monstrous building. Standing there on a sunny day, I could hear the drone of planes coming ever nearer, you can’t help but look up at the sky, it made the hair stand up on the back of my neck. Impossible to comprehend how it must have been for the poor workforce there that day, caught up in the events.  Around the bunker there are bomb craters, now filled with water to form natural ponds or with grass and wild flowers, time has softened them.

As you walk around you’ll spot tanks, trucks, guns, even a submarine, and rockets plus a launch pad with a VI flying bomb, aimed at England. The tracks for the former railway are still in evidence, it’s as if time has moved on but the moment remains. Inside the bunker it is chilly and chilling. The thought of the misery of this place for those who were forced to join its creation gives you goose bumps. There are areas that are closed off, still to be explored, but more is opened each year. It’s oppressive, impressive and monstrous. Eerily lit, an old car in a corner, remains of signs and equipment, a Tall Boy bomb, a “bunker buster”, hangs – it looks ominous, and was the bomb of choice dropped in copious amounts in the attempt to destroy Eperlecques.

A powerful memorial

A visit here gives you get a real feel for the past. My guide tells me that his father survived the war, got a job, carried on, and when he retired, he returned to work at Eperlecques as a guide. “He never liked to talk about the past” he says “but coming here to work – this time as a guide, to tell people about this place, it was what he wanted to do. He died just six months later…” he pauses and says quietly “finally it was all over for him”.

This is both a memorial centre and a monument to a dark time of history. It makes for a truly impressive visit, a reminder that we must never forget the lessons of the past.

The Blockhaus at Eperlecques is open daily (closed Tuesday mornings) from March to October. See the website for opening times and details: www.leblockhaus.com/en

Visit to La Coupole, not far from Eperlecques, this enormous dome shaped bunker also makes for a fascinating visit for its exhibitions and 3D film show.
Three things to do for the family on a rainy day in Pas de Calais
Head to Saint Omer which is nearby, for the lovely restaurants, Saturday morning market
Take a boat ride on the UNESCO Audomarois marshes near Eperlecques and discover waterways of nothern France

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From Lille to Cambrai is just a short trip. Go in time for lunch at Cambrai’s Brasserie Beatus in the Avenue de Paris and you’re in for a real treat.  Peter Jones travelled there to discover more about a World War I tank called Deborah. Not any old tank, but the only one that survives from the Battle of Cambrai in October 1917.

And what a story of survival it is.

Cambrai

But back to lunch at Brasserie Beatus. With a starter of succulent sauccison and the sort of bread you can only get in France, I just about had room for a light lunch of chicken cooked with a local pungent Maroilles cheese sauce. I squeezed in Cherry clafoutis and a delicious plate of macarons and miniature waffles to go with the coffee – a terrific way to enjoy typically French deliciousness.

If you are ever in Cambrai, the Brasserie Beatus is well worth seeking out. It’s a traditional French ‘estaminet’ complete with a proper zinc covered bar top, a sight that is getting rarer in France. There’s also a link with the famous Deborah tank as the restaurant is owned by Phillipe Gorczynski, and you’ll have to read on to find out more (that’s him, 3rd from the left above, the Deborah tank behind).

On my way to meet Deborah in the town of Flesquières, I stopped off at the Louverval military Cemetery and Cambrai Memorial in Doignes. Northern France has many war graves and in this one there are 124 soldiers of the British Army laid to rest. The memorial to the 7000 soldiers from the UK and South Africa of whom no trace was ever found after the Battle of Cambrai in 1917, truly focuses the mind.

Flesquieres is just over 10 kilometres south west of Cambrai and there is a simple memorial overlooking the battlefield of the Battle of Cambrai to represent all those soldiers who fell and fought here. My visit was accompanied by the sound of bagpipes being played by a soldier in the uniform of the Gordon Highlanders from 1917, this is because the day, I visited, a brand-new museum containing the tank, was opened.

The Deborah Tank Museum

The battle of Cambrai is famous for the vast number of tanks that took part, a staggering 476 of them, of which Deborah is the sole survivor. Philippe, whose restaurant I ate at earlier, is passionate about the area he lives in. He’s been enthused about its history since childhood. As a youngster, a conversation with an elderly lady in a nearby village about a tank being buried close by, led to him locating the site of the tank’s resting place. In 1998 it was excavated and transferred to a barn in Flesquières where it remained until the summer of 2017.

It now lives just a few yards away in a purpose-built museum, itself in the shape of a World War I tank, and is recognised as a registered Historic Monument. Poignantly, next door is the British Hill Cemetery where the bodies of four members of Deborah’s crew lie in rest.

