Tony

Keep them coming Chris, looks like the Dixmuide trenches on on my list of things to do now. I visited Vladso last year, I have an Iron Cross named to an officer buried there. Well, I can't actually confirm that he's the one. Tony

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A piece of paper every soldier should have carried in his AB64. Now remember to resist those temptations especially if you've had an average week in the line. Tony

I've actually been to the (suposed) field where the Saxons beat us in a game of football. It's hard to imagine that taking place along some parts of the front and in others they carried on firing as normal. I too have Brown & Seaton's book, a fantastic read I thought. Tony

I have no idea myself but Dave B has had some experience (which he'll never forget) with 57 oaks so let's hope he sees this thread. Tony

Hello Mike, It seems that prices in the US can differ enormously from the UK, the US usually being cheaper. I paid ?100 last summer for my set with tin, full pack of opened cigarettes, tobacco, card with envelope and picture of Princess Mary. I think I paid about ?60 for the set missing 16 cigarettes and envelope. Keeping it depends on what you paid, if you got them for the price of a tin I'd probably keep it for display. It might be worth checking out ebay.uk. If you want any detailed pics let me know and I'll send them across. Tony

Hello Gilbert, Only the tobacco with cards pictured are mine although I do have a few full tins. Tony I've corrected the above link!!

Thanks Michael, that site was a very interesting read. Tony

Here you go Mike, if the foil looks like this you are ok. The Christmas card, envelope and photo are also pictured but this collecting field is much bigger than you'd think. The writing set is rare, the tinder lighter too but tins with spices or boiled sweets are rarer still. I think the tin with bullet pencil is the more common of the contents to have survived, I believe they were given to wounded troops out of the line and they usually come with a New Year card pointing to the fact that they were issued after Christmas 1914. I read somewhere that the tins were issued throughout 1915 as they didn't have enough to go round at Christmas nor the money to produce the numbers of tins necessary. Tony

Hello Mike, The Christmas card and photo of Princess Mary are missing, have a look here http://gmic.co.uk/index.php?showtopic=2646&hl=mary It may be just the angle the photo was taken at but the silver foil on the tobacco packet doesn't look right. It should have thick foil with plaited or criss cross texture. Are the cigarettes open? If so, you can easily check if the them for the monogram. The cigarette foil is smooth. I've just got to work but can post a photo of what I mean this evening unless someone else does so beforehand. Tony I did something wrong with the link but have corrected it now

Thanks Hendrik, Do you live in that part of Flanders? Tony

That was quick and a lot more than I expected to hear. I had driven there through Menin and Wevelgum (where there's a very good bakery) to get to Kortrijk (Courtrai) that morning. Thanks! Tony

Here's my latest trio. 9792 Pte William E.J. Neal of the: East Surrey Regt. Royal West Surrey Regt. Queens Regt. He entered theatre as a L/Cpl and ended the war as a Pte. so I will have to find out what he did wrong. Tony

I came across these 6 graves of 7 members of a bomber crew in a cemetery in Kortrijk, Belgium the other day and was wondering if anyone can tell me anything about where they may have been shot down and what sort of bomber they would have been flying. The names are: Flying Officer D.R.L. Cook DFC RCAF 27 years old Sgt. John Fulton, Air Gunner RAFVR Sgt. Douglas Whitehead Garside, Flight Engineer RAFVR 22 years old of Oswestry, Shropshire Flt./Sgt. Kenneth Corbett McCormick, Air Bomber RCAF 21 years old Sgt. Leonard Alfred Rolfe, Wireless Op/Air Gunner RAFVR 21 years old of Woolwich, London Pilot Officer E. Smith, Air Gunner RCAF 20 years old of West Summerland, BC, Canada Pilot Officer Henry Sulz, Navigator, RCAF 24 years old of Sunnybrook, Alberta, Canada All 7 were killed on 4.11.44. What?s the difference between a Flying Officer and a Pilot Officer and why would a Pilot Officer be an air gunner? I?ve checked the CWGC, DRL Cook isn?t mentioned but all were in 626 Sqn. With them is Flying Officer Douglas Bruce Jeffery, RAAF 20 years old of Burnside, S. Australia who died 21.7.44. Does anyone know his unit and what he could have been flying? Tony

The Australian memorial at Hill 60 and the Belgian memorial at Whitesheet. Tony

The New Zealand memorial at Messine, this area was taken within one hour of the attack on the Messine Ridge starting. The view the Kiwis had afterwards. Lochnagar Crater, now a memorial known as the Pool of Peace. At the start of the Battle of Messine Ridge 21 mines were ready to blow, 19 mines exploded on the 7th July 1917, number 20 went off during a thunder storm in the 1950s killing a cow and the other is still out there somewhere. The Pool of Peace was the 3rd or 4th largest mine containing 91000 lbs of ammonal. My son should give you an idea of the scale.

An archway under the Menin Gate. Wreaths are placed here every day after members of the Belgian fire brigade play the Last Post at 8pm. The US memorial between Kemmel and Ypres.

Some memorials starting off with the Belgian one for both wars in the centre of Ypres.

David, It took me 4 hours from Bielefeld but I did leave very early in the morning and the fog in Germany held me up a bit. I'm sure we can fit a trip in soon, Chris will have the longest journey though and it is worth popping along to Canadalaan early on a Sunday morning. I'll post some pics of a few memorials in the area when I get home from work later.

Some Belgian graves in the Menin Rd. civilian and military cemetery.

Essex Farm cemetery and two battlefield burials

French graves just across the road from Bremen redoubt (now closed as it has caved in), there are a few colonial headstones between the crosses.

First is a view from Bayernwald towards Kemmel, the other is looking towards Ypres. Forgot to mention the cemetery; it's Irish house Cemetery.

Bayernwald / Croonaert Wood. I think this was the place where AH was. The first picture show what it looked like the last time I was there, the trenches had been left and were only a few feet deep. The other photos show the reconstruction work done to them. The last time I was there I found the base plate to a trench mortar (probably left over from the museum) but didn't know bunkers were there.

Some shells on a wagon