Hi Fellow travellers,
Has any one visited the WW1 memorials near Amiens?
I am a grand daughter of a WW1 Digger and I am keen to visit the area in particular the village if Villers Bretonneux.
Thanks
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I think it might be possible in one day if you have a rental car, it is a good 150 km (~100 miles) north of Paris and since the entire region hosts memrial/museums/battlefields you will be more flexible. None of the tour companies in Paris propose this kind of excursions unfortunately...
This website might help you plan an itinerary:
http://www.somme-battlefields.co.uk/en/
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I am from Amiens and unfortunately was never able to visit them as i don%26#39;t drive. So you need a car. I think now a company has been created to show people around, i may do that one day. I think it start from Albert.
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Hiya Sally
I went there at the end of December 2005. Its not easy to get around without a car. There are plenty of group tours that visit the battlefields and memorials leaving Aus and the UK, but I cant find any details of day tours from Amiens. I%26#39;m sure there must be some though.
I know there is a bus that pasess the memorial (I saw it), but I have no idea what bus it is (and from where). The memorial is only about 1k out of Corby, so it%26#39;s not a huge hardship to walk. You can%26#39;t go up the tower at the main memorial any more (building work needed), and there%26#39;s a spelling mistake on the plaque installed a couple of years ago (like I can talk...), but it%26#39;s a trip well worth taking.
I am assuming you have found this www.villers-bretonneux.com/Australian.htm
(but it%26#39;s there just in case).
If youre the same age(ish) as me, you will be amazed at how many of the placenames are familiar. Every kilometre of so there is a sign for somewhere where your response is %26quot;I remember that name%26quot;. My Grandfather was a Tommy in WW1 - injured at Ypres and the Somme, and the sight of all those crosses made me realise just how lucky we are.
I was fortunate - I wasnt looking for a family name, but the name of someone whose brother lived in the same town as I did in Qld. You may want to contact the Australian War Memorial in Canberra if youre looking for a particular person - the sheer enormity of the task of looking for 1 name will produce tears. There is a book at each of the memorials telling where individual graves are, but there are a lot of cemetaries, and they arent cross linked.
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Thank you Wizard,Raphy and Kasthor.
Your advice is invaluable.
I have accessed the Villers Bretonneux site and found out a lot about logistics.
Also we will go up to Menin Gate in Belgium for the %26#39;last post%26#39;.
I have looked up my Grand Father%26#39;s best mate on the Australian War Memorial site and have his burial details at Herbecourt.
Thanks again.My children are 10 and 12 years of age and will certainly learn alot from the experience.
Change of plan- 1 to 2 nights stay perhaps based in Albert or Ypres.Not a day trip.
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I think it is a good idea to plan an overnight stay or two, also going to Ypres, the museum is fantastic, there is a website I can%26#39;t remember but search for %26quot;flanders fields%26quot;.
I think your kids are in a good age to get the most of it and it will also give you the opportunity to visit the french country side.
I hope you enjoy it and maybe you can share a report afterwards to tell us what you did finally.
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How did your trip go. Could you let us know as doing same in December this year. Please advise on how it paned out.
thanks
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