A worthwhile B&B on the Somme battlefields

In the tiny village of Martinpuich, famous for boasting more cows than people, a new guest house has opened in the main street, not too far from the church. It is run by John and Jennie KNIGHT, both British WW1 enthusiasts with personal connections to the area; Jennie having recently discovered a family link to the British burials in Martinpuich -uncanny really, and a further reason to believe that this is where they belong.. The house has been extensively renovated and is very roomy and welcoming. Guests can eat in the huge dining room with a poppy red ceiling and discuss their day's battlefield visits, and research is also possible via John's huge library. There are three double rooms, all with ensuite bathroom facilities. Jennie's cooking is good, I can vouch for that personally. Martinpuich is ideally situated as it is not too far from the A1 motorway exit in Bapaume. Once in Bapaume follow directions for Albert. Martinpuich is the last village in the Pas-de-Calais department on the Roman Road that enters the Somme at Courcelette. TEL 0033 3 21 15 37 70 if you are outside France, otherwise 0321153770 if you are in France. Visit their website which is full of useful information: www.silentpicket.com

Felicia's Garden (Le Jardin de Félicie) in Maricourt

SOMME 80
On the road linking Maricourt with Longueval there is a haven of blooms and greenery where you can pause a while, slake your thirst and mooch around discovering the manifold aspects of this unusual garden.
The current owner of the property has named the garden after a lady who used to live there. Félicie is now dead and lies in Maricourt cemetery, having witnessed three wars in her lifetime:
1870-71, 1914-1918 and 1939-1945.

The concept of Felicia's garden is that visitors can walk through the gate, explore the garden with or without the owner, choose one of the many curious corners to sit down in and then order refreshments. The garden is seemingly endless and is a very a curious shape. I particularly like the unusual decorative aspect to it - which is always unexpected. You just don't know what is around the corner. It is a good place to take children as they can explore quite happily while you take the weight off your feet and sip a cup of tea (made up of very interesting blends ie. black tea with poppy, almond and biscuit) or gulp down some organic pear or apple juice from the orchards in nearby Suzanne.

My daughter was fascinated by the cute chalet shop where you can buy souvenirs made from natural products (blackcurrant flavour sugar for example) and decorative objects for your garden. Equally fascinating was the organic toilet that incites us to teach our children about ecological issues.

My French husband, who thinks we British spend too much time sitting in cafés and tea rooms drinking tea (and who has to be dragged to a table), was very impressed, no doubt seduced by the very rural setting.

Le Jardin de Félicie is open from May 1st to 31st August

Tuesday / Wednesday / Thursday from 2pm until 7pm

Friday / Saturday / Sunday and Bank Holidays from 10am until 6pm

TEL: 0322831579
EMAIL: Grisette80lejardin.defelicie@orange.fr

You can combine a visit to the garden with a trip to the new Maricourt monument, put in place by the Somme Remembrance Association, marking the exact point on the frontline in 1916 where French and British troops joined up for the attack which formed the onset of the Somme offensive.

It is worth adding that walking groups are welcome, with their packed lunches, but I encourage you to purchase something to drink and visit the shop.

Pozières: The Sound & Light Show 2011

This year the S&L show was held for the 5th time and the various volunteers that give up so much of their time to prepare and put on such an event are to be congratulated for their enthusiasm and sincerity in dealing with the subject of Remembrance.
This year some elements of the original show of 2006 remained: the story of the Australian officer Percy Cherry, a typical French village's reaction to the news of the war and the very moving scene at the end involving the Dorgelès Wooden Crosses. It doesn't matter how many times that final scene appears; it always brings tears to my eyes, and the message delivered is very important. We are reminded that every life snuffed out by war is the end of a human being with a past and a present, a family, a job, a home - but sudddenly no future. The current casualties in Afghanistan and Iraq do not allow us to take such a message lightly.

The new scenes in 2011 were devoted to the footballers of McCrae's battalion in the Royal Scots with a well choreographed football match on the stage. The boat reappeared from 2010's show, bringing the Aussies home, and the tank built by the octogenarian André and his helpers was part of the scenery for the first time. It will undoubtedly be reused as such a magnificent prop cannot sit in a barn and be wasted.

Barry, visiting from Australia to foster more links between his country and the tiny village that saw so much Australian bravery and suffering, told me that the next S&L show will take place in 2013, thereby giving those involved time to take a break and work on new ideas for the next performance two years hence.

140 years on from the Battle of Bapaume 1871-2011

A conference was held in the Town Hall in Bapaume to mark the 140 year time lapse between now and the key battle that took place in the villages around Bapaume before involving the town itself, on January 3rd 1871, during the Franco-Prussian War.
The main action occurred in the village of Biefvillers-lès-Bapaume and the speaker, an elderly gentleman, explained how much he regretted not having interrogated his grandmother who had lived in the aforementioned village and who was 11 years old at the time of the battle.
To learn the remaining facts we have to rely on Bapaume's Archeological Society, who actively research and promote the history of their region: the Seuil de l'Artois (the Artois threshold).
The conference took place in the impressive hall on the first floor of Bapaume's Town Hall where Armand-Dumarescq's magnificent painting of the struggles in the aforementioned village covers a huge back wall.
We learned that the artist hadn't simply invented the scene but had taken the trouble to interview eye witnesses to get an accurate acount of events.
We were reminded of the terrible conditions facing the French soldiers: temperatures were constantly well below freezing, reaching minus 10 and beyond during the winter of 1870-71 - and thick snow lay all around. We also learned how badly shod they were. This detail really shocked me. It was a case of literally shooting oneself in the foot because the French companies who were paid to produce footwear for their army decided to take the money and cut corners. They used poor quality materials such as cardboard to line shoes that were designed, in theory, for battle-weary men. This obviously hindered an army that was fighting in the cold and wet.
Many critics say that General Faidherbe was wrong not to consolidate the ground gained by advancing into Bapaume, but he took a decision to withdraw, given the poor physical condition of his men. He decided to retreat to where his troops would be able to get some much needed rest.