As well as the tank, the museum will be the home to many artifacts and memorabilia of the Battle of Cambrai. I can recommend John Taylor’s book ‘Deborah and the war of tanks’ – he tells far more than space here will allow me.

While there, I was lucky enough to attend a dinner in honour of the Cambrai Tank association held in the magnificent vaulted Vaucelles Abbey. There were speeches and representations from many of the attendees. It was an emotional evening, especially when an 85-year-old gentleman who got up onto the stage and with a shaking finger pointed to a photo of Deborah in 1917 and to the soldier looking out of the turret. To a silenced room he announced ‘That man is my father’, there was hardly a dry eye in the room.

The abbey is open to the public and is well worth a visit especially when it hosts its famous Christmas market.

My base for the night was the rather grand Chateau de la Motte Fenelon in Cambrai which I can highly recommend.

A region of history

In the nearby village of Havrincourt, though not open to the public, there are tunnels built into the chalk which were used for storage during WWI by the German armies. It seems that everywhere you turn, you’ll discover a hint of the past.

Head to the Brasserie de l’Abbaye in Le Cateau Cambresis for lunch. You’ll find a fully functional and very popular brewery and a deliciously attractive restaurant. It’s the perfect place to enjoy local beer and seasonal dishes.

After years of dashing through Northern France just 90 minutes away from London by Eurostar to Lille, I discovered this part of France is full of history, emotion and so much more than I can cover here, well worth the short trip across the Channel.

There’s plenty to do in the Cambrai area, highly recommended is the Wilfred Owen Memorial at Ors, the fabulous Mademoiselle from Armentieres Cafe, the Matisse Museum in Le Cateau-Cambrésis, where the artist was born.

Discover more to do in the area: www.tourisme-cambresis.fr

A walking trail leaflet is available from the local tourist office in English and can be downloaded on www.remembrancetrails-northernfrance.com

Peter Jones is a photographer and freelance writer 

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It was one of the blockbuster films of 2017 – Dunkirk (Dunkerque in French), Christopher Nolan’s film about Operation Dynamo, the historic event which saw the rescue of allied forces from the beaches on Dunkirk during World War II.

The film Dunkirk

Filmed largely on location on the beaches of Dunkirk with a clutch of stars including Harry Styles of One Direction making his acting debut, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy and Sir Kenneth Branagh amongst others. The story is well known but it will bring the events of 1940 to a whole new audience around the world. Essentially, 338,000 allied troops were surrounded in Dunkerque and the only means of escape was across the English Channel. Navy ships raced to lift them off the beaches and were joined by around 700 “little ships” who also made the perilous journey to rescue the doomed men. It was the biggest evacuation in military history. British civilians responded in their droves with everything from private yachts, motor launches, lifeboats, paddle steamers and barges joining the effort. The craft came from as far away as the Isle of Man. For eight long days from May 27 1940, 338,226 allied soldiers were successfully ferried across the English Channel whilst under attack. Included were 140,00 French, Polish and Belgian troops.

Operation Dynamo Dunkirk

In Dunkerque, the events of those dramatic days will never be forgotten. In 2015 the city welcomed the return of many of the ships in a wonderful commemoration ceremony. Those old boats, lovingly cared for, made the journey across the Channel and arrived to cheers and a mighty welcome from the people of Dunkerque.

Among them was MTB102 (Motor Torpedo Boat). She crossed the Channel eight times during Operation Dynamo and was also used by Rear Admiral Wake-Walker who directed operations during the rescue, as his flagship when his own boat was destroyed. MTB102 also carried Winston Churchill and General Eisenhower when they reviewed ships assembled for the D Day landings. The canny-eyed amongst you might have spotted her in the film The Eagle has Landed. Today she’s lovingly cared for and kept in tip top condition by engineer Richard Basey with the help of enthusisastic volunteers with a passion that’s catching for this old boat.

In the town of Dunkirk you’ll find the majestic paddle steamer Princess Elizabeth. Permanently moored and opened in 2017 as a gastronomic restaurant. Built as a pleasure boat she was converted to a mine sweeper to assist with Operation Dynamo and rescued hundreds of troops. She also starred in the film Dunkirk, casting off specially to take part during the 2016 filming.

In Dunkirk, the Museum Dunkirk 1940 – Operation Dynamo plays homage to the drama and in 2017 has undergone a renovation and extension. With artefacts, photos, documents and more, the story of the battle and evacuation is recorded and makes for a fascinating and moving visit.

