Page 56 - History of War - Issue 05-14

WESTERN FRONT BATTLEFIELD TOUR

Ulster Tower, a memorial to the fallen men
of the 36th (Ulster) Division, Thiepval

is that history gradually gets diluted as each fascinating and heartbreaking ritual in itself, Day to play football and socialise with each
generation passes, until it’s virtually forgotten. Leger’s expert guides enhance the experience other. But it’s only when you embark on a tour
It’s for that reason that I like to “do my bit” by bringing the story to life in vivid detail. like this that you begin to engage with the
and scratch beneath the surface whenever I consider myself to be something of an story on a more emotional level. As you gaze
the opportunity arises – to fully uncover anorak when it comes to war-related matters, out across the fields where those men were
the characters and achievements of past fighting, you can imagine how they must have
generations. Having been a military fanatic felt knowing that back at home, the Christmas
from an early age, I find that battlefield tours I CONSIDER MYSELF TO BE AN tree was twinkling and the turkey was in the
provide an exciting opportunity to do just that. oven; and here they were, cold, desolate and
So when History Of War contacted me and ANORAK BUT EVEN I WAS LEFT with blood on their hands. Again, Leger’s guides
asked me to cover Leger Holidays’ All Quiet On are on hand to put their feelings into words,
The Western Front tour, I jumped at the chance. GOB-SMACKED BY SOME OF THE and explain how the truce came about, the
Vivid detail VIGNETTES AND REVELATIONS “celebrations” undertaken by the two sides, etc.
Elsewhere, we learned about Wilfred Owen’s
You don’t need me to tell you that this year is role in the Great War. The Shropshire-born poet
the centenary of the start of the First World War served on the Western Front throughout the
– what better time, then, to pay one’s respects but even I was left gob-smacked by some of conflict and wrote about his experiences in
on the former killing fields of Flanders and the the vignettes and revelations. For example, many of his poems, including Soldier’s Dream,
Somme? These form part of the tour – and everyone knows about the Christmas truce of Preface and Winter Song (from which the
while simply standing where those incredibly 1914, where soldiers from both the British and heading of this feature is taken), before being
courageous men lost their lives would be a German armies ceased fighting on Christmas killed in action in 1918. Leger’s tour takes
in the battlefield at Serre where Owen put down
his pen and replaced it with a rifle, and this
Thiepval Memorial, which – part of the experience really brought it home
like the Tyne Cot Memorial –
remembers missing soldiers to me that the draft did not discriminate: war
was not for hardened commandos who were
born to kill; it was for the everyman – and
woman – and anyone could lose their life fighting
for their country, whether they believed in the
cause or not (and, of course, many didn’t).

Shutterstock
The “Last Post Ceremony”
at Menin Gate, near Leper

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