Family holiday to WW1 Battlefields

[loobylou]

I just found the museum/cemetery that we found amazing - it's in Fromelles (dd remembered because there's a statue just out of town that's very moving)
https://www.musee-bataille-fromelles.fr/?lang=en" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;
I asked my children what we should have done differently and they said that they would not have wanted to miss out much of what we did. However they would both say that they would have liked more guided tours as the guides we did have were very knowledgable and good.
They both agree that Beaumont Hamel, Fromelles, Tyne Cot and Ypres were the things that most affected them but also some of the little roadside cemeteries.
They both said that Vimy Ridge was worth seeing if you have time.
What we did was drive down to the Somme first (Beaumont Hamel etc) then drove up via Fromelles to Ypres and Tyne Cot and that worked very well. There are lots of little hotels and Air BNBs around to stay in.

[BucksBornNBred]

Thank you for all your advice - I am currently researching it all. I did find the photos on JHGS website, G55, so I am just trying to match them up with images of cemeteries online. I am worried that if we visit too many then DS will get history overload I just need to restrict it to one or two and maybe a trench too. My Grandad did fight at The Somme so that might be a good one, but still drawn to Passchendaele as it may be a more moving connection. Having said that, I am trying to plan a relaxing holiday not a history trip!

[solimum]

A few links which might be helpful

This site http://www.greatwar.co.uk/ypres-salient ... y-wood.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; was one we visited where there seemed to be a school party running around - it's privately owned by the original farmer's family and less "tidy" therefore than some of the more gleaming and carefully curated displays elsewhere (and no doubt lots of debate between historians on authenticity vs preservation!)

This https://www.cwgc.org/find-a-cemetery/ce ... -cemetery/" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; is one of the numerous small cemeteries dotted across the landscape, and is where my great-great uncle Percy is buried - it was my first experience of tracking down a particular relative's grave - (very efficiently thanks to the comprehensive info provided by the CWGC), and very moving looking out across the landscape that looked so peaceful and yet must have been a scene of complete carnage and devastation a century earlier


This http://www.greatwar.co.uk/french-flande ... quarry.htm" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false; is the underground museum on the outskirts of Arras which was also fascinating

[Aethel]

It’s not WW1 but if you end up in Northern France consider a trip to La Coupole: an incredible and moving museum (though be warned the Holocaust section is graphic and upsetting). It’s set in an enormous concrete bunker that used to house some of the largest cross-channel missile launchers that sent V1 and V2 rockets over to England.
It was built using the local French for slave labour and now houses a huge exhibition of the rockets, the Occupation, and the events and aftermath of WW2 upon France.

We see so much history told from England’s point of view that it is fascinating to see it retold from the point of view of those who lived through (and sometimes didn’t make it through) the different circumstance of prolongued Occupation.

[Aethel]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/La_Coupole" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

[BucksBornNBred]

Thank you, Aethel. DS is interested in WW2 as well, so this could be worth a visit

[Snowdrops]

Go on the website called (wait for it ) Great War Forum. They are the experts on the Great War. There are also some school teachers on that site. Between everyone on there you will no doubt be inundated with places to go, places to stay, places to miss and what’s open and when.

There are some (60% got burnt during WWII) soldiers papers available on the family history websites such as Ancestry and Find My Past and if he was injured there is a better chance of finding your relatives details. Certainly you should find his medal card at the very least.

Also, if you go on the website called The Long Long Trail it’s a good place to start looking at your relatives regiment. It’s possible to download most war diaries from the National Archives website (costs £3.50 each download). These diaries are excellent in that they tell your whereabouts your rellie was on a day by day basis and what they were doing. If your rellie was an officer there’s a chance they could be mentioned in the diaries, for a ranked soldier it’s rare.

If you gather all the information you can you could plan a trip based on his movements. If you need any help I’d be glad to do so, where I can, or point you in the right direction. I have membership to Ancestry and will gladly look up things or send you links.

[BucksBornNBred]

Thank you Snowdrops. Fantastic idea as I didn't think of that (or find the forum). I am lucky that I have his service numbers and his honourable discharge certificate and I (think) have placed him at Passchendaele based on his brigade - I was always told he lost his foot there, later amputed to the knee and I certainly remember his wooden leg sitting in the corner of the room!

Would you mind if I PM you with what I know to see if I am on the right track (I am new to all this ancestry research and just thought it would be a good way to enthuse my DS for a different kind of holiday - and he does seem to approve so far )

[solimum]

Another "Ancestry" user here - be warned, it's addictive....

[Guest55]

There's a lot of false information on Ancestry - you can only rely on actual records not much of the rest. It's free at your local library so there's no need to sign up.