5 Days by bike: Day Two

Slightly stiff and aching, a hearty breakfast gives us the boost needed for the longer route planned for today. We headed out northeast, to the right of the Albert-Bapaume Road and went towards Contalmaison. People that know the D929 which runs straight between the two towns, will also know that it is a busy road with very little tolerance for slower traffic. We make the elementary mistake of thinking that cycling the short mile to the turnoff to the left will be OK. We’re wrong, and I notch that experience up against the ‘I won’t be doing that again’ list.

However, off the main road it’s an absolute joy with the odd tractor or truck giving us a wide berth, and we get to Contalmaison safely, park our bikes and walk up through a fairly bucolic scene (complete with curious cows) to the Chateaux Cemetery. This was established on 14 July 1916 with casualties from fighting between Pozieres and Bazentin. It is so named as the cellars in the local chateau were used as an advanced dressing station and the wounded were buried here.

Our next destination is Delville Wood, but, being on bikes, we see other sites which we stop at including Thistle Dump Cemetery and Caterpillar Valley Cemetery and the various memorials at the famous crossroads just before Longueval.

Thistle Dump was new to me, although I’d seen the turn-off before: it’s off the main route down a single-track gravel road into a small valley. It was begun in August 1916 and used as a front-line cemetery during the battle for High Wood. There are 196 Commonwealth servicemen buried or commemorated there and also seven German war graves.

Next stop, and still on the D20, it’s the Caterpillar Valley Cemetery. That’s the name given to the long valley running west to east, past the high ground at Guillemont. The cemetery was established in August 1918 with just 25 graves, but after the armistice it increased when the graves of more than 5 500 were reinterred from surrounding burial grounds. These deaths were from the initial battle and from a recovery battle in August 1918. It also contains the bodies of two British soldiers who had been buried in the Ginchy German Cemetery nearby. In 2004, the remains of an unidentified New Zealand soldier were removed and were laid to rest within the Tomb of the Unknown Warrior in Wellington, New Zealand.

At the crossroads we find the Indian Memorial and that to the New Zealanders. The Jai Hind memorial is controversial: It is considered conceptual art and divides opinion whether it is an appropriate structure for the multi-faith Indian Army. Nevertheless, it is appropriate that their contribution, including the Cavalry attack on 14 July is noted.

It's on to Delville Wood and as a South African, I am proud beyond belief that amongst all the troubles that the country has had, the museum and the surrounds are kept in an immaculate condition, and the displays and information in the actual museum reflect the country’s history and the contribution by all peoples.

It’s a very special place and I hope that my clients feel the same.

They do, and a good few hours later I have to drag them away: It’s getting late, we’re not through all the planned visits and it’s a long cycle back.

The Battle of Delville Wood is associated with South Africa, but it’s probably fair to remember that their Brigade was just part of the 9^th (Scottish) Division who had taken the greater part of Longueval village.

The battle of the wood itself took over a month, but it was the first five days, from 15^th to 20^th July that saw a stubborn stand by the South Africans in the face of unrelenting violence – of such ferocity that the wood itself disappeared under the artillery bombardment. Some now even believe that their heroic stand in the face of overwhelming odds saved the entire southern part of the British line on the Somme.

Walking around the woods is a moving experience and looking from the original hornbeam tree (the only one left standing after the battle) out in any direction you can see the shell holes, trench shadows and craters that cover the earth.

After that sombre, but poignant experience we hop on our bikes and retrace our steps but turn left towards Flatiron Cemetery and the Welsh Dragon.

The Flatiron cemetery was named after a small copse on the high bank above the area in the shape of a flatiron. The area was cleared by the Welsh on the 14^th of July as they cleared the last of Mametz Wood. A medical station had been established here, using the cover of the valley to receive the wounded from the time of the first attack until April 1917. A few burials were made during the wary but afterwards more than 1000 were moved in from the surrounding battlefields.

Flatiron Cemetery has three sets of siblings, including the Tregaskis brothers, who died in each other’s arms, having joined the army the same day, crossed to France the same day and entered the trenches the same day.

Continuing along the single-track road we come to the 38^th (Welsh) Division Memorial which looks out proudly towards Mametz Wood, where they fought in 1916,

It’s a lovely downhill into Mametz village and then a left towards Fricourt and the only German Cemetery on our travels. Strictly a necropolis rather than a cemetery, Fricourt once held the body of air ace Manfred von Richthoven. Now, it’s a sombre home to just over 17 000 war dead.

Our last stop is the Lochnagar Crater. More famous than the other 16 set off on 1 July, and not even the first (that was Hawthorn Ridge), but it is the largest, and the resulting crater is the largest made by man in anger, according to the Lochnagar Crater Foundation. The Foundation does a fantastic job of preserving the area, and the little memorials dotted around the periphery of the area reminds the visitor (if indeed they need reminding), of the many sacrifices made.

We avoid the D929 at all costs so take a rather more scenic ride back to the Ibis in Albert. Tomorrow, Day Three, is in the car, and will take in some major memorials between Albert and Ypres.