Day 11: Monday 7 April 2014

Have I had my usual European trip whinge about cobble stones yet? I don't think so, so here goes!  I can understand that back in the olden days the options available for paving the streets was limited so they used cobblestones.  They were handy and who cared if they hurt the peasant's feet.  But with so many alternatives available why do the local authorities continue to use cobblestones, or even worse, fake cobblestones in their streets and footpaths.  They are difficult to walk on, hurt your ankles and knees and wear out the wheels on your suitcase.  Wouldn't concrete or bitumen be so much better!

I am still amazed at the number of people smoking, particularly young girls. Saw a girl in her late teens yesterday smoking Lucky Strike.  I don't think that you can buy Lucky Strike in Australia any more but when you could it was marketed as a bit of a "blokes" cigarette.

I spent some time today following the 40th battalion advance along the Somme river in 1918.  The 40th spent nearly all the period from March 1918 to August 1918 in the allied advance along the Somme valley.  Just as a reminder, the 40th battalion was a purely Tasmanian battalion and was one of the 60 Australian battalions making up the 5 divisions of the AIF (Australian Imperial Force) on the Western Front in France and Belgium.  The 40th battalion was one of 4 battalions in the 10th brigade and the 10th brigade was one of 3 brigades of infantry that made up the 3rd division.  (You may remember that my grandfather was a member of the 40th battalion.)

An example of one of the actions I followed was a raid on the village of Ville Sur Ancre by 60 men of the 40th and 39th battalions.  It was intended for these men to cross the Ancre river and then pass through the village and establish a line on the otherside of the town.  Unfortunately they met far heavier resistance than anticipated and the raid was unsuccessful.  A little later a brigade attack (probably 2,000 men) was successfully mounted and the town was taken.  Three men from the 40th battalion were killed and another four wounded.

A lonely British graveyard, these little graveyards are scattered all around he Somme area.

A French village that unusually wasn't rebuilt on its original site.

I won't bore you with the details of any of the other actions I followed today.  However I did visit the site of the 40th battalion action at Proyart where Sergeant Percy Statton was awarded his VC.

Again the weather was great all day with some rain in the evening, just as I was going out for dinner.  Not much open I Amiens on a Sunday night for dinner.  I went to Bistro du Bouchen where Flashy and I had previously dined.  Well I dined, I think Flashy was still drinking flat lemonade at the stage due to being struck down by a mystery bug.

Anyway I had the usual terrine, steak, champagne, bordeaux and a café gourmand.  (A café gourmand is a little coffee with an array of sampler desserts, very nice).