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 10 - Sept 6, 2017: Normandy and Area Arques la Bataille British Military Cemetery We passed by a the Arques la Bataille British War Cemetery and decided to check it out. It was on the top of a hill overlooking the countryside enroute to Normandy, not far from our B&B. This cemetery, as are all other CWGC cemeteries, was well groomed, neat and abundant with flowers. It was filled primarily with members from the South African Labour Camps as well as Chinese labourers and a few members of the Indian navy from the Great War. Le Grand Bunker Musee at Ouistreham We moved on to the Grand Bunker Museum at Ouistreham. On display here is a landing craft that was restored for the movie "Saving Private Ryan". Standing inside gives you a feel for just how unprotected the soldiers were. There is extremely little keel to these and are basically a flat bottomed boat. It would be a bear to steer and would truly be at the mercy of the winds and seas. This...
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. ...
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