is a blog that accompanies our 35 day, 10 country pilgrimage through Europe to retrace the footsteps of our grandfather in WWII, our great-grandfather in WWI and other Canadian servicemen. It is our way to honour our grandfathers and all those who served in both wars.
Welcome everyone - to my new blog. This is my first attempt at public writing and blogging however, with the help of a blogging course under the instruction of a gentleman extremely knowledgeable in the subject Mr. Karl Plasz, I am hopeful you will find the blog both informational and inspirational. In school, English was a challenge. I think key building blocks were missed as a result of moving several times during the school years. To that, I apologize beforehand should the punctuation be incorrect or the grammar for that matter but I truly hope it won't be too great of a distraction. History: My oldest brother Bill and I have been planning a trip to Europe for some time now to check out battlefields and cemeteries of the Great War. We agreed that exploring places that our Grandfather would have been in during his involvement in World War II would make the trip even more special. Through our research we have discovered that 1) our great-grandfather Timothy Smith served ...
Day 24 - Sept 20, 2017: Mons and Area to the Netherlands Mons Town Hall The British first engaged the German forces in Mons in 1914. The Canadians were in Mons when the Great War came to an end at 11:00 on 11 November 1918. Lt Col. Arthur Curry addressed the men in the Town Hall Square on that day. A plaque is mounted in the entrance of the Town Hall commemorating the Canadians in the Great War Private George Price Ville-sur-Haine is a small town near Mons. It was here that the last soldier of the Great War was killed at 10:58 on 11 November 1918. He was a 26 year old private by the name of George Price and was a member of the 28th Battalion CEF - same battalion as our Great Grandfather Timothy. A memorial stands near the spot he was killed. As Bill and I were looking at the the monument a local Belgique lady who lived across the street called us over. She showed us a nicely framed picture she has of Private George Price. That was amazing! She only spoke Fren...
Day 26 - Sept 22, 2017: To Arnhem and Area Editors Note: Photos and edits to come Today we made our way to Arnhem. After the battles at the Schelt Estuary the boys were stationed in this area near Nijmegen. The Canadians had to wait for supplies. Although the port of Antwerp was opened, the supplies went to support other Allied forces who had completed bitter battles, endured the coldest winter on record and suppressed the final German military offensive in the Ardennes. Groesbeek Canadian War Cemetery/ Groesbeek War Memorial Burials: 2617, Canadians: 2338 Those laid to rest in the cemetery are the result of casualties of the NorthWest Europe campaign from the crossing of the Seine River in August 1944 to the end of the war. It was humbling as there were a great number of Canadians laid to rest here - the most we had seen up to this point - including a Victoria Cross recipient. Sgt Aubrey Cosens,VC from Latchford, Ontario. ...
Comments
Post a Comment