Armistice Day in France

[LeeR]

I appreciate it was a while ago now, but I had writer's block...

It had long been an ambition of mine to be in Northern France on Armistice Day, preferably at a place with some personal significance, and so it was that with my mate Gavin I rode to the St Venant-Robecq Rd Commonwealth War Grave Commission (CWGC) cemetery on November 11th this year.

A little background if I may indulge myself; after my parents divorced in the late 70s, I found myself living with my paternal grandmother, Rose. Rose was an excellent woman, strong and determined, had raised two boys under-5 whilst her husband was in India during WWII and worked as a spot-welder in a munitions factory during the conflict. Her stories and tales made for a enlightened and entertaining childhood, and to be honest things would have been so much worse without her.

Her most moving tale was that of her father, George Brookes a private in the Royal Warwickshire regiment. George like so many men of his generation was separated from his wife and young family during WWI and died in combat 10th May 1918. My gran was four years old at the time and like many children of her generation, never knew let alone remembered her father. Her mother remarried and thankfully her step-father was a good husband and father to her and her brother, George, and their new half-brothers, Sid and Ron.

My gran spoke often of her desire to know where her father was buried and though the CWGC could provide the information, there was little opportunity for her to visit. Great-uncle Sid is an avid genealogist and began researching our family after my gran's death in 2003, although Rose's father was not his main concern he was kind enough to forward to me the information I needed to track down George's grave. I visited the grave in May last year on my way to Paris with my wife and children, but wanted to be there at that poignant moment "when the guns fell silent".

I began making plans to do the trip by bike with a friend, or alone if need be, though there were plenty of friends who shared my motivation and desire, Gavin (he of my earlier trip 'A little Welsh explore') was the one who could accommodate the trip.

Wednesday - I set off for Gav's house (outside Oxford) mid-morning in bitterly cold, but beautiful weather. The ride along the A40 to Oxford from Gloucester was one of swift over-takes on a dry road with snow lined verges. Beautiful though the weather was I had to stop on the dual-carriageway near Whitney to put a pair of winter gloves on as I'd foolishly set out in a pair of un-lined "all-season" gloves. The A4421 from Bicester was closed and due to a missing sign, I managed to get lost in the diversion around Bicester. I took an astonishing 2 hours to get to Gav's house, and was not in the best frame of mind to start a long trip.

https://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc162/lrogers_album/Armistice%20Day%202010/01_departing.jpg

Still with 67 miles down and a further 150 miles to Dover, after a cuppa and a chat we set off. As the A4421 was closed we took some lanes cross-country to the A41 joining not far from 'On Yer Bike' Aylesbury. We continued on to the M25 and the road works, which weren't too bad as it wasn't "rush-hour" but it was busy and entertaining especially when the Mercedes SLK in front of us had a rear tyre blow-out at around 90mph in the outside lane. The driver did really well to control the car and careened on to the hard shoulder. We decided to take a break at South Mimms services, fill-up and have lunch.

We arrived in Dover and I filled up again, although I hadn't used a lot of fuel Armistice Day is a national holiday in France (and should be one here imho) and I didn't want to waste time the following day trying to find a petrol station that was open. We made it to the terminal around 16:15 in plenty of time for the 16:55 sailing only to be told that due to the bad weather it was delayed by 45 mins approx, and would be getting more over-due as time elapsed. It turned out the wind was so strong the ferries were queuing in the Channel awaiting tugs to tow them into berth and back out once everyone had boarded.

We weren't too bothered as we'd planned to eat our evening meal on the ferry and the hotel (Formule 1 in Coquelles) was only 10 minutes from the terminal. We arrived in Calais around 21:15 and after what was indeed only a 10 minute journey we arrived at the hotel. Hotel Formule 1 is a very different type of hotel, built in a modular fashion with toilets and showers separate at the end of the hallway. They're a bit like a cross between a hotel and a hostel, but at €28/night for a twin room I reckon they're alright and would definitely use them again for convenience.

That evening Gav fancied a drink, and though we'd bought a couple of Grolsch on the ferry with our meal, we'd left them un-opened as neither of us like to ride after a drink. However, with directions to the nearest bar, we set off on foot only to find the barmaid sweeping the floor and stacking chairs on tables. After a quick chat to confirm it was fin/fermé we walked off into Coquelles town. Coquelles town is little more than a "one-horse-town" and I'm guessing because the following day was a national holiday they'd given the horse the night off.

Man it was dead, everywhere was shut, every bar, tabac, and café was long closed. We headed back to the hotel, to talk bollocks, drink our bottles of Grolsch, and crack open my hip flask of Jura.

Little did we realise that the crisp cloudless night and full moon were the eye of the storm...
____________________
My claim to fame: Austin Vince nicked my pen...

