We are back on the road again. 2024 was taken up primarily with family and personal matters and although Basil waddled about England we didn’t manage to get his lardy bottom over to Euroland.
Today, however, he is back in France. We haven’t got a detailed plan, but the general idea is to stay in France this year. All our previous trips have entailed driving through France to other locations but we feel France has been neglected. We have 60 days and the rough plan is to drive down the east side of France, spend some time in the, hopefully, nice weather in the south and then drive back up the western half of the country.
Today’s title is not a reference to the end of the blog, although that could happen at any time – I get my pension in July!! It is rather about a relative. of mine I discovered last year.
Frank Leslie Allday was my Grandfather’s younger brother. Born in 1895 in Aston into a family of butchers, in 1914 he and his family were in Peterborough, where his father was the district manager for some retail butchery business. Presumably caught up in the “enthusiasm” for, what was to become the 1st World War, he volunteered and found himself in the 7th Battalion of the Northamptonshire regiment, which was part of Kitchener’s new volunteer army.
In September 1915 Frank landed in France and marched to a position on the front line near Loos in northern France. Being a private, what he presumably didn’t know was that his Battalion was going to one of the first of the new volunteer army to see action. This was to be the Battle of Loos. Britain’s first big offensive of the whole war.
The British attack took place of 25th September 2015 and like many such offensives was not a great success, with 10’s of thousands soldiers killed and wounded. The British first use of poison gas was a farce, with the gas blowing back into their own trenches.
At some stage on that first day Frank was killed. Where, when and how is not known and his body was never discovered. He is commemorated on the wall of Dud Corner Commonwealth Cemetery, just outside Loos-en-Gohelle.
Team Basil landed in Calais in much less dangerous circumstances this morning and drove one hour to Dud Corner Cemetery to pay my respects to my newly discovered relative. I spent half and hour or so looking around the beautifully maintained cemetery, which in addition to graves, honours 28,000 servicemen, such as my Great Uncle, whose bodies were never found in this area of the front. Dogs are not allowed in Commonwealth Military Cemeteries so Skye had to look on from afar.
We moved on another half an hour to Arras, a town we’ve never visited before and have settled on a superb aire (50.298396, 2.776405). It’s located next to a river and short walk from the town centre, which we will explore tomorrow. For €13 we get electricity and wifi together with a large pitch.
