Arras, Nord-Pas-de-Calais, France
Thursday, July 16, 2009
Today we left Dieppe for the battle grounds of the First World War. As we drove we saw many farmers' fields filled with wheat, sugar beets, some cabbage and potatoes. A big part of our day was a visit to Beaumont-Hamel a national historic site with Canadian University students working as tour guides. We soon learned that this is sacred ground...especially for our people of Newfoundland, because it is here that the price of freedom was paid by British subjects from what is now Canada's newest province. It has been so enriching for me to witness the devotion of my fellow camrades/pilgrims on this tour. We have 2 Newfoundlanders in our gang and as one might expect...they have a lot of heart. At Beaumont-Hamel we all felt the grief and sorrow of whole communities from "the Rock" where just about the entire able bodied male population enlisted...leaving the women and children, girls and boys and the aged behind to try to eke out an existence.
