It is difficult to find appropriate words to report a trip to the battlefields of the Somme. Words like enjoyable, interesting, educational, are almost irreverent. Seeing the places where one million people were wounded or killed cannot be described as uplifting, but our visit to Albert in the Somme department of Picardie was one that I would not have missed. The whole region is part of the Circuit of Remembrance, and the memorials are beautifully kept. Battlefield tourism is big business at the moment - but how could it not be when there are so many centenaries coming up over the next four years.
Before we had even reached our destination of Albert we caught sight of the Franco-British Memorial at Thiepval. This was hardly surprising as it is the largest British war memorial in the world
Before we had even reached our destination of Albert we caught sight of the Franco-British Memorial at Thiepval. This was hardly surprising as it is the largest British war memorial in the world
It was designed by Sir Edwin Lutyens, and is mainly of brick faced with stone. Over 72,000 names of the missing are engraved on the stone. Sir Edwin was a great architect, but not so good at choosing bricks, and they have all had to be replaced over the years. We were travelling with our friend Ally, who is a local historian, and she pointed out to us the name of a Bevois Mount soldier - MD Batchelor. He died in November 1916 aged nineteen.
The Thiepval memorial is very impressive against the skyline. It also has an excellent visitor centre with computer database.
As we entered the charming little town of Albert, it was difficult to imagine the scale of devastation that occurred just one hundred years ago. The Basilica of Notre-Dame de Brebieres dominates the centre, and has an amazing interior. The original was built in 1895.
As we entered the charming little town of Albert, it was difficult to imagine the scale of devastation that occurred just one hundred years ago. The Basilica of Notre-Dame de Brebieres dominates the centre, and has an amazing interior. The original was built in 1895.
The Basilica was completely destroyed in 1918, along with the whole town. After the war the Basilica was rebuilt according to the original design including the Golden Virgin statue
There is a very famous story attached to the statue of Mary and the baby Jesus. It was hit by a shell in 1915, and spent most of the rest of the war in a horizontal position. Superstitions then grew around what would happen if the statue fell. The British said that whoever made the statue fall would lose the war, and the Germans said that whoever made the statue fall would win the war. The statue was destroyed by the British in April 1918 in order to stop the Germans using the tower as a machine gun post.
Albert has some very interesting medieval tunnels. These were used as air raid shelters during the Second World War, and now house the Somme 1916 museum. The museum is fascinating - it has tableaux of trench life, both German and British, as well as many artefacts from that time
Albert has some very interesting medieval tunnels. These were used as air raid shelters during the Second World War, and now house the Somme 1916 museum. The museum is fascinating - it has tableaux of trench life, both German and British, as well as many artefacts from that time
The trench art was particularly appealing with some beautifully decorated shell cases. The ingenuity of some of these pieces was amazing.
The museum has tried to recreate what life might have been like in the trenches, but of course that is impossible. As we left the museum through the public gardens we saw the 1916 mural painted in 1996 by Albert Mac Carton