W W I

We don’t quite know the details of the ‘Christmas Truce’ of December 1914, but we do know that it featured a cat named Felix, or Nestor if you were German, and that the unfortunate animal was ultimately convicted of treason. Felix/Nestor was one of about 500,000 cats that served in WW1, many of them on ‘Rodent Patrol’ in the trenches, but some also on ships and some acting as ‘canaries’ in cases of gas warfare, and as mascots. The trenches were dirty, festering and damp, and

Of the 60 million shells fired in the battle of Verdun during the 300 days and nights in 1916 about one in eight of them remained unexploded in this tract of land outside the city. The government declared this 10 000-hectare area a red zone, or ‘zone rouge’; part of the larger 150 000- hectare area stretching from the North Sea to the Swiss border: Its destruction so absolute it was considered not fit for human or animal habitation and too expensive to clear. This part was gi

The first poison gas attacks took place at the Second Battle of Ypres. The Canadian First Division, who made up the majority of the victims of this attack are commemorated at the Canadian Memorial in the hamlet of St Julian northwest of Ypres, on the road towards Langemarck. Better known at the Brooding Soldier, this is one of four sites we want to see today on our final ride out, leaving ourselves a few hours to spend in the beautiful little city of Ypres. The Brooding Soldi