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nightmare
a frightening or unpleasant dream.
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Western Front WW I
A-Photo-a-Week-Challenge-Remembrance-Day
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In 2017 I visited the World War I…
…Western Front Battlefields in
France and Belgium.
My Paternal Grandfather served on
the Western Front during that conflict.
Lochnagar is a privately owned ‘attraction’
created after allied forces tunnelled
under Germany’s Army and detonated
25 tonnes of explosives.
The crater is approximately 300 feet
in diameter by 90 feet deep
and is the only surviving crater
of many other such craters,
which are now filled in.
Along the boardwalk around the crater
are these small plaques commemorating
a family member who had served on
the Western Front during
The Great War.
In 2017 each plaque cost
GBP25 or approximately $AUD45.
After several emails, the transfer of funds
and a few months waiting for
the ‘next batch‘ to be placed,
I now have a small memorial
to my Grandfather on the battlefields
upon which he served.
Lest We Forget.
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A Photo a Week Challenge:….In-Memoriam
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Pic-and-Word-Challenge_Wk249-Rise
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rise
move from a lower position to a higher one;
come or go up.
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At Battle of Bullecourt during World War I…
…the German Army was dug in on the higher ground.
To win the battle the British army had a long advance
up the rise to overtake the german Army.
It was a costly exercise largely due
to the ineptitude of British commanders
and the experience of the German commanders.
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Pic-and-Word-Challenge_Wk249-Rise
Word-of-Day-Challenge-Recovery
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recovery
a return to a normal state of health,
mind, or strength.
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After ‘hosting’ major infantry fighting
in two World Wars…
…the recovery process still continues in
France’s Western Front Battlefields.
Many towns have small ammunition dumps
similar to this one.
These dumps contain unexploded ammunition
and shrapnel which farmers recover
while working their fields.
Dumps are emptied every three to four weeks
according to our guide.
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Cee’s-FOTD-Challenge20-0425-ANZAC-DAY
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On
ANZAC DAY
It is appropriate to feature
Flanders Field poppies.
It wasn’t until my visit to the Western Front in 2017
that I realised how prolific these poppies are.
Like wildflowers turning fields of battle, red.
Found on
the Somme Battlefields
of France.
Remembrance-Day-2019
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At 11 AM, on November 11th, 1918
War ceased in Europe.
The guns of the Western Front fell silent
after more than four years
of continuous warfare.
Since then November 11 has always
been remembered as
Red Poppy, Armistice or Remembrance Day.
When we started daylight saving time
a few decades ago, there was some discussion
about remembering ‘an hour earlier’.
On the other side was a discussion that
either Australia had daylight savings time
during World War I, or it was
daylight saving in Europe.
I’m not sure if answer was found to that debate.
Now its a case of
Lest We Forget
at the eleventh hour,
of the eleventh day,
of the eleventh month.
Today is remembered with a
Poppy from the Somme Battlefields,
a scene displayed on a water tower
at Pozières.
And the Last Post at Menin Gate, Ypres.
Recently I discovered that the
Menin Gate Lions
actually belong to Australia….a 1936 gift,
to the Australian War Memorial
from the Mayor of Ypres.
This year the Australian War Memorial has
loaned them back to Ypres.
Lest We Forget
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FOWChallenge-Manual
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manual
relating to or done with the hands.
a book giving instructions or information.
“a computer manual”
~~~~~
Although not quite the manual
I was thinking of…
…this booklet does provide similar information
in as much as it directs visitors to particular graves
in Western Front Cemeteries.
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Word-of-Day-Challenge-Tear
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tear
a hole or split in something caused by it
having been pulled apart forcefully.
This hole in the ground,
known as Lochnagar Crater,
was created after British soldiers
detonated 27,000 tons of explosives
under German lines during
World War I.
The force created a tear in the ground
measuring 220 feet (67 metres) diameter
and 450 feet (137 metres) across
Debris from the explosion rose
about 4,000 feet into the air.
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Word of the Day Challenge: Tear
FOWChallenge-Surreal
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surreal
a situation or experience that is surreal
is very strange and difficult to understand,
like something from a dream
I am choosing my visit to the
Western Front Battle Fields in 2017,
for this post.
Seeing all the cemeteries we visited
and the names of the missing in action was
a reality check, if not surreal.
I created this photo for a
‘ghost’ challenge some time ago.
Every time I look at my Western Front photos,
it brings back memories of those now
tranquil French and Belgium fields,
where death once ruled and they were
covered with bloody bodies.
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Fandango’s One Word Challenge: Surreal
Word-of-Day-Challenge-Sting
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sting
a small sharp-pointed organ at the end of the abdomen of bees,
wasps, ants, and scorpions, capable of inflicting
a painful or dangerous wound by injecting poison.
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Bees will quite happily sting
in defence of their territory
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Word of the Day Challenge: Sting