Another interesting piece of information gleaned from the conference was the fact that the men who fought the French were in fact Polish soldiers under the command of Prussian officers. Having been told by the Prussians that the French would take no prisoners (not true); they were reluctant to surrender and prolonged the battle in the various dwellings in the village, instead of waving a white flag.

Today the vestiges of this battle are to be found on the Arras Road where an impressive monument stands. There is also a monument to the Fallen French soldiers in the local town cemetery in Bapaume together with an interesting momument to a German officer named Sigmund Oden.

Paula Flanagan

Progress for the 12 men of IRON

In a recent article the story of the twelve men of Iron, a village in the Aisne department, was related. This is recounted in much more detail on Hedley Malloch's own website, also quoted in the recent article, which explains the efforts being made to reach a number of objectives:
- to restore and improve Vincent Chalandre's resting place in Guise's local cemetery
- to finance and create a memorial in the village of Iron dedicated to the British and Irish soldiers and the French men and women who came to their assistance, in spite of the danger thay were putting themselves in
- to turn the execution site on the chateau grounds into a memorial site that could take the form of a permanent camp (with new facilities) for the historical projects undertaken there with teenagers, under the leadership of Rosalind Guillemin, a British citizen based in Guise with her French husband.

Hedley Malloch is committed to ticking each of these objectives and being able to say: DONE.

We are very happy to report that the Mayor of Guise, Mr Hugues Cochet, has come up trumps and done the paperwork to allow Chalandre a decent burial place. The above photos show the work that has been done by Guise's council together with pictures of the British and Irish soldiers' graves.
All were executed by the German occupiers in the First World War. They all lie together in Guise's town cemetery.

After fixing an explanatory plaque to Chalandre's grave, Hedley will try to tackle the remaining two objectives on his list.

Welcome to Siberia-sur-Somme

Yes, the pictures say it all! We have been snowed in. The road from Courcelette to Martinpuich then on to Longueval tells the tale of so many Somme villages between Christmas and the New Year.
One of my life's ambitions is to go to Iceland. Well, what a foretaste this was.
PF

The show must go on.... let it snow!

It began snowing in Germany on the Thursday, then in France on the Somme on Friday. PANIC STATIONS!!!
This meant that Wolfgang and Gaby couldn't get out of Dortmund.
It snowed on the day of the Christmas Truce Carol Service. More panic. Mr Frédéric Pelletier, always one to err on the side of caution, advised me to cancel the event. WHAT! after all our hard work? After all the money spent so far? (by myself I add - there are no subsidies)
After all our rehearsals in the cold? No we can't - I thought. If the soldiers could sing carols in snow-filled trenches, we can sing carols in a church surrounded by snow. I'll improvise I said to myself.
But I didn't need to.
If organising four yearly Christmas Truces has taught me one thing it is that I have had the humbling pleasure of knowing and working with some really delightful and loyal people. I was amazed at who managed to turn up. Braving the snow and ice and slippery roads, they made their way to Pozières and stuck around for both the musical Truce and the Truce buffet in the Tommy.
We were sad not to see the orchestra from the Combles district and many of the children from the Notre Dame Primary School in Bapaume; but it wasn't going to stop us.
We started off with a couple of videos projected onto the ceiling, most notably Man in the Mirror with its very thought-provoking images. The pipers, dressed in magnificent costumes bought especially for the Truce, entered the church playing I'm Dreaming of Home from the Film based on the Truce. This year the film-producer's cousin was in the church, so maybe she will give us some good publicity. The 2010 Christmas Truce Carol Service had begun.
A roller coaster of emotions and experiences was launched. From the solemnity of Stille Nacht and Entre le boeuf et l'âne gris we moved over to the speedier rhythm of Deck the Halls, Mary's Boy Child (Boney M version), I believe in Father Christmas and the rocking 99 Luftballons whose inclusion was incredibly timely. The song describes the cold war tension between the former two Germanies; a situation echoed by events in North and South Korea at this very moment in time. Our balloons didn't get any higher than the ceiling in the church but it was a fascinating sight for the children present. They were also given treats by our piper santa Jean-Luc SAINT, who went about giving everyone sweets during the service. Bless his cotton sockettes.

Powerful images of despair and hope and of war and peace were projected onto the ceiling. The feel-good story of 2010 was celebrated in this way with the release of the Chilean miners. This story reminds us of human solidarity and cooperation in adversity. The man of the hour was Manuel Gonzalez: the rescuer who volunteered to go down into the mine to help prepare the miners for their ascension. He was left alone down there after the rescue and was the very last to leave the underground prison. He was wise enough to tell the Chilean President that this should never happen again. Sadly 29 miners in New Zealand perished underground just before our Truce. Lessons need to be learned.

So many people deserve thanks for their work to make the Truce a success. I am indebted to so many people. They know who they are! They provided the music, the voices, the dance routine... the sound system. They also travelled difficult roads to get to Pozières, some coming from Lille and England.
A special thanks to Dominique Zanardi who lets us use the Tommy free of charge. His contribution is immense.
The photos attached to this article were taken by Nadia, Cathy Destarkeet, Claudie Llewellyn and Philippe Duban - merci à vous!

Who knows what will happen in 2011! I am thinking of buying a 4x4! Perhaps we all should.
BY PAULA FLANAGAN