We drove through the Valley of the Somme today from St Quentin, to Peronne where we visited the museum, then on to Pozieres to the Australian Memorial. As we drove we passed numerous large and small military cemetries and memorials on the side of the road. I just shook my head at the waste when I read at the Ausralian Memorial to the 1st Division at Pozieres that they lost 22 000 casualties in the weeks they were there. It so happened that the attack on the place where the memorial was later placed occurred on the 23rd July, 1916, today’s date.
Just down the road a couple of kilometres, was Mouquet Farm. It was a quiet little place with sheep grazing on the low hill, a row of trees along the ridge and a small farmhouse near them. Potatoes grew in the fields and wheat shone in the sunshine below the storm clouds. There were 5300 casualties when the Australians attacked this farm where the Germans were in a maze of tunnels and trenches.I felt a lot of ghosts here. Like yesterday It is hard to realise this place was any other way.
The thing about driving through this area is that it’s a such a beautiful place. We stopped on the banks of the Somme where some men were camped, fishing under the willow trees. Worth fighting for, I guess. Driving back to Amiens, I thought I could have been travelling between Toowoomba and Warwick.
We listened to the Tour on French radio so made a bee-line towards the hotel and watched the last half hour of the race on TV. Cadel Evans wins Le Tour. Can you believe it? The Australia II of cycling
A hurried plan was made.
1. Book another night in Amiens.
2. Catch a fast train to Paris.
3. Sit on the pavement of the Champs Elysées and tick off another big moment.
Have fun on the Champs Elysées today guys. I’m only a little bit jealous.
Yeah me too! Hope you get a good seat!!