Emotion runs deep here, in the Wellington quarry 20m below the town of Arras, beneath the arches of the Memorial to the Missing in Thiepval and in the heart of the Rethondes clearing in the forest of Compiègne. Nearly 10 million soldiers died during the First World War. Visiting them is a way of building peace today.
The face of an elegant woman in a hat appears: the fiancée, wife or mother of a soldier of World War I. Her charcoal eyes gaze upon you with tenderness: love is stronger than death. Testimonies of life are everywhere, engraved in the limestone: a crucifix, a Maori poem, graffiti, a tribute to King George V. In 1916, Arras was a pile of ruins. The British Army relieved the French troops there. General Nivelle and Sir Douglas Haig drew up a secret plan. Nivelle planned to break through the German lines in the Aisne at Chemin des Dames, with the British troops creating a diversion in Artois. To ensure the advantage of surprise, Haig had a brilliant idea: to build a network of 20km of tunnels under Arras. This was entrusted to the New Zealand tunnelboring machines.
An army of 24,000 men beneath the city of Arras
After six months of titanic work, the diggers reached the German lines. This was the largest construction site of the First World War. Tons of rubble are still stored in the unoccupied subterranean galleries. Electricity, running water and telephone lines were installed. A 700-bed hospital was even built there. The underground city housed 24,000 men.
The tunnellers named the series of galleries by consulting a map of New Zealand, hence: Auckland, New Plymouth, Nelson and Wellington. The soldiers, meanwhile, christened their quarries Glasgow, Liverpool, London and Manchester. The more remote quarries were named after islands: Jersey, Guernsey and Alderney.
Today an elevator takes you down to the Wellington Quarry and plunges you into the daily life of the soldiers. You see bowls, forks, cans, dormitories, kitchens and latrines. You can almost hear the sound of harmonicas. It brings it all to life. They were people like us.
The soldiers pray one last time at the foot of Pillar 5E, in the underground church. Tomorrow, on 9th April 1917, at 5.30am, they will climb the crude ladder and rush towards the enemy.
No, it’s not just the ambient humidity of this special place affecting you. Emotions tend to well up here... "for all commonwealth nationals, it's important to revisit the footsteps of a grandfather, a great-uncle, a great-grandfather..." says Julie Thomson.
With her husband David, Julie hosts many Brits in Number 56, their bed and breakfast at the heart of the Battle of the Somme sites. “Every family was touched. I help visitors find their ancestors. It’s so important to pass this down to children...”.
He’s from Liverpool, she’s from London. For the past six years they’ve been living in La Boisselle, where the Battle of the Somme began with a gigantic explosion. The Lochnagar Crater is a testimony to the violence of the conflict. The date 1st July 1916 remains the bloodiest day of the war for the British Army.
At Thiepval, the Memorial to the Missing, designed by architect Sir Edwin Lutyens and dedicated to the 72,244 soldiers who disappeared without ever receiving a burial, is the largest Commonwealth memorial in the world. At 45m in height, it broadcasts the memory of the men far and wide. “The place is even more moving when the sun goes down,” says Julie. And with Joe Sacco’s fresco installed in the Great War Battles of the Somme Museum, “it’s like we’re living alongside the young soldiers of 1916”.
All around, the woods and the English garden inspire a feeling of peace conducive to meditation. “We moved here to remember, but also to live differently. To be more in touch with nature,” says Julie. “Endless poppies adorn the fields...”.
The poem by Canadian Lieutenant-Colonel John MacCrae, who is buried at the Wimereux Communal Cemetery, remains poignantly relevant today: “... the poppies blow, / Between the crosses, row on row...” The poppy has been a symbol of hope since ancient times. It also represents resilience: after the conflict, it was the first flower to bloom on the devastated land.
Further south, an hour from Paris, under the forest cover of Compiègne and near Rethondes train station, the Armistice Clearing comes into view. Suddenly you’re bathed in light. Peace and serenity envelop you. This twin of the real Compiègne wagon, where the armistice was signed on 11th November 1918, is a symbol of new life.
