http://manonthefence.wordpress.com/2010/10/16/legends-the-battlefields-of-the-somme/

 

 

think I would like to go and pay my respects

Very moving. Be better to go in 4 years though on the 100th anniversary.

My uncle, John Garwood, has been over many times researching and identifying where 'Pals' fell.

 

http://www.chorleypalsmemorial.org.uk/?page_id=5

Did a press trip there for some show I was working on. It's incredibly humbling the bravery of these men, set against the stupidity of their supposed leader and betters. That goes for the Germans too. Pointless waste of thousands of lives, that's what gets me.

 

 

 

Good find that pal,very interesting.Keep sayin' I'm gonna go over there and have a look at the D-Day sites but not got there yet.Hopefully one day.......

I found out recently my great uncle died in the war and is buried over there, he was only a lad. The government paid for his parents to go over to visit him when he was dying in hospital.

I'd like to see his grave and I never knew I had family who fought in any wars.

Of all the horrors from the trenches, the one that always chills me to the bone is the fact that thousands of men actually died by simply drowning in the mud. It was worse than a lake of quicksand.

 

The guys would fall in and that would be it. They were seldom saved.

 

Simply unimaginable.

_{my uncle was a foreign correspondent for the times. he brought some archive material round a bit back,showing a report on 3 great uncles(the fishers from deane) of mine who died in the first world war at gallipoli,and the fourth and only surviving great uncle hid under their bodies to avoid certain death. absolute waste of life and the newspaper article is heartbreaking. ive done the battle field tours and also auschwitz,,.....certainly makes you think}

what was the average age of a solider at the time?

not too sure but my great uncles were in their 20's. they're mentioned on the helles memorial for the missing. the times article gives more detail,as it was quite rare for 3 brothers to die in the same unit,which was the loyal north lancashire regiment. rip the fisher brothers from deane

When I was a lad it seemed ancient history but now at 47 the Great war was only the length of my life before I was born and the second world war a mere 20 years

 

We don't know how lucky we are and how much we owe these brave men, our forefathers.

 

Lest we forget!!!

Unbelieveable what these brave souls went through.

 

Nice one J. Have a +1.

No matter how much i moan, i'll always remember the fallen and think myself lucky, i've never had to fight in a World War, or lived through one.

What them brave men went through none of us here can even comprehend. Forever grateful to every last one of them.

 

Me and a mate was in Gelsenkirchen on the day of the England - Portugal quarter final in 2006. Without any exaggeration there must have been 50,000 England fans in this massive fan park they very kindly put on for us. In the build up to the game we were all enjoying ourselves singing Vindaloo, Three Lions, World in Motion and all that. Everyone being ultra patriotic. Anyway, about half an hour before kick off the very gracious German host handed the microphone over to two lads who had been serving out in Afghanistan. Over all the noise they reminded us that it was the 90th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme and asked if we would mind holding a minutes silence for those fallen. All the patriotic pandemonium fell silent. Not a pin drop. English and Germans in union. The most patriotic I have ever felt, but at the same time felt a bond with the Germans who evidently felt the sense of loss.

 

After the minutes silence the roar from the England fans gave you goosebumps.

What them brave men went through none of us here can even comprehend. Forever grateful to every last one of them.

 

Me and a mate was in Gelsenkirchen on the day of the England - Portugal quarter final in 2006. Without any exaggeration there must have been 50,000 England fans in this massive fan park they very kindly put on for us. In the build up to the game we were all enjoying ourselves singing Vindaloo, Three Lions, World in Motion and all that. Everyone being ultra patriotic. Anyway, about half an hour before kick off the very gracious German host handed the microphone over to two lads who had been serving out in Afghanistan. Over all the noise they reminded us that it was the 90th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme and asked if we would mind holding a minutes silence for those fallen. All the patriotic pandemonium fell silent. Not a pin drop. English and Germans in union. The most patriotic I have ever felt, but at the same time felt a bond with the Germans who evidently felt the sense of loss.

 

After the minutes silence the roar from the England fans gave you goosebumps.

 

Fucking hell, this has given me goosebumps!

Fucking hell, this has given me goosebumps!

 

 

germany in the world cup was one of the best trips in my life

germany in the world cup was one of the best trips in my life

 

 

the funniest being sneaking into germany via the czech republic at some back and beyond border crossing then the german police stormed the rattler and grabbed fenny on suspicion of murder, his face was a picture haha

I found out recently my great uncle died in the war and is buried over there, he was only a lad. The government paid for his parents to go over to visit him when he was dying in hospital.

I'd like to see his grave and I never knew I had family who fought in any wars.

 

Commonwealth War Graves Commission website is what you need (if you don't know where his grave is).

I used it to locate my grandfather's grave outside Ypres. My dad was just 5, his brother 2, and his sister 6 days old when he died. Life can be tough.

 

 

Commonwealth War Graves Commission website is what you need (if you don't know where his grave is).

I used it to locate my grandfather's grave outside Ypres. My dad was just 5, his brother 2, and his sister 6 days old when he died. Life can be tough.

I found out through having my family tree done and they located the grave too, ta. If anyone wants their family tree doing pm me and I'll give details. I can vouch it is fascinating and quite emotional. Thanks to it I now know all about a brave great uncle I never knew existed.

And these guys work in conjunction with CWGC so that anyone who can't visit a site can usually get pictures of the memorial, http://www.twgpp.org/

http://manonthefence...s-of-the-somme/

 

 

think I would like to go and pay my respects

 

You should do mate, if you have young un's take them aswell. A very moving experience, unexploded ordanance left right and centre. Here is one of the 1.5 MILLION! shells fired, together will a mills grenade.

http://manonthefence...s-of-the-somme/

 

 

think I would like to go and pay my respects

I went to Ypres in Belgium, with a tour of the trenches, cemeteries and was lucky enough to witness the last post.

 

Amazing experience.