[LeeR]

Thursday - The original plans for the day had been to ride via the back roads, avoiding the toll roads and then return on the motorway/auto route. However, the weather was truly appalling and getting worse, so we agreed to get to the cemetery as efficiently as possible and that meant an 81km/50mile ride on the toll road, which at £2.50 each way wasn't as bad as expected. Initially the rain wasn't too heavy and although I thought the cross-winds weren't too bad, they just got worse and worse. Checking reports afterwards it seems they were gusting up to 60 mph, though it felt like it at the time I doubt we got hit by anything that strong.

We arrived at the cemetery about 10:40 and after showing Gav around and showing him George's grave we sat on the steps of the cross in the pouring rain waiting for 11:00 to observe two minutes silence.

https://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc162/lrogers_album/Armistice%20Day%202010/02_graveside.jpg

Gav's family came to England from Poland shortly after the end of WWII and although he has no known relatives buried in Northern France, as a consequence of WWI, he couldn't help be moved by the bleakness of the surroundings.

https://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc162/lrogers_album/Armistice%20Day%202010/03_cemetery.jpg

The fields over which the cemetery looks in all directions are fairly flat and feature-less, most of the buildings are new and no tree is more than 90 years old.

https://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc162/lrogers_album/Armistice%20Day%202010/04_cemetery.jpg

So we sat in the rain and considered how awful it must have been for those young men 90 years ago, a long way from home, many never to see it again, and for almost all of them the first and only time they had been abroad. I find it sad that the only time George left his home town and saw the sea was when he boarded the ship for what was to be a one-way trip to France.

At 11:00 we stood with our heads bowed in front of George's grave and not for the first time I was consumed with both a sense of loss and grief (not necessarily for myself but for Rose). I also felt as I have for most of my life an over-whelming gratitude for George and the men of his generation, and acknowledged the debt we can only repay by never allowing ourselves and future generations to forget.

I left a small Poppy Appeal cross in the soil at the foot of George's grave, and we rode 2km down the road to Robecq to see the 1918 Western Front marker.

https://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc162/lrogers_album/Armistice%20Day%202010/0506_grave_wf1918.jpg

We returned to the ferry via the A26 toll road, to find the storm getting worse, the rain was lashing down with rivers of run-off across the carriageway, the winds were much stronger now and agreeing that our bikes were more manageable at different rpm and speeds, we agreed to meet at a rest area half-way to Calais.

By the time I got to the rest area I was beginning to have enough of the weather, I decided to have a break and a cuppa not that the French really understand the concept of a proper cup of tea. We arrived at Calais at 12:30 giving us plenty of time for the 13:55 sailing, only to find everything delayed due to the weather.

https://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc162/lrogers_album/Armistice%20Day%202010/07_calais.jpg

We parked our bikes up beneath one of the flyovers and had a spot to eat and what I can only describe as warm mud from a vending machine. Whilst I love France and the French and think they do so many things so much better than we do here in the UK, the one thing they don't do well is motorway services and customer waiting rooms/services, especially at ferry terminals. In Dover there is an excellent passenger waiting area with toilets, cafe, newsagents, and bureau de change; in Calais there are toilets and 3 vending machines, absolutely useless by comparison.

https://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc162/lrogers_album/Armistice%20Day%202010/08_waiting.jpg

The ferries were severely delayed, 30 minutes soon turned into 45, then an hour, then two hours. Eventually we left at 16:00 local time, sailing south at first into the wind. The exceedingly jolly captain advised us that the winds had diminished from hurricane force and were now only gale-force 10, gusting up to 60 mph. Initially it was okay as we headed into the wind; I managed to eat half a ploughman's sandwich before we turned across the wind to head north to Dover. Crossing the wind was awful, and the smell from the toilets was wafting along the corridors into the lounge areas, almost everyone was sick except for the truckers and us.

https://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc162/lrogers_album/Armistice%20Day%202010/09_keepingitdown.jpg

With a tail wind we made good time and the captain advised us the wind had died down to a manageable force 8 only gusting up to 50 mph, I managed to eat the second half of my sandwich and Gav went and got us a drink. We were soon outside Dover but third in the queue for tugs to tow us in to berth, circling in the channel the ferry was really taking a hammering as it crossed and re-crossed the wind, but I managed to keep everything down and Gav refused to eat.

https://i217.photobucket.com/albums/cc162/lrogers_album/Armistice%20Day%202010/10_bluesky.jpg

We finally docked sometime after 17:00 local time and as the only bikes were waved straight through customs, we filled up and left around 17:30 taking the same route A2/M2/M25/A41 for the 150 miles back to Gav's house. Once again the chief characteristic of our ride was the strong wind; though the M2 was manageable I honestly thought I was coming off as I was blown across two lanes at 45-50mph on the approaches to the Medway Bridge! Worse was to come as due to the high winds the QEII Bridge was closed so everything was diverted through the Dartford tunnel, I must admit I did have some sympathy for the motorists sat in the 6 mile tail-backs on the approaches. It was at the Lane End A2/M25 junction that I caught Gav up; he was sat in traffic consulting his sat nav wondering what to do for the best. I suggested we filter the 3 miles to the Dartford tunnel and though there were broken down trucks on the hard shoulder, pedestrians stretching their legs having a smoke on the carriageway, it was largely un-eventful. The wind was still strong on the elevated sections and we took it really steady passing the trucks as the gusts between them were pretty scary at times.

