Loos-en-Gohelle

This proved to be the trickiest photo to match up. Before we left I spent an afternoon on google street view trying to identify the place where this photo was taken, without success.

My grandfather (in the photo) had written on the back "Loos-en-Gohelle what memories!"

We arrived in this small town at midday and stood in the market square wondering which way to turn. Suddenly lots of people spilled out of the town hall clutching foliage, fruit and veg, some sort of produce veg or harvest festival? I went up to the oldest couple I could see, showed them the photo and asked in my best schoolgirl French if they knew where the photo had been taken. The wife looked at it briefly and then pointed to a road that lead off the square saying " dix minutes, dix minutes!"

We duly set off, trying to match rooftops, chimneys etc with the photo and after ten minutes walk we found it!!

My grandfather wasn't in the Battle of Loos but I hope his memories of this town are good. I have a feeling they were by his use of the exclamation mark.

He saw a lot of action in WW1. He was in Belgium and N France for the duration of the war without a break and I am sure most of his memories of those years were very grim.