Belsen 75

Today, 15th April 2020 marks the 75th anniversary of the liberation of Bergen-Belsen concentration camp.

British troops of the 11th Armoured Division entered the camp and were utterly shocked by the horror they were met with. Thousands of bodies were lying in the open, others barely alive were too ill to move. But some threw themselves upon the liberators wanting to feel the embrace of someone who wished them no harm, but hope.

The people they liberated were often the only survivors of their families, towns and in some cases, entire communities.

The British Army struggled for weeks to provide the best care they could for those that had survived, but tragically more than 13,000 people that made it to liberation would die afterwards.

British soldiers that entered the camp and were on hand as part of the relief effort would be forever traumatised by what they had witnessed. As one soldier remarked, “now I know what I have been fighting for”.

A number of survivors later made Britain their home and for decades since, have told our country of what had happened to them under the Nazis. You can follow the stories of survivors today from the Holocaust Educational Trust on Twitter by searching for the hashtag #Belsen75 #ThisIsOurStory

We must never forget.

Statement on Covid-19

Given the unprecedented situation in which the world finds itself, I wanted to provide an update on my tours service.

My first priority at all times has and always will be the health and well-being of my guests.

As such, I will not be conducting any tours in April or May 2020.

The current situation in Ypres, Belgium is that museums are closed or plan to close and Ypres Town Council is suggesting that the Last Post ceremony should be stopped at the Menin Gate each night. It is thought that the French borders will close in the next couple of days.

While this situation is undoubtedly concerning, it won’t last forever and I look forward to seeing you in a few months time for some excellent trips together.

Please get in touch if you have any questions at all: sophiesgreatwartours@gmail.com

Monty's Soldiers

I’d like to share with you a picture of my Grandfather, Ronald Shrubsole. 

He was just 18 when this was taken.  Though he is no longer with us, I hope he won’t mind me saying
in public that he didn’t look this fresh-faced and enthusiastic when he returned home from the war.

He was with the 8th Army, fighting in Africa and then Italy in the Second World War.

It was clear to me from having spoken with members of my family that the war had a profound effect on Ron—he wasn’t the man he was when he left south London.  He never spoke about his wartime service, only giving very small insights to my Dad as he reached his eighties.

These are special images and help us keep the stories alive of those special people that gave everything to fight for freedom.

Taukkyan War Cemetery

In January 2014 I travelled to Burma (Myanmar) for a family wedding.  I knew whilst I was there though, that I must pay my respects to the men that who fought in horrific conditions and against terrible terrain in one of the most harrowing campaigns of the Second World War.  

As you would expect from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, the Taukkyan War Cemetery was beautiful.  Its design and features reflect the nature of Burma's weather, that is to say, extremely hot!  Even though we were visiting in winter time, it was 35 degrees Celsius.  The stones were thus small black blocks and the grass long, thick and well watered.

This cemetery is the largest of the three war cemeteries in Burma. It wasn't able to be started until 1951 due to the continued unrest in Burma after the war.  In this interim period, many graves had been lost but several hundred graves were retrieved from scattered positions throughout the country and brought together here.

The cemetery now contains 6,374 Commonwealth burials of the Second World War, 867 of them unidentified. In the 1950s, the graves of 52 Commonwealth servicemen of the First World War were brought into the cemetery from the following cemeteries where permanent maintenance was not possible: Henzada (1); Meiktila Cantonment (8); Thayetmyo New (5); Thamakan (4); Mandalay Military (12) and Maymyo Cantonment (22). Taukkyan War Cemetery also contains: The Rangoon Memorial, which bears the names of almost 27,000 men of the Commonwealth land forces who died during the campaigns in Burma and who have no known grave.

Here are some of my pictures of this memorable day.

Trench Maps & Bullet Wounds →

There goes a saying that “there is nothing more scary than an officer with a map”.

British Army officers in the First World War were provided with trench maps to help them orientate and get used to the ground they were holding.

From early 1915 the Geographical Section of the General Staff began to produce trench maps. Together with a team of Royal Engineer observers who would reconnoitre ground with support from surveyors from the Ordnance Survey in Southampton, the process of creating up-to-date maps for the Army was underway.

Below is a picture of one of my favourite possessions, my Great-Grandfather’s original trench maps.

He was part of an attack on High Wood on the Somme when as he advanced he was hit by machine gun fire in the thigh. The bullet smashed through his trench maps as you can see from the photograph and the stain on the bottom right of the map is his blood.

The agony continued for my Great-Grandfather as he was bayonetted shortly after being shot, but thankfully he survived this ordeal and the war and got back home to London.

His maps somehow were saved from the great burning of his Army possessions by his wife, who was adamant she didn’t want them in the house. I imagine that the memories of nearly losing her husband in the war were evoked by his uniform and other apparatus and so they had to go. I’m glad I still have his trench maps.

Personal Effects

Often our only connection with our ancestors is an old photograph, a family portrait or perhaps a picture of a young man in military uniform. 

In some cases, we may have some personal effects from our relatives that continue to connect us and remind us of those we have lost. 

This is a picture of my Grandad’s kit bag.  As you can see from the markings, he was part of the Essex Regiment and very proud of it he was too.  I shall treasure it always.

Do you have personal effects that keeps you close to someone or something that you’d like help identifying?

I’d love to hear from you - sophiesgreatwartours@gmail.com

Captured in Black & White

As I say pretty frequently on this site, it is the job of a tour guide to bring the land to life - to help you see what is essentially, a lot of green landscape! 

Every so often however, a photograph comes along that captures perfectly what we are looking at - helping to transport us back in time. 

Below is an image taken at Tyne Cot Cemetery 100 years ago and below that a modern view.