Cycling the Somme - Day 3 |
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Our route - Day 3. Click on the map to enlarge. |
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Day 3 - saw us complete our longest day. In total we cycled 54 miles and covered from Aveluy in the West to Rancourt in the East. Quite possibly the most interesting aspect of the day was visiting the battlefield grave at Faffemont Farm. The owner was only too happy to let us visit allowing and having obtained permission, we walked the 500m across the field to the grave. The tomb has a simple granite top and marks the resting place of Captain R Heumann, Company Sergeant Major B Mills and Sergeant A W Torrance, all killed Sept 10 1916. On our return to the farm to we were shown some of the artefacts ploughed up this year, namely, the remains of a rifle (with rounds still in the chamber) and two 18 pdr shells which the farmer rather nonchalantly threw to the ground in front of us. The 1916 Front Line to the South of the Bapaume Road moved furthest of all during the 5 month offensive. This can be clearly seen in the way the cemeteries mark the advancing line. Many of these are large and even after visiting so many, the scale of sacrifice is still quite overwhelming. By the end of the day, our running total of cemeteries visited had reached 77. |
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