Day 3

Up at 6:15 am



Breakfast was decent and kids really haven't complained too much about the 2 meals they've had....they are getting to know French  cuisine.....

last night it was chicken and pasta. Plain pasta with no  sauce, I remembered from my previous trip that unless you go out and unload some

coin in a fine restaurant, the French are very plain and bland when it comes to every day meals...Julia Childs may disagree but I now understand

Max’s infatuation with plain pasta and ketchup...it’s not that bad!!! Thank goodness for the ketchup.



7:45 AM and off to Beaumont Hamel... Beaumont-Hamel is home to the Royal Newfoundland regiment’s main memorial in France.  Of the

five memorials established in France and Belgium in memory of major actions fought by the 1st Battalion of the Newfoundland Regiment,

the largest is the thirty hectare site at Beaumont-Hamel, nine kilometres north of the town of Albert. This site commemorates all

Newfoundlanders who fought in the Great War, particularly those who have no known grave.  Here are a couple of links to what the

kids were able to see today...isn’t

the weather just gorgeous!!!

The drive to B-H is a breathtaking drive through some of the most beautiful valleys that these kids will ever...yes even though

they live on PEI. These valleys are located in the Somme Valley.  Now its time for you to get your history books out and remember

so key points about the Battle of the Somme.....I’m waiting????  In order for you to study up on our trip I am going to provide a link to look at what the

Royal Newfoundlanders went through on that very first day of the Battle of the Somme.... 

The Royal Newfoundland regiment was not always called the Royals, this honour was bestowed upon them by King George V and

this site holds a lot of really wonderful stories that accompany those great Canadians in the afterlife, but for many Newfoundlanders

is also a place of profound sadness.  On that note today was to be Shelby’s day..... well it is everyone’s day everyday because of the

experiences so far, but so far each of the first two days has meant something in particular to a couple of us and so this morning would

be in honour of Maxwell James mercer.  MJ Mercer, as his name appears at the B-Hamel memorial, was killed on July 1, 1916 during

the initial onslaught of the Newfoundland regiment.  It was certainly an emotional time for Shelby as we walked and talked about what

took place along these battle lines.  As we approached the “Danger Tree” we stopped and explained that this was the objective point for

these men, only a few hundred yards removed from “St. John’s Road” trench about 85% of the men never made it this far and then I

showed her just beyond the danger where these brave soldiers lie.

As Shelby and I walked another 100 yards towards the Newfoundland cemetery we eagerly anticipated finding a grave dedicated to

MJ Mercer and thus making him our first grave rubbing of 2010.  Well the good news story has to end there because unfortunately

MJ Mercer is one the 200 men who are still buried in the battlefields of B-H.  This was the case in many of the areas of the Somme

valley because of the soft and fertile land that was blown to bits from shellfire and thus became a deep mud pit with which some

bodies could never be recovered.  So Shelby and I decided that we would do a grave rubbing anyway, so I told her that FT “Mayo”

Lind would be a good choice.  Go ahead and Google his name and see what you find.  I dare say nary a Newfoundlander would

not have heard his name before.

We then moved back toward the group who was just beginning their formal tour through the battlefields at the Caribou monument.  

The Caribou was the official symbol of the Newfoundlanders because as a pack animal a caribou never dies alone, someone from the

pack will always stay with the sick until it dies and then it catches up to regain it place with the rest.  Look it up I kid you not!!  

Well this opportunity was perfect timing as we arrived the staff member at B-H was just finishing up her speech about the monument

when I asked if I could have Shelby come up front and introduce her friends to her great-great-great(I think that is the right number)

uncle MJ Mercer. Once again a few tears were shed, I wished I would have been able to bring home something concrete like the grave

rubbing for Shelby,but I am sure this memory will last forever with her!!!





From there we moved onto Passchendaele and its beautiful surroundings.  It today stands as a beautiful little town,

but this was not the case almost 100 years ago.  Passchendaele is home to Tyne Cot cemetery, one of the largest grave sites

you will ever see.  Although Tyne Cot was not originally on our schedule I had asked our tour guide to make a small detour

so the kids could see the magnitude of what took place at Passchendaele.  Tyne Cot is the resting place

of over 11,000 Commonwealth soldiers and further commemorates another 34,000 on the back

wall of the structure who have no known grave...over 45,000 dead and that is just the Allies and does

not obviously include the Germans. Unbelievable.....this was the place of my last adventure when I truly began to realize

the magnitude of what had happened during the First Great War.

After leaving the cold wet and windy weather in Passchendaele, (if you are really paying attention a little while ago

linked a video from B-Hamel and mentioned the beautiful sunny weather...RIGHT!! It has been cold, wet and windy...basically

downright miserable!!! But the kids have not complained one bit!!!) we were off to Belgium.  Crossing into Belgium was a nightmare, we

had asked all of the kids to bring their passports as we were leaving the country but of course not everyone listened.  SO in that

case we were forced to leave a couple of them at the border and we said we would be back to pick them up in about 4-6 hours.  Don’t

despair we left some food and some cards so that

Brendan, Alix, Emily and Erica could entertain themselves while we attended supper in Ieper(Ypres) and then the Menin Gate ceremony.

However, prior to Menin Gate I took them on another off road adventure to Langemarck cemetery.  Langemarck is a German cemetery

and I really wanted them to see the difference between the Allied and German cemeteries.  There is a major difference in tone and feel

through these ones as compared to the Commonwealth sites.  In the same area is a really neat monument, actually Canada’s main

monument in Belgium, “The Brooding Soldier” located at Vancouver Corner, St. Juliaan, Belgium.  Cool stuff all around!!! The 4 kids we

left behind would have really enjoyed both of these sites for sure!

To the Puchniak’s, Ronohan’s, MacDOnald’s  and Barry’s I truly apologize for what happened today.........hehe just kidding!!  That

was the big joke earlier today, going from France to Belgium was like leaving “Southwest Lot 16 and entering Central Lot 16” as

Sam K and Trisha explained it.  The European Union agreement has basically removed all international borders between those

countries...my apologies again, but I thought it was rather funny!!! Did anyone drop??  I hope no one swore at me either!!! Tom how

is Cathy feeling???...sorry buddy!!!

The weather began to improve a little bit as we walked through the town of Ieper on our way to supper.  This is one of my favorite

towns in all of the world, it is rich in history, rich in chocolate(my god some of you are going to gain about 50 pounds when you see

they chocolate they are bringing home) and obviously steeped in tradition as the ceremony at Menin Gate we attended tonight will

attest to.  This ceremony has taken place every day (yes 365 days a year) since 1928.  It is very similar to our Remembrance ceremonies,

but the amazing fact is that they show reverence to the dead every single day.  During the German occupation in WWII, the ceremony

still took place but in Britain, so in essence the Menin Gate ceremony has never stopped!  Too cool!!!

Thus our day is winding down and I am once again losing steam.  I need to pack as we leave in 6 hours and I still need to sleep and

watch the Bruins game during that time, all the while mixing some sleep in at some point.  I can sleep on the bus tomorrow as we

head to Bruges for some fun and then on the Netherlands for the remainder of our stay.  You kids are well and fairly happy, tired as

heck and not really keen on the 6 AM wake up calls but they have been the best behaved and most respectful at any site we have

been at and that is the truth unlike the story about the border incident.  Sorry again to those families who were ready to call Mr. Sabean

and have me fired while overseas!!!  All in fun!!!  Take care all and have a great day!!  Here we go Bruins here we go!!!!!

dc