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*** CL Ypres Trip - places available ***

2

Comments

  • Wonderful weekend.
    Thanks to Large for organising, to Clive for bringing the facts to life and to everyone else for being a great bunch.
    Looking forward to the next one already.
  • edited July 2017
    Fumbluff said:

    Great trip. Many thanks to @LargeAddick and @SE7toSG3 and to Greg.
    Put our names down for the Somme trip.
    Mr & Mrs Fumbluff (the quiet ones)

    Agreed. Brilliantly organised by @LargeAddick. @SE7toSG3 was suburb, with outstanding knowledge of world war one.

  • Can't thank @LargeAddick and @SE7toSG3 enough for this trip, which was a truly unique (NOT meaning weird!) experience.
    Having now seen the geography of the ground where my relative fought and died, and walked a little of it, I have such an enhanced appreciation of the situation he experienced.

    A great group of people as well - thank you all for your company.
  • I just want to add my thanks to everyone for making it a really enjoyable weekend. Particularly @LargeAddick for organising and @SE7toSG3 for a fascinating insight to The Great War. So much information and so many stories! Will look forward to the next tour.

  • This morning one of our visits was to Pond Farm, Langemark and we met the owner Stijn. He has appeared on TV - see UK TV Play Unearthing WW1 Series 1 Episode 1 Ypres. Since the programme was made Stijn has significantly added to his collection, as we saw today ....
  • An unforgettable trip. well organised (thanks Neal) and enhanced by Clive's details and humorous anecdotes. Nice people, nice place and even nice weather (no rain like on the protest visit) and the visit to Pond Farm a real gem. would be hard pressed to find another person with so much passion and enthusiasm for WW1 history.

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  • edited July 2017
    Just adding my thanks to all who came along, good company throughout and @LargeAddick's hard work to get it off the ground in the first place.

    It was a privilage to be able to meet new addicks, catch up with old friends and remember, not forgetting the money we raised as well.
  • Would also like to add my thanks to Neal and Clive for arranging and narrating what was a very enjoyable and informative trip in great company.
    Special mention to Clive on passing his homework test with flying colours, this was an unexpected bonus and very much appreciated by us both.
  • Want to echo what has already been said in the foregoing remarks. Thanks to Neal for arranging and thanks to Clive, who brought the stories to life (he must have been Hans Christian Andersson in his previous life).

    Good also to meet other fans and to put some faces to Charlton Life nicknames.
  • Was very moving, even for those of us who only visited in March. Forgot to say, that Stijn wanted us to sign his tank, names and where from, so had to do it as I liked the idea of Charlton being written on a Belgian tank. Like others, wanted to write "Roland out" but could not do it to Stijn.
  • Just wanted to add my thanks too. Made to feel very welcome, and will definitely be signing up early for the next one
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  • Just want to echo the previous comments and thank Neal and Clive for making this weekend trip possible. We returned home with a much greater understanding and appreciation of WW1. We are now inspired to research our own family members who fought in WW1 and WW2. Clive - would you be able to post links to the military research websites that you mentioned, please?
  • Best starting point is the Medal Index Cards, these are searchable on the National Archives website and will provide your relatives Rank, Number, Regiment and sometimes date he goes overseas.

    My pal Chris Baker has an excellent website www.longlongtrail.co.uk that is a very useful reference to the orders of battle and actions each battalion or unit fought in

    Then its either a trip to Kew (National Archives) to look at the medal rolls, service records (just over a third survived the Blitz), war diaries and pension returns. These should build up a picture of your relatives experiences.

    Alternately if you access to Ancestry.com you can pretty much do all of the above.

    Generally if a soldier was unlucky enough to die in service (about 1 in 6 sadly) then there are far more records available, The National Roll of Honour, Soldiers Died in the Great War and CWGC records to name three.

    Hope that helps, the Great War is far more accessible than 1939-45 where few if any personal records are in the public domain.

  • A big thanks to Neal for organising the trip and to Clive for the way he used his huge knowledge to deliver so many facts and thought provoking comments with down to earth south east London humour.

    Thanks also for arranging the visit to my uncle's grave at Lijssenhoek Cemetery on the 100th of his death.

    The vist to Colin Blythe's grave at Oxford Road Cemetery rang a few bells and I remembered a book I was given as a present which to my shame I have only previously flicked through. The book is entitled 'For Kent and Country' by Paul Lewis and it covers the military service and wartime deeds during the Great war of men who played for Kent County Cricket Elevens of this small group of men thirteen were awarded the Military Cross,three the DSO and there were 32 Mentions in Despaches. I am now going to read it with a much better undestanding.

    Point of order

    Hertfordshire humour surely?

    :smile:
  • Sorry Henry, I thought Clive was born in South East London and the family moved to Hertfordshire
  • I think that was Henry's little joke.
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Roland Out Forever!