The day dawned dry, cold and windy.
Walter and I decided to set off for a walk around Brussels prior to our departure at 10.00AM
What I really wanted to do was to find an old favourite of mine, Mannequin Pis, which we duly found still peeing.
My god that boy has a good stream!
It was then on the bus and out to Waterloo battlefield to see what happened where.
There has been build the Butte du Lion a large pyramidal monument, with a lion mounted at its summit. This overlooks the battlefield in it's entirety. It is surprisingly small area, only 5 x 3 km.
A very well done documentary explaining events of the day helped sort out the various manoeuvres that occurred and how the day unfolded.
How the French cannon were delayed in getting into position by the mud, how Wellington hid his central forces and how they emerged from the French cannon bombardment essentially unscathed and how the Prussians under Marshall Blucher arrived late in the day to finish the French off.
Then a tour around the battlefield in a poorly sprung bus/truck thing over very uneven farm roads finished the Waterloo part off.
It was then off to Iepers or better known to Autralians as Ypres which is the site of the Menin Gate, the memorial to all those allied soldiers killed in the war, with no known grave. My great uncle is there somewhere.
Each night at 8.00PM since 1928 (except for the years of German occupation) the local fire brigade buglers have sounded the last post/\.
So having found our rooms at the hotel, just off the Ieper main square, and having had tea we headed off for the nightly ceremony.
Walter thought he wouldn't go tonight, until I said I was going, so out came his medals, which I duly pinned to his chest-he has about 10 all up-40 years army service.
The road is jammed with people. At our hotel there are seven school groups from Australia.
Tonight a school band from Perth played, followed by the last post, two minutes silence, then hymns sung by another school group accompanied by the band, then reveille.
After, I head off to try and find my Great uncle, and there his name is, etched in the marble under the 37th Battalion.
Walter and I decided to set off for a walk around Brussels prior to our departure at 10.00AM
What I really wanted to do was to find an old favourite of mine, Mannequin Pis, which we duly found still peeing.
My god that boy has a good stream!
It was then on the bus and out to Waterloo battlefield to see what happened where.
There has been build the Butte du Lion a large pyramidal monument, with a lion mounted at its summit. This overlooks the battlefield in it's entirety. It is surprisingly small area, only 5 x 3 km.
A very well done documentary explaining events of the day helped sort out the various manoeuvres that occurred and how the day unfolded.
How the French cannon were delayed in getting into position by the mud, how Wellington hid his central forces and how they emerged from the French cannon bombardment essentially unscathed and how the Prussians under Marshall Blucher arrived late in the day to finish the French off.
Then a tour around the battlefield in a poorly sprung bus/truck thing over very uneven farm roads finished the Waterloo part off.
It was then off to Iepers or better known to Autralians as Ypres which is the site of the Menin Gate, the memorial to all those allied soldiers killed in the war, with no known grave. My great uncle is there somewhere.
Each night at 8.00PM since 1928 (except for the years of German occupation) the local fire brigade buglers have sounded the last post/\.
So having found our rooms at the hotel, just off the Ieper main square, and having had tea we headed off for the nightly ceremony.
Walter thought he wouldn't go tonight, until I said I was going, so out came his medals, which I duly pinned to his chest-he has about 10 all up-40 years army service.
The road is jammed with people. At our hotel there are seven school groups from Australia.
Tonight a school band from Perth played, followed by the last post, two minutes silence, then hymns sung by another school group accompanied by the band, then reveille.
All up, a very moving ceremony, with the crowd in almost complete (oxymoron) silence the entire time.After, I head off to try and find my Great uncle, and there his name is, etched in the marble under the 37th Battalion.
well done. Great pilgrimage site. All those men walked down that road, to disappear.
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