Somme Cemeteries and Battlefield Views - Oct 2012; Part 5

Our last full day on the Somme, weather did not look promising at breakfast - pouring with rain, but it had stopped by the time we left for the fields. First visit was a quick hour at Guillemont then a drive up to Flers  for a walk starting from Bulls Road Cemetery, taking in the Gird Lines, Gueudecourt, Bayonet Trench and back.

Above: Skies still looking threatening when we arrived at Guillemont Road Cemetery but things looked more promising by the time we arrived at Bulls Road Cemetery.

From Bulls Road, it was a walk towards Guedecourt across the Gird Lines, stopping at AIF Burial Ground Cemetery and exploring the area of Bayonet Trench and The Maze, where the fighting in this area ground to a halt in Oct/Nov 1916 in front of Ligny Thilloy.

Above: Top image - A.I.F Burial Ground taken from the Gird Line to the west of Guedecourt. Second and third images show A.I.F Burial Ground Cemetery. Forth image shows Ligny Thilloy, Bayonet trench ran along the high ground in this area. Bottom image is looking back towards High Wood, and shows a rather featureless landscape, often described in personnel accounts of this area in 1916, except back then it was just a quagmire of mud and shell holes.

From here on back to the car at Bulls Road, we were dashing to beat an incoming storm, which we just made it back to the car in time. We finished the day back at Guillemont / Bernafay Wood area, just as the storm had passed through.

Above: Top two images  - just made it back to the car in time at Bulls Road Cemetery as the storm clouds gathered! Third and forth image show Guillemont Road Cemetery lighted up by the sun as the storm passed through.  Fifth image shows the site of the destroyed Maltzhorn Farm at sunset, now marked by a cross. Final two images are of Bernafay Wood Cemetery, our last stop on route back to Le Tommy for a final round of beers and omelette and chips!