France / Belgium war memorial trip

[richengland]

Hi all. We are planning a short trip ( a week or so) to see some of the ww1 and 2 memorials / sites. We don’t really know that area well. Planning to arrive at Calais early March. Stupidly i missed the Black Friday tunnel deals! There will be 2 of us and the dog in a 7.5m motorhome. Any thoughts on where to stay , where to visit based on your experiences would be great. Many thanks

 

[LesW]

I would make Ipres my first stop, couple of decent overnight stops within walking distance of the town.

Get to Menin Gate for the eight o'clock bugles.

 

[royandsharont]

Bayeux is a good centralised place to see all the D-Day landing things with a nice site in the town itself.

I second Ipres, with many things to see in the area as well as the main Menin Gate. Great site or site in the town too.

 

[Jewellbags]

A must IMO - easy parking for a moho as well

https://maps.app.goo.gl/bAqSX3JoXiWymPpYA?g_st=ic

 

[Jewellbags]

Also Pegasus bridge museum and the museum at arromanche - in fact there’s loads

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[Lenny HB]

Passendale Memorial Park & Musem is well worth a visit, you can stop in the top car park, we often use it as a stopover when going that way.
The Commonwealth Cemetery is only 2 miles up the road.

 

[namwaldog]

Perhaps have a look at the Commonwealth War Graves website to see if you had a relative who fell.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission | CWGC

Welcome to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. We commemorate the 1.7M men and women of the Commonwealth that died during the First & Second World Wars.

www.cwgc.org

There is absolutely nothing like a personal involvement to make the visit more interesting.

Are there no family stories about 'Great Uncle Joe' falling in either war??

A word of warning..... if you are bitten by the Family History bug, it's hard to stop scratching it

Good Luck

 

[ChrisSue]

As LennyHB says there is loads.You might be better to focus on one campaign at a time. D Day. Or the breakout from Normany, The Ypres salient and it's three battles including Passchendale, the Somme, Band of Brothers including the breakout across the Cotentin. An unusual First World Wat one might be the German 1918 counter offensive and the Hundred Days leading up to the Armistice. St Symphorian War Cemetery in Mons have the graves of both the first and last British dead of WW1 very close to each other (Pvt John Parr, Middlesex Regiment 21/8/14 and George Ellison Royal Irish Lancers 11/11/18) Also have the graves of George Price a Canadian believed to be the last Commonwealth serviceman to be killed (he supposedly died of a wound at 10.58am just two minutes before the cease fire)
Just a few examples. Have you any family history in any of the areas?
One other thought. Once you have decided on an area read as many of its history as you can.
Feel free to message if you would like some ideas

 

[brynric]

You could easily spend a week in either of two key areas, the Normandy beaches for WW2 and the Ypres region for WW. There are already several very sensible suggestions. Both areas are filled with sites of significance and museums, some of which are stunning. The Normandy region is much more spread out. If you cycle its also possible to follow routes and trace the steps of some of the key events. Around Ypres especially there are some very poignant and emotive memorials which tell tales and add colour to the whole trip. The John McCrae Memorial site for instance marks the place where the "poppy poem"In Flanders Feels was written and is just beside the cycle able canal towpath.
Both area have a range of motorhome park options but of course they get very busy at certain times of the year. Our favourite is the aire at the Sports Stadium in Ypres (I think the ownership has just changed) where it's a short atmospheric walk along the town walls to the Menin Gate for the evening Last Post which is an unforgettable experience.
We've done both areas on several occasions (Ypres was a good call for the vets when we had a dog) but Mrs B finds the experience rather overwhelming after several days of cemeteries

 

[richengland]

As LennyHB says there is loads.You might be better to focus on one campaign at a time. D Day. Or the breakout from Normany, The Ypres salient and it's three battles including Passchendale, the Somme, Band of Brothers including the breakout across the Cotentin. An unusual First World Wat one might be the German 1918 counter offensive and the Hundred Days leading up to the Armistice. St Symphorian War Cemetery in Mons have the graves of both the first and last British dead of WW1 very close to each other (Pvt John Parr, Middlesex Regiment 21/8/14 and George Ellison Royal Irish Lancers 11/11/18) Also have the graves of George Price a Canadian believed to be the last Commonwealth serviceman to be killed (he supposedly died of a wound at 10.58am just two minutes before the cease fire)
Just a few examples. Have you any family history in any of the areas?
One other thought. Once you have decided on an area read as many of its history as you can.
Feel free to message if you would like some ideas

I’m hoping to get more understanding of family involvement, but I need to do more research, I know my grandad came back from France, but that’s about it

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[richengland]

Thanks for the info, im not expecting fun or sun, but I feel it’s an important experience

 

[Lenny HB]

If you want to do WW2 sites in Normandy best time to go is D - Day week in June. Loads of displays put on, WW2 vehicles and landing craft on the beaches, a great experance.

 

[ChrisSue]

If you want to do WW2 sites in Normandy best time to go is D - Day week in June. Loads of displays put on, WW2 vehicles and landing craft on the beaches, a great experance.

We've not gone at that time of year but would love to. Is it reasonably easy to find sites?

 

[MisterB]

Don't forget that many opposing forces were also killed, doing what they believed was the right thing to do and often required to 'sign up'. Ordinary people on both sides of wars.

There is a very poignant German military Langemark cemetery where the names of thousands of what were effectively schoolboys are memorialized, who were encouraged to go to war and never made it home.

My great grandfather died at Zillebeke Lake - though at the time it wasnt a lake, it was an RnR location away from the front, but was regularly shelled by the Germans. His name is on one of the far too many panels on the Menin Gate. I was surprised by the number of panels dedicated to overseas British forces and it made me think about their families who will never get the opportunity to spend a few moments at their Memorial.