More on Dunkirk
World War II sites in and around Dunkirk
What to do on a day trip to Dunkirk

See the Dunkirk Tourist Office website for more details of memorial visits in the area and things to do and see.

Association of Dunkirk Little Boats

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Cambrai Tank 1917 Museum welcomes “Deborah”.

In June 2017, the famous World War One tank known as ‘Deborah’ will begin her final journey to a purpose-built new home at the soon-to-be completed Cambrai Tank 1917 museum.

Deborah, a 26-ton female Mark IV British tank, is the star exhibit at the new museum dedicated to the Battle of Cambrai, which will open on November 26, 2017, one hundred years after the battle in which Deborah and 475 other British tanks fought.

The Cambrai Tank 1917 museum is located close to the Flesquières Hill British Cemetery, approximately five kilometres south-west of Cambrai, where five of Deborah’s crew have their final resting place.

Historically important, Deborah – more properly known as D51 Deborah, is the only surviving tank from the 476 that fought during the Battle of Cambrai, the first time in history tanks were used en masse. And one of only seven Mark IV’s that survive from a production of over 1,200.

First discovered in 1998, for some years Deborah has been on display in a barn in the village of Flesquières.

With the near completion of the new museum, it is now time to move the 100-year-old tank to her new home; a complex operation that will take place over a week in June.

The operation to re-locate Deborah has involved months of careful planning and is a highly technical process that will involve two specialist cranes, a hydraulic, ‘floating’ path and a special transporter.

Deborah will initially be placed onto a new base – using a 130-tonne crane – and then carefully moved from the barn to a transporter on a specially constructed path. After arriving outside the Cambrai Tank 1917 museum, a specially-installed 500-tonne crane will be on site to life the delicate, near 30-tonne, tank into her new home, a sunken enclosure some 6-metres below ground. Every stage of the operation will be carefully monitored by the technical crew, as any unusual forces on the rusted iron tank could spell disaster and risk her breaking up.

This exceptional and unique operation marks the first stage towards the opening of the new museum dedicated to the Battle of Cambrai.

Read how the Deborah Tank was discovered by a local man – an incredible story of determination.

Find out what’s on in the region at: www.tourisme-nordpasdecalais.fr

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A flock of red-legged partridge has just crash-landed in a flurry of feathers into long grass at the edge of a field, and overhead the cause of the consternation, a buzzard doing a passable impersonation of a kestrel, hovering on the wind, ready to drop in on lunch. The landscape east of Amiens is mainly farmland, alternating long stretches of flat ground with reaches of undulation and both flecked with stands of mainly pine woodlands. It’s not at all what I imagined. This, in 1918, was the front line between German and Allied forces. Today, dotted everywhere, it seems, are small, neat, well-tended war graveyards, nearly 500 in all – the Dartmoor Cemetery, the Norfolk and numerous Commonwealth War Graveyards wherein rest members of the Australian Cycle Corps and the Royal Fusiliers.

Down a narrow, winding lane I met a Welsh dragon, a memorial to 4,000 men of the 38th Welsh Regiment who perished here in July 1916, in the Battle of Mametz Wood. I’m taking pictures as a man approaches. Like me, he has the equipment of a professional photographer – Nikon, Volvo and a hungry look in his eyes. He is Marc Véron from Commenchon, working on a book about war memorials. At Villers-Bretonneux, he tells me, there is a huge Australian cemetery, where every year in March more than a thousand people gather from all corners of the world, to pay their respect. I did the same; there were young lads of seventeen from the Royal Lancashire Fusiliers and numerous other regiments, and others, alas too many others, for whom there was just a simple headstone saying ‘A Soldier of the Great War’ – no name, no regiment. Some died as late as 28th November 1918; ironically the Armistice was signed more than two weeks earlier.

It is difficult to know how to cope with a tour of the Battlefields of the Somme; it is certainly a moving experience, and the desire of people from many countries to remember those awesome times is as prevalent today as ever it was. Everywhere I went I encountered small groups of people wandering through the cemeteries or pausing in front of memorials. It’s a natural part of everyday life here.

I was moved to tears, I confess. My grandfather fought during, and survived, the last year of the war (he even played football for England against the Germans on Christmas Day, 1917), so I had more than a passing interest. But I have no wish to glorify war, and hoped that I wouldn’t find it being glorified here. I didn’t. There are numerous monuments to groups and individuals, the war graves, of course, and museums that explain what the war was about and how it was fought. But everything is done with good taste and evident respect for those who lost their lives: every cemetery has a visitors’ book and a register of those buried there.

