Jo’s-Monday-Walk-Wk35_Thiepval-1

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Jo’s Monday Walk

Week-35

Thiepval Memorial-1

Authuille, France

 The Thiepval Memorial is dedicated to the

Missing of the Somme Battles.

It is an Anglo-French Memorial

dedicated to a total between 72,000 and 73,000

missing servicemen.

 

The number varies as some remains are identified.

The Thiepval Memorial is an Anglo-French battle memorial

to commemorate the joint 1916 offensive.

The British flag flies on the north side of the monument

while the French flag flies on the south side.

Although I confess that the flags could be

on the opposite sides to those stated.

I have read which sides the flags fly.

Naturally cannot find my source today.

In Australia the south side of anything is nearly always shaded,

logic tells me this should be reversed for the northern hemisphere.

This was our first encounter with tributes…

 such as these.

Whether students of  history…

or the mouths of babes,

the sentiments are the same.

 

Some of the 72,000 plus names listed on the  memorial.

I think I was in awe of this memorial and I/we

did not venture into the cemetery.

However, on the left are 300 French Graves,

 with all but 47 of them containing unknown solders.

While on the right are 300 British Empire graves.

Only 61 of these graves are named.

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Jo’s Monday Walk