CSSC Dover Trip to ARRAS WAR GRAVES 2010 - France

The Dover and Folkestone Area made their fifth trip to the WW1 War Graves

This year was centred around the French Town of Arras.

The town played a key roll in the 1914 - 18 War and became a key base for British and Commonwealth [Empire] troops.

The start of the day we tried to visit the new cemetery at Fromelles. The cemetery was closed awaiting the official opening by Prince Charles. Fromelles was the site of a key battle when 1500 British and 5553 Australian Troops were killed in 24 hours on 19 July 1916.

We moved on to Arras where we visited the underground tunnels and the Arras Memorial. The tunnels were accessed by a glass lift and gave us a look at how the soldiers lived underground before battle. We were able to examine chapels, sleeping areas and even the toilets!

Later in the day we moved on to the Canadian Memorial at Vimy Ridge this is an impressive memorial that has recently been rebuilt by donations from the Canadian people.

We had 42 people on the trip.

The guide for the day was Phil Bourner of UKBA who also helped out with the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Photographic Project. His knowledge on the day was invaluable

We also had the help of a French Official at the Arras tunnels who was a Liverpool fan who say there are no problems only solutions when we tried to get cheap deal on tickets! We did with his help saving our members 3 Euros, a saving without using your countdown card!

Clive Arnold

Dover Area Chairman