A gigantic symbolic ring created by sculptor Clara Halter proclaims humankind’s most cherished word in 52 languages... Peace
The CWGC Experience behind the scenes of living memories
In the heart of the battlefields of the First World War at Beaurains, near Arras, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission maintains the memory of the 1.7 million soldiers of the Crown who fell in the two World Wars. The interpretation centre, The CWGC Experience, enables visitors to discover the work done to maintain the 23,000 remembrance sites in 153 countries. There you’ll discover the work of the engraving machines that create the headstones in cemeteries around the world and the craftsmen in the midst of their art: carpenters, ironworkers and mechanics. In France, the CWGC employs 450 people, including 320 gardeners, who maintain nearly 3,000 cemeteries. The emotion you’ll feel will be heightened when you learn about the exhumation officers, who collect tiny clues that help identify the soldiers who have remained, until now, “known unto God”, to use Rudyard Kipling’s expression. They give the missing a name, a face and a memory. Each year, newly found bodies are exhumed, sometimes identified, and buried in the
presence of their descendants with military honours. The CWGC Experience, 7 rue Angèle Richard, Beaurains
Useful info
Hôtel de ville, Place des Héros, Arras
+33 (0)3 21 51 26 95
Tourist Office of Pays du Coquelicot
9 rue Gambetta, Albert
+33 (0)3 22 75 16 42
Place de l’Hôtel de ville, Compiègne
+33 (0)3 44 40 01 00
The dedicated “Somme Battlefield partners” network at Somme Tourism brings together hosts, restaurateurs and all those with a strong interest in the history of the First World War and the battlefields
of the Somme. They’re identified by a distinctive sign: a poppy on their façade. Useful information is available on Somme Tourism and on the Facebook page “Great War in the Somme.”
What to do?
Wellington Quarry in Arras Rue Arthur Deletoille, Arras Armistice Museum and Armistice wagon in Rethondes www.musee-armistice-14-18.fr
Route de Soissons, Compiègne
In Thiepval, discover the new Great War Battles of the Somme Museum in the Museum of the Great War, with a replica of Guynemer’s plane and the fresco by Joe Sacco. Prince Charles, Camilla, Kate and
Princes Harry and William were deeply moved at the inauguration in 2016.
Museum in Péronne and Thiepval,
Staying over
At Number 56 in La Boisselle. Enthusiasts Julie and David Thomson love sharing their knowledge of these places of remembrance.
56 route de Bapaume,
Ovillers-la-Boisselle
Enjoy a warm welcome from your hosts John and Chantal, who will be pleased to tell you about the history of the region.
Route de Bazentin, Chemin George
Butterworth, Pozières
A stylish guesthouse along the Remembrance Trail.
19 rue de la Bellacordelle
Rivière
In the forest of Compiègne near the Armistice quarry, the Villa du Châtelet in Choisy au Bac, built by the famous composer Léo Delibes, offers fine food, guestrooms and cookery classes.
17 rue de l’Aigle, Choisy-au-Bac
Eating out
In the tea room Le Cottage de Geneviève et Auguste just in front of the Thiepval Memorial.
10 rue de l’Ancre, Thiepval
Or at the Poppy Coffee Shop in Albert.
29 rue de Birmingham, Albert
Or at the hotel-restaurant La Basilique, with French cuisine based on market produce.
5 rue Gambetta, Albert
Shopping
Le Panier de Louise in Albert, near Thiepval, is a grocery store with an array of local, natural and organic products.
39 rue Jeanne d’Harcourt, Albert
La Biscuiterie du Pays du Coquelicot in Albert features the flower of hope on all its products, including mugs and magnets. Gourmet souvenirs such as macarons, “poppy” wine or yoghurt sorbets in poppy, cornflower or violet flavours are unusual gifts for friends.
za n°1 PA, rue Henry Potez, Albert
The wine shop La Dame Jeanne in Arras is also a wine bar that offers many organical wines, along with oenology courses to learn to appreciate them.
1 place des Héros, Arras
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