Mother Canada and other mourners

This morning we left Ieper and Flanders Fields and headed south. Our first stop was in Bailleul, France to visit my great, great uncle's grave. I have Blip his grave before. It is a coincidence this war cemetery also has the grave of the first Australian casualty on the western front, Sgt James Batty.

Heading towards The Somme we would pass close to the Canadian National Vimy Memorial. I thought it right to show my Australian friends what other Commonwealth nations had done to remember thier fallen.

My Blip image is of Mother Canada who stands alone on the edge of the memorial's rear wall that overlooks the Loos-Doual plain. Under the shadow of the memorial's huge twin towers this 30 tonne statue is captivating but speaks volumes about the grief suffered by those left behind.

Next I took them to Bullecourt to see Digger a statue of a fresh faced Australian soldier. Bullecourt has been engraved into Australian military history as have it's soldiers into the local soil.

After checking into our hotel in Albert we headed to the Villers-Bretonneux Australian National Memorial. Here we climbed the 500 steps to the top of the Sir Edwin Lutyens memorial.

Needless to say it has been a long but humbling day. Tomorrow we tour the other areas of the Somme.

I'd like to thank everyone for their lovely words, stars and hearts. Sorry I haven't found time to reply.

It may be best to see my Blip in large to see her fully.