 

[15edward]

We went quite a few years ago to DDay beaches at the end of March. We were surprised how strict the French campsites were about waiting til April 1st to open even though as I remember it was Easter just before. - a bit like this next year in fact!!! So fewer sites .. but we found plenty of stopping places- aires and wild camping. I watched Band of Brothers and read Wilson’s book and was glad I did - it provided a jolly good framework for me. Also we had Major and Mrs Holts guide which gave us some very interesting alternative places to visit - you can get their book very cheaply
I particularly remember la Cambe the German cemetery as vvery moving
And I had to opt out of the American cemetery - by the time we came to that I’d read too many names of young men under 25…

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[richengland]

Don't forget that many opposing forces were also killed, doing what they believed was the right thing to do and often required to 'sign up'. Ordinary people on both sides of wars.

There is a very poignant German military Langemark cemetery where the names of thousands of what were effectively schoolboys are memorialized, who were encouraged to go to war and never made it home.

 

[The Coops]

Camperplats Zilliebeke is where to stay in Ypres its next to the Zillibeke Lake and opposite Railway Wood casualty clearing cemetery, its quieter than the site camping Jeugdstadion or Garden Site I think its called now , its only a 15 - 20 min walk away. If staying in the Somme region CCP have a site next to the River Somme at Bray sur Somme which make a good base for the battlefield and the Petite Train etc. If you have pushbikes there are cycle paths through most of the areas so makes it easy, Maps are available from the tourist offices or the Vert Verde network. If doing Normandy there is a free aire at Luc Sur Mer, Lion sur Mer aire can get very busy

 

[richengland]

Now you have me thinking that my plan to head to Spain in June could be extended to include d day week. Now I have to think about where to go for a week or two in March

 

[herald_400rl]

We did this trip in school some 18 years ago and I still remember it quote vividly, round Ipes, Thiepval, Bombsite 42, etc. It's really moving.

 

[MisterB]

Camperplats Zilliebeke is where to stay in Ypres its next to the Zillibeke Lake and opposite Railway Wood casualty clearing cemetery, its quieter than the site camping Jeugdstadion or Garden Site I think its called now , its only a 15 - 20 min walk away. If staying in the Somme region CCP have a site next to the River Somme at Bray sur Somme which make a good base for the battlefield and the Petite Train etc. If you have pushbikes there are cycle paths through most of the areas so makes it easy, Maps are available from the tourist offices or the Vert Verde network

if you continue past the Aire, towards the lake, go past the hotel and you will come to a fishermans car park, we stayed there for a couple of nights, though it was a few years ago, with no issues whatsoever. The fishermen were very friendly (though arrived early in the morning).

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[richengland]

Don't forget that many opposing forces were also killed, doing what they believed was the right thing to do and often required to 'sign up'. Ordinary people on both sides of wars.

There is a very poignant German military Langemark cemetery where the names of thousands of what were effectively schoolboys are memorialized, who were encouraged to go to war and never made it home.

My great grandfather died at Zillebeke Lake - though at the time it wasnt a lake, it was an RnR location away from the front, but was regularly shelled by the Germans. His name is on one of the far too many panels on the Menin Gate. I was surprised by the number of panels dedicated to overseas British forces and it made me think about their families who will never get the opportunity to spend a few moments at their Memorial.

That’s a very good point, I guess often overlooked

 

[DandJ]

7 miles from Ypres is a town called Poperinge, home to a marvellous place called Talbot House, well worth a visit (as is the town square) You can actually stay at the house, a sort of hostel/hotel....obviously no good when you have the van with you.

Every Man's Club

Discover a museum where the past lives on combined with a guesthouse in an authentic British soldiers' club, right in the historical heart of Flanders…

www.talbothouse.be

I'd heartily recommend some of the smaller CWG cemetaries as opposed to the normal trip to Tyne Cot etc.
There are quite literally hundreds.

Prowse Point Military Cemetery | Cemetery Details | CWGC

Prowse Point Military Cemetery | Cemetery Details | CWGC

www.cwgc.org

Sanctuary Wood Cemetery | Cemetery Details | CWGC

Sanctuary Wood Cemetery | Cemetery Details | CWGC

www.cwgc.org

There is also the huge area of the Somme, Arras (the Carrier Wellington is extraordinary to visit. https://www.carrierewellington.com/ ), Albert etc
Vimy Ridge is well worth a visit, they do regular tours done by Canadian students who spend a few months over in France working at their countries little piece of France. Staggering how close some of the front line trenches were to the enemy.
Thiepval Memorial is also worth a visit.

There is much to see....and that's just WW1

 

[Rapido925M]

I took a coach load of pupils for a day trip which included the V rocket launcher at Eperlecques and the “In Flanders Field” museum.
My main memory is a boy in one cemetery saying “Sir this is really sad: all these soldiers who died were from the same family! John Brown Rifleman, David Green Rifleman, Sam. Jones Rifleman, Gary Williamson Rifleman, (etc)”. Band of Brothers?
Innocence is enlightening.

 

[stevewagner]

Next year there will be many special WWII commemorations both here and in Europe, as it’s 80 years since the end of the war. We do D day stuff almost every year and always find something new. If you only have a week I would concentrate on one campaign. One of our favourite WWI sites is the Canadian was memorial, museum and trench tours which are all free and fascinating.

 

[Lenny HB]

We've not gone at that time of year but would love to. Is it reasonably easy to find sites?

Never had a problem, when we did the 70th anerversy they opened fields for Motorhomes, free of course.

Here is me posing somewhere in Normandy.

And a few shots from the 70th.

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