On the Road Again!

RIP. Charles was my Granddad Charlie's Uncle, so I guess he would be my Great Grand Uncle!?

Recently unearthed by my brother Neill.  We have photos of both our relatives killed on the battlefields of France during WW1. Charles Devall William Devall  " In Flanders Fields "     In Flanders fields the poppies blow           Between the crosses, row on row,        That mark our place; and in the sky        The larks, still bravely singing, fly     Scarce heard amid the guns below.         We are the dead, short days ago       We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,        Loved and were loved, and now we lie              In Flanders fields.     Take up our quarrel with the foe:     To you from...

The bane of the blogger's life?  Looking at old posts to get some information and you click on the link and get the dreaded 404 message appears!  Aaarrgghh! It happens to me when I went to  http://invictamoto.blogspot.co.uk/2009/04/easter-saturday-family-war-grave-trail.html to pick up the URL's on two of our relatives that are buried in France in WW1. I ended up having to go to the CWGC website and re-entering all the details to get the new and correct links. Grrrr. I updated the original posting with an "Update" at the so as not to spoil the original alliteration. Job done.

As it is Sunday a bit of a lie in and then when Claire was getting ready I took the boy out for his morning ablutions. Today there was a very autumnal chill in the air and a heavy dew. My trainers are definitely not waterproof, seeming to have the water resistance of cardboard. Still after breakfast and checkout it was dry for the 35 miles or so to Desplanque Farm and the cemetery. The track off the main road is worse than ever. Bumpy and not suitable for most cars. The Corsa coped okay. At least it was dry. Desplanque Farm Charles is one of four graves in Row D alongside the standard cross. Already there was a cross from a school and a laminated sheet of remembrance left last year by my brother, Neill. Family Remembrance  It's a little muddied and tatty but still readable. I put our cross on the front of the headstone. The headstone and poppy cross It's a very sobering place and time for reflection. Cross of Sa...

The ride has become a drive! Claire coming with me and we will take Reggie for a trip abroad.  He's done glamping already! As a result of the Insignia being off the road for longer journeys, I had to change the car on the Eurotunnel booking to Claire's Corsa and whilst I was at it, I changed the time of the crossing to an hour earlier. This means that we will get to the Campanile Hotel an hour earlier whilst the restaurant is still open. If the dinner is as good there as it has been on the countless other Campaniles we have stayed in over the last thirty years or so, then we will be happy. Reggie sadly will have to the guard the bedroom. He'll be okay with his bone and a couple of beds to jump on. Charles is buried in the cemetery near La Chapelle Armentières and the journey is only about 60 miles from the Eurotunnel exit and about 59 miles from the hotel.  Deplanques CWGC Cemetery from Google Maps Saturday is the 12th, and actually my Mum's birthday...

Originally I had planned this as a bike raid across the Channel to visit the cemetery where a guy that is probably my grand-uncle is buried. Or great great-uncle. Charles was killed a hundred years ago on the 13th September.  We have been before but this time we are going as a family. Claire, Reggie and me. Now we are going for a weekend as Reggie needs his own passport that will show his vaccinations are up to date, that his rabies jab has been given and that he has been wormed.   Apparently there are some nasty tapeworms in Europe that we don't have here in the UK. So the process means they are killed before they get can get a toehold in UK. The system means he needs to be wormed up to 120 hours before return and would mean visiting a vet in Europe to get the worm treatment. As we are away for a weekend it all gets done this end. I have booked hotels for Friday evening and Saturday evening that are dog-friendly.  T...

My aunt Yvonne emailed today to say that papers belonging to my Grandfather, Charles Devall, were now available in the National Archive. Googling "papers of Charles Devall" takes the avid googler to here . I have probably seen the documents and related photographs before, but it would be nice to see what they have.  Although listed on the website, the actual docs and photos aren't in digital format. Looks like a visit to the Lambeth Library at some stage.