As some vehicles had tried to change lanes at the last minute we found our way blocked on a couple of occasions, and took to passing on the left between the vehicles and the hard shoulder. It was at this point a copper behind us decide to try and pursue us! Whether it was coincidence or he genuinely was after us, I couldn't say, but I didn't stop to find out. Maybe he thought we'd used the hard-shoulder, maybe he was on a shout, but there was no way through the traffic for anyone not on two wheels.

We agreed to meet up at South Mimms services again, and although I couldn't see my map for the rain and didn't have sat-nav, I done alright on the journey from Dover and knew I only needed to get to junction 23, which I did approximately 2 hours after leaving Dover 100 miles away. By this time Gav was feeling a bit rough not having eaten since breakfast that morning (you can try and help people, but you can't live for them), after a drink he decided he needed to eat. I ordered a veggie burger, onion rings, and fries from Burger King; remind me if I ever suggest eating there again, that stuff does not agree with me at all.

So fed and watered we set off again around 20:15 and took another hour and a half to reach Gav's house; though the wind was now only a steady 25mph there was debris from the storm everywhere. Gav, riding in front, clipped a bag of cement, which I skirted, but the car behind exploded disappearing in a grey cloud of mud; I bet that took some cleaning. We encountered fallen branches, pallets, bags, rubble, and all manner of detritus on the A41, but finally made it back to Gav's around 22:15 To say we were exhausted was an understatement, maintaining such a high-level of concentration over the last 12 hours had taken its toll, not having had any rest on the ferry was a lost opportunity. After a cuppa and a shower I fell into one of the best night's sleep I've ever had, it was bliss.
____________________
My claim to fame: Austin Vince nicked my pen...

[LeeR]

Friday - Having had some dark moments the day before, contemplating selling the bike, rueing my poor choices for touring, and wishing I could have just stopped, I really enjoyed the ride home Friday morning. It was thankfully a bit boring by comparison, I rode home back to Gloucester alone and thoroughly enjoyed the ride, I used the bike to its full potential and fell in love with it all over again.

Looking back I'm pleased with the trip in general, my kit didn't fail me, my bike didn't let me down, and I didn't drop it. I fulfilled one of my life ambitions, to be in France on Armistice Day at 11:00, and hadn't given up. I surprise myself with my tenacity at times, and though it might be mistaken for belligerence there was no way I was abandoning the trip to re-arrange it for next year.
____________________
My claim to fame: Austin Vince nicked my pen...

[HP]

Cheers for the good read fella, not a bad half hour spent on my behalf!
____________________
What flavour would you like the windows Harvey?

[LeeR]

Thanks mate, my pleasure
____________________
My claim to fame: Austin Vince nicked my pen...

[Moo.]

Agreed Awesome read, everything in life is an experience and can only make you better
____________________
A2 Passed 18/6/10

[Howling TerrorOutOfOffice]

I can't believe it.

Austin Vince nicked your pen.


Pat
Nice write up Lee
____________________
Diabolical homemade music Bandcamp and Soundcloud
Singer songwriter, Artist and allround good bloke Listen to Andrew Susan Johnston here
The Harry Turner Project

[paddlesat16]

The history of the Warwicks in WW1

https://www.1914-1918.net/warwicks.htm
____________________
I once saw a bloke shagging a donkey.... in Saudi arabia. Theory Test Passed 26/10/09 Mod 1 Passed 26/4/10, Mod 2 Passed 7/6/10 Current Bikes Suzuki GSX1400 K5, Aprillia Pegaso 650, Suzuki DR350T.

[neatbik]

I'm still a bit gutted i couldn't make it this year mate, but thanks for the write up.

If i do nothing else this year im going to france to visit some places and pay my respects.
Im currently reading Band of Brothers, and its given me new incentive to 'trace' their route.

[LeeR]

Thanks for the comments and karma chaps, they're much appreciated.

Nick, Band of Brothers is an excellent read; and although I might not be up for another Armistice Day trip, as November weather is appalling, I'm certainly up for another French trip some time in the future.
____________________
My claim to fame: Austin Vince nicked my pen...

[neatbik]

We'll have to catch up soon then and discuss it further.... I'm adamant im going this year.

[LongJohn22]

Superb read, thanks for that.

[Maruchino]

Enjoyed that, thanks for sharing.