Flanders Battlefield Tours - Genevra Charsley & Jacques Ryckebosch

06/06/2024

Brilliant footage of Richard Todd (one of my all time favourite actors), talking about his experience in Operation Overload: Battle of Normandy 👇

06/06/2024

"Invasion."
Penned by Cpl. F. J. Hills

As the ships crept o'er the sea
We lads knew where we would be.
All on board knew what to do
To land - to fight - to see it through.

We we neared the foreign soil.
The blood in us began to boil.
This was our chance - no one would shirk.
This time we would revenge Dunkirk.

Into the sea plunged tanks and Bren.
Followed by our fearless men:
Determined, every mother's son.
To do his job - to kill a Hun.

Some got their wish with more than one:
Some never even used their gun.
Before they could, poor chaps, they fell:
Of this invasion they ne'er will tell.

Comrade, may you rest in peace.
Afraid of neither man nor beast.
Your death has made a noble story.
Fought for honour, died with glory.

We will remember them...

28/05/2024

This wonderful gardener, Jo(h)n, will be retiring. He has spent 44 years working for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, 34 years of which has been gardening in Tyne Cot Cemetery. We shall miss his smile, wave and our chats very much. Reliable, loyal and hardworking. Thank you so much for your dedication! 👏👏👏

19/05/2024

On my afternoon bimble bypassing this wonderful Horse Chestnut, often it makes me think of Anne Frank and how in her diary May 1944 she wrote that through a window not blacked out: “‘Our chestnut tree is in full bloom. It’s covered with leaves and is even more beautiful than last year.’’

13/05/2024

On Saturday we took in areas where Driver Day along with another lost their lives when driving the transport wagon, which was subsequently hit by enemy shell fire. Laid to rest in Westhof Farm Cemetery, with his mate placing the original marker cross on his grave.

Sadly the personal belongings of Driver Day were transported on the ill fated H.M.S Barunga which was sunk by enemy action at sea. The letter sent to the family stated “This is all the more regrettable as the loss by the Barunga was the only instance in which any personal effects of deceased members of the A.I.F were lost in transit to Australia.” A total of 5,500 packages of personal items were lost.

06/05/2024

Maurice Seys, 21st August 1914 part of the 3rd Line Regiment attended lessons of the regimental school in Ypres. As a corporal he took part in the Battle of the Yser near Antwerp, then the Steenstraete offensive in Flanders, twice wounded. Eventually appointed as Sergeant, transferring to the 22nd Line Regiment. At the time of demobilization he was a non-commissioned officer, secretary translator Commander in Reinburg in occupied Germany.

His war decorations were: 8 front stripes and 8 war decorations 1914-1918 (Croix de Guerre, Médaille de la Victoire, Medaille de L’Yser.

During the inter war years Maurice was Deputy Commissioner rising to police Commissioner and eventually Chief of Police in Ostend.

In the Second World War Maurice was an active member of the Mills, Clarence and S.R.A. intelligence services, adviser to the Secret Army and clandestine press, eventually appointed to the rank of Deputy Intelligence and Action Agent 4thcategory.

On 7th February 1944 arrested by the German Security he stayed in the prison in Ghent until June and was then transferred to Ellrich, extermination sub camp of the Dora Concentration Camp in the Nacht und Nebel (Night and Fog: targeting political activists & resistance helpers) section. Consequently, dying because of maltreatment and hunger oedema on 18th March 1945.

05/05/2024

In 1939 members of the 147th Heavy Battery R.G.A. revisited the battlefields to the scenes of their triumphs and sorrows on the Western Front. The Battery Party traveled from Manchester and a wreath was laid at Belgian Battery Corner where a number of their comrades rest in peace. A toast was given to "Absent Comrades," with the gathering standing in silent tribute.

📸Belgian Battery Corner Cemetery, 2011

29/04/2024

Lovely to have received “Unbroken Glory” in the post today from Dr. Robert Winn Jones who recently joined Jacques on a tour. Looking forward to reading it and complements my existing books on the RND during the Great War.

25/04/2024

The sounding of the Last Post during ANZAC Day Dawn Service at the Buttes New British Cemetery, Polygon Wood.

