Western Front WW I

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Cee’s-FOTD-Challenge20-0425-ANZAC-DAY

~~~~~

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.

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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.

~~~~~

Word of the Day Challenge: Tear

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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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.

~~~~~

Fandango’s One Word Challenge:  Surreal

 

 

 

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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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Word-of-Day-Challenge-Target

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target

a person, object, or place selected as the aim of an attack.

Bullecourt Battlefield

World War I.

British forces were gathered at the bottom

of the hill with their target,

the German Army, at the top of the hill.

Thousands over men were lost in this battle

mainly because British Officers forbade

their men to take cover as they rose from their trenches.

Apparently there were four or five of these abortive

attempts to take the high ground before

the generals in charge gave the okay

for soldiers to protect themselves from

the German Army’s enfilade fire

~~~~~

Word of the Day Challenge:  Target

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

by

Cee’s-FOTD-Challenge19-0425-ANZAC-DAY

~~~~~

On

ANZAC DAY

I felt it 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.

by

FOWChallenge-Tribute

~~~~~““

During my 2017 visit to

The Western Front Battlefields

in France and Belgium…

I came across the

Lochnagar Crater Memorial.

 

THe crater was created by detonating 27,000 tons

of explosives under the

German Front Line

Surrounding the crater are tributes and memorials

to many men and women who served…

on the Western Front during

the Great War.


The boardwalk around the crater is created by 4 inch planks. 

At either end of these planks a small tribute

can be placed to commemorate one’s relatives.

   

I placed/paid for this tribute to my Grandfather

who served all along the Western Front

after being part of the gun crew

which fired the First Allied Shot of World War I

from Point Nepean at the mouth of

Port Phillip Bay,

Victoria. 

The time was 1245, August 5th, 1914…   

a mere 2-3 hours after War had been declared in London

at 11 PM the previous night…August 4.

Lest We Forget.

~~~~~

Fandango’s One Word Challenge:  Tribute