In the hope of approaching the battlefields in a favourable light, both figuratively and photographically, I began by driving towards the Etangs de la Somme, an area of wildlife marshlands flanking the river that are Heaven on Earth for anglers, and, for anyone heading for the ‘Aire de Souvenir’, as it is known, something in the way of Nature’s valium. You can do it the other way around, of course, depending on whether you want your peace of mind before or after.

Dr Terry Marsh has written extensively for magazines and produced guidebooks for walkers to the French Pyrenees and the French Alps.

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Glass of bubbly in hand, I find myself relaxing by the waterside, soaking up the sun next to the hubby, while our two children play happily together in a field full of daisies.

I know what you’re thinking – I must be recounting a dream. Well, you’d be wrong. This was a real, idyllic and picturesque escape my family and I enjoyed in the French village of Aire-sur-la-Lys – just an hour’s drive from Calais. Our destination in Aire-sur-la-Lys was Lodges de Malbrough, which is run by the lovely Marie-Pierre Robin, who speaks very good English. This beautifully maintained site boasts two self-catering, open-plan lodges, each of which comes with its own small pond and free paddling boat to use, and a fully mobile barbecue. The living and catering facilities are top notch and the large balcony which wrapped around the waterside, and was more of an outdoor living area, proved a delightful retreat. We whiled away many a happy hour, lounging on deckchairs, soaking up the landscape, with glass of fizz in hand, watching our kids play in the sunshine.

It’s not only an extremely peaceful spot but also a great springboard to explore the best the area has to offer. Whether it’s the arts, history, striking architecture, food, wine, or outdoor pursuits that float your boat, you’ll be spoiled for choice – and all within an easy drive away.

What to see in Aire-sur-la-Lys

Just some of the places we enjoyed exploring were Bethune, Arras, Saint Omer, Houdain and Boulogne-sur-Mer.

The WW1 battlefields, trenches and memorials are also easily accessible from Air-sur-la-Lys as much of Pas de Calais, and the neighbouring Le Nord, was devastated in the conflict. It’s an unforgettable experience. And while I’d argue that it’s incredibly important, especially for younger genera­tions, to see the impact and fallout of war, it’s not for everyone. So if venturing onto the former battlefields is too upsetting, there’s far more to these regions for a fabulous family holiday.

The beautiful city of Arras is a fabulous, atmospheric, and architecturally striking place to visit – decimated during WW1 but rebuilt – but I’d advise allocating yourself a day to visit it, to include travelling time.

Bethune is equally as beautiful, with its 15th century sandstone belfry and amazing bell system, which you can explore. And in its historic Grand Place you can stand on the exact spot where proclamations were once delivered, as well as where the city guillotine used to stand. The architecture here is impressive, and just one of its many highlights is the Hotel de Ville – like Arras, Bethune was also devastated in WW1 but rebuilt – and in the estate agent’s with the blue facade in the same square you can also visit this city’s underground caves, too.

Nearby the atmospheric, old city of Boulogne-sur-Mer, with its fabulous walled streets and ramparts, is also home to the great Nausicaa Sea life centre. With 36,000 animals in a 5,000 sq m exhibition space and 4.5 million litres of water, it’s certainly impressive, and my children, aged eight and 10 loved it.

And at Lens there’s the Louvre-Lens displaying objects from collections at Musee du Louvre in Paris – there was a particularly fabulous touch­screen treasure hunt for the children to find objects, which kept my two entertained for at least an hour while we perused the exhibition.

If your children like the Go Ape centres in the UK, then you can bet they’ll love the pretty Parc d’Olhain at Houdain which has its own aerial tree adventure as well as a host of other activities, including golf and cycling.

Another, more relaxing family outdoor pursuit was exploring the marshes at Clamairais, St Omer, by traditional boat with ISNOR boat tours with a guide – and I can highly recommend the restaurant here also as we enjoyed a mouth-watering lunch.

And if the sun is shining you’re also within an easy drive of many seaside towns, like the chic 19th century resort of Wimereux; the fishing villages of Ambleteuse, and Audresselles; Cap Gris-Nez cliff; and Audinghen (Maison des Deux Caps).

Although, I have to confess that the highlight for us, as parents, was a tour of the petite Persyn juniper gin distillery in Houlle, where we sampled its delights (and brought some home!).

6 brilliant beaches on the Opal Coast
10 Fab places to eat out on the Opal Coast
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The Opal Coast in Photos

Prepare for your stay in Pas de Calais by visiting visit-pas-de-calais

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