25th April 2024

25/04/2024

Polygon Wood Cemetery and the Fifth Australian Divisional Memorial, the Buttes New British Cemetery.

Ypres Salient.

ANZAC Day 2024.

24/04/2024

Somewhat of a nippy start to a Spring day on the eve of ANZAC Day.

Temperatures fluctuated between 3c and 6c first thing this morning, coupled with bitter rain and a few hailstones. No such thing as ‘radiant’ weather here on the Ypres Salient for our ANZACS!

18/04/2024

"Went the day well? They died and never knew;
But well or ill, Britain, they died for you."

Tyne Cot Memorial & Cemetery: The Cost of War.

04/04/2024

Earlier today on the way back from my tour I stopped off at Dickebusch Lake, it was blowing an absolute hooley as I bimbled around the lake. In 1917 Dickebusch could hardly be described as a sanctuary from shells falling taking out men and horses, to the fighting of April 1918.

The Michelin Guide for the Ypres Salient refers to it as Dickebusch Pond, hardly a pond today as you can see, but a peaceful area to walk, nature which belies the fighting of the First World War.

02/04/2024

Bit of a blustery one out at Fromelles today. Like Langemarck German Cemetery the moat at Le Trou Aid Cemetery is flowing once again with water.

26/03/2024

👇

We have now confirmed the identification of human remains recovered during ordnance clearing at a construction site in Vendin-le-Vieil, France, as being those of Lieutenant Francis Henry Hemsley, a Canadian soldier of the First World War. The identity was confirmed through historical, genealogical, anthropological, archaeological, and DNA analysis. A few artifacts were found alongside the remains.

Francis (Frank) Henry Hemsley was born in Ealing, Middlesex, England, in 1880. He immigrated to Canada in 1911 and worked as a farmer near Prince Albert, Saskatchewan, before enlisting. Lieutenant Hemsley became a member of the 16th Battalion (The Canadian Scottish), CEF, in April 1917 and joined the unit in the field in France in May 1917.

The 16th Battalion fought at the Battle of Hill 70, which began on August 15, 1917, and continued for ten days. More than 10,000 Canadians were killed, wounded, or reported missing. During the battle, the 16th Battalion suffered 257 casualties including 62 members who were killed, 35 of whom have no known grave.

Lieutenant Hemsley was reported killed in action on August 16, 1917, at the age of 37. He was buried in an isolated grave, but the location of his grave was later lost. With family in attendance, Lieutenant Hemsley will be buried in July 2024 in the Commonwealth War Graves Commission's Loos British Cemetery in Loos-en-Gohelle, France, by members of The Canadian Scottish Regiment (Princess Mary’s) from Victoria, B.C.

Learn more: https://www.canada.ca/en/department-national-defence/news/2024/03/canadian-soldier-of-the-first-world-war-identified.html

24/03/2024

You learn something new every day! Not war in this case but horticulture on the battlefields.

Yesterday out on my tour I noticed blobs of bright yellow in the Hornbeam hedge at Vancouver Corner. It turned out to be Oregon Grape, the scent was beautiful. Indians & Pioneers used this for drink, medicine, food and dye, by the end of Summer the berry turns to a dark blueish colour. It’s natural habitat is to be found in lower foothills and wooded mountain slopes in moderately dry soil, which is anything but the Ypres Salient.

19/03/2024

No finer place to do a sleepover steeped in history 👇😍👌

18/03/2024

Good morning Monday! A lovely positive start to the day and week, feedback from one of our afternoon tours.

Have a good week everyone 🌞

05/03/2024

Another day out on the battlefields of the Ypres Salient.

02/03/2024

They say there’s a first time for everything…one for seafarers.

A Captain of the sea, in death not wanting to be buried in the ground. So his coffin was placed at surface level.

27/02/2024

The War Underground 1914 - 1918 by known historian Simon Jones.

This absorbing illustrated study reveals the evolving tactics and techniques used by all sides in the underground war during 1914–18.

Available for pre-order, official release date 23rd May 2024:

This absorbing illustrated study reveals the evolving tactics and techniques used by all sides in the underground war during 1914–18. Covering the Western Front…

25/02/2024

“Remember
Your Duty Is To See
Our Lives Have Not Been
Sacrificed In Vain.”

St. Valery en Caux Franco-British Cemetery.

The Winter flowering heather providing a flash of colour on a nippy Sunday.

24/02/2024

Hautot-sur-Mer memorial quoting First & Second World War, civilian victims, deportations, rather intrigued with S.C. Howard.

The design not one that you would generally come across in France, well, that is I haven’t until now.

20/02/2024

20th February 1944 in what was to be known as the “Big Week,” Leipzig between 3.15am and 4.20am was targeted by both American and British bombers.

Bombers exceeding 700 were used with an estimated 2000+ tons of bombs being dropped.

Sergeant Ernest William of 83 Squadron was one such British pilot to lose his life as a result of the operation.

His parents previously being informed he was missing, eventually received official notification stating he had been killed from a German list sent to the Red Cross Committee.

All seven occupants of the aircraft on that night were killed. Losses were reported in the papers to have been around 79 aircrafts.

Sergt. Bernard Curzon, his brother also serving with the RAF wrote a tribute to Ernest:

Greathearted he seized eagle’s wings
To cleave the upper air.
Aspiring to still greater things
Than earthbound men could dare.
A god of morning daunting high.
Unquenched heart of fierce desire,
And climbing still the sun-drenched sky.
As one who fain would leave the mire
That clogs the feet of lesser men.
His wings touched heaven...and then
The reaper sung his scythe, and took
That gallant heart whose smile was gay.
Whose every word and every look
Proved him a god that could not stay
Too long with feet earthbound.
Oh! There must be a paradise
Where men with gallant hearts and free
Can soar through higher, greater, skies than here.
And there must be still stronger wings to bear on high
Those noble hearts who pierced the sky.

Sergeant Ernest Curzon, who in civilian life was with the Winsford Post Office outdoor staff, today rests in peace in Flushing (Vlissingen) Northern Cemetery, the Netherlands.

19/02/2024

Notice from Hawthorn Ridge Crater Association

“On Friday not far from the Craters in no man’s land, we discovered some human remains.. Police were immediately notified & attended, followed by who conducted a prompt and thorough removal. All procedures correctly adhered to. Let’s hope it leads to an identification.”

Fingers crossed!

18/02/2024

Watched Will yesterday, based on a fictional book by a Flemish writer. Following two friends, mainly Will, both auxiliary police men in Antwerp during the Second World War.

Its worth watching especially for those that have never lived under occupation, highlighting the conflict of trying to do the right thing but caught up in the deception of it all, and those that profit from war.

An excellent film, difficult in some parts to watch as the story unfolds, and one that I’m sure will raise uncomfortable questions about roles within the war. It is a Flemish (Dutch) spoken film but there are English subtitles, on Netfix.

Filmed in locations of Antwerp, Charleroi and Mechelen. Today you can visit the Kazerne Dossin where deportations from Belgium to concentration camps occurred during the Second World War.

📸🌅 Netflix

12/02/2024

One amongst the thousands, pondering at the scale of all that they gave.

The going down of the sun on a Winter’s day at Tyne Cott. Cemetery.

10/02/2024

Yesterday evening Jacques and I attended a talk at the culture centre in Poperinge. The speaker was Dominiek Dendooven, currently at the In Flanders Fields Museum.

The talk was covering the British West Indies Regiment - Race and Colour on the Western Front.

All in Flemish I (Genevra - English speaking) was pleased that I was able to understand a good 85% of what was being said.

An excellent talk covering the raising of the regiment, areas they came from, requirements that were a necessity for being accepted into the army, sectors that they served in, those who survived, and those that did not survive were some of the elements included within the presentation.

I was able to purchase the book researched and penned by Dominiek Dendooven, great value for the information being imparted at only 20,00 euros. Well worth it if you wish to supplement existing knowledge or learn about something completely new!

Here’s a few photos from the evening which was well attended!

27/01/2024

Today is Holocaust Memorial Day: Camp de Bompard, Marseille, July 1942, for Jewish women and children from Germany, who came after 1933 to seek asylum in France. Sent on the orders of Vichy to the gas chambers of Auschwitz in August 1942.



📁L'Argonnaute

27/01/2024

Worth a visit to Naours, thoroughly interesting to see 👇