It is the ironic and inevitable fate of a guide book that some information given in it will have become out of date by the time it is published. For instance, the reader may be surprised to see how many new Visitors’ Centres and memorials have been erected on the Somme since the first edition of this book in 1996 and even more so since their first small guide book to the Somme 10 years earlier still. New roads and the ubiquitous roundabouts appear, road numbers change. The personnel mentioned in hotels, restaurants, museums and tourist offices retire or move. Opening hours for these establishments often change. The tourist information in this guide is, therefore, as the cliché goes, ‘correct at the time of going to press’ and we apologise in advance for any changes that may have occurred since. However to alleviate these dangers we give website details for such places so that checks can be made before traveling.
Our best advice, if you have obtained this book before you leave home, is to go through it carefully in conjunction with the accompanying Major & Mrs Holt’s Battle Map of the Somme, marking the sites or itineraries that you intend to follow, then obtain the relevant tourist information and brochures from the addresses below:
French Tourist Office, French Tourist Office, Lincoln House, 300 High Holborn, London. Tel: 020 7061 6631 E-mail: info.uk@france.fr Website: www.france.fr
You can also contact local tourist offices for more detailed information on accommodation, restaurants, general local tourist information, holidays and calendar of events, including festivals – the serious student of the battlefields may well wish to avoid the latter as local hostelries will be full and roads congested.
Where to Stay & Where to Eat
Hotels and restaurants that are conveniently on the routes are mentioned as they occur in the Itineraries. In many cases the comments about them reflect the authors’ subjective views for which they receive no financial benefit. For more comprehensive information see under ‘Tourist Offices’ below.
THE SOMME PAST & PRESENT
A Brief History to the Outbreak of World War I
The Département of the Somme was created in 1790 when France was reorganized administratively. It incorporated the major part of the ancient Province of Picardy and its character remains ‘Picard’ to this day. The region has been inhabited and invaded by many different peoples. Recent advances in aerial archaeology show the distinct traces of Gallic fortified camps (oppida). Julius Caesar occupied the area in 57BC, overcoming the indigenous Belgic tribes. Evidence of the Roman (Gallo-Roman) era are found throughout the Département in the form of temples, baths, theatres and farmsteads. Christianity came to the area at about the end of the third century AD. The first Bishop of Amiens was Firmin, who was martyred for his faith in 287. Another famous Christian was Martin, the Roman soldier who divided his cloak and shared it with a naked beggar in Amiens, was converted, and died in 397 as Bishop of Tours.
The era of the Pax Romana was a relatively calm period, but at the end of the fourth century a series of invasions began. The Vikings, in the ninth and tenth centuries, were perhaps the most feared, until they were beaten by the Carolingian King Louis III at Sacourt-en-Vimeu. In the Middle Ages, abbeys and châteaux flourished under the feudal lords, resulting in local power struggles. Agriculture and the cloth industry expanded in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries. Towns grew up as trading developed, but the increasingly prosperous land continued to be fought over – by the rival counts of Amiens and Flanders and the kings of France. In 1185 the ‘Comté’ (the land ruled by a count) was taken over by the Crown.
In 1297 the Comté of Ponthieu came under English domination, when Edward III married Eleanor of Castille, who had inherited it. In 1328 Edward staked his claim on the French throne, and the Hundred Years’ War began. In 1329 Philip VI persuaded Edward (as Count of Ponthieu) to come and pay homage to him in Amiens Cathedral. But the following year Edward landed in Normandy and marched through the Somme, making a defensive stand at Crécy en Ponthieu. The English and Welsh longbows routed Philip’s army and the flower of French knighthood was destroyed.
Henry V was the next English King to march through Picardy, in 1415. He encamped at Corbie, where he publically hanged one of his soldiers for stealing a golden vessel – an incident featured in Shakespeare’s Henry V. Crossing the Somme at Ham, Henry led his weary army right across the area which was to be the setting for the 1 July 1916 battle, through Beaumont Hamel itself, on his way to Agincourt. It was another disaster for the French. ‘Voulez-vous voir la France, allez à Londres’, was the saying after Agincourt, for in London were the only remaining knights and lords of French extraction, who had come with the Norman invasion of Britain in 1066.
The Somme then passed to Anglo-Burgundian rule until 1477, when Louis XI retook the area.
The Spanish were the next invaders. They took Amiens in 1597, but it fell again to Henry IV of France after a siege of six months. In 1636 they took Corbie, which in its turn was retaken by Henry. In 1653 the Santerre (qv) was devastated by the Great Prince of Condé, allied with the Spanish, in the Civil War known as the Fronde (meaning ‘wind of revolt’.)
Then a period of peace eventually ensued and gradually prosperity returned to the province once more, especially in agriculture and the cloth industry.
1870 saw the arrival of the Prussian Army in the Franco-Prussian War. Amiens was taken in 1870 after the Battle of Dury (south of Amiens). General Faidherbe had some limited successes with his army of the North – notably at Pont Noyelles near Querrieu (qv).
Forty-three years later came the outbreak of World War I. Amiens was again occupied, on 31 August 1914. Picardy was once more to become a battlefield and this time the devastation was so terrible that it was thought it would never be cultivated again.
The Aftermath of the Great War
After the war, the parts of the Somme most frequently and bitterly fought over – in the area of the Ancre around Albert and in the Santerre around Villers-Bretonneux – were officially described as a Zone Rouge (red zone). It was considered uninhabitable and uncultivatable for evermore as, indeed, were great tracts of land around the Verdun battlefield. These latter were designated as national parks, afforested and then left for nature to perform her own slow healing process. Villages completely disappeared.
Not so in Picardy. Although it was said of Albert after the war that ‘Il ne reste que le nom et la Gloire ‘[Only the name and Glory remain], the townspeople insisted (as did the citizens of Ypres in Flanders) on returning to thir sad ruins and recreating their town. The Picard, so deeply tied to his land, returned to till the impossible mess that had been made of his smallholding. It hardly seemed possible that normal life could ever resume. Even before the war ended, John Masefield walked ‘The Old Front Line’ and described it in vivid terms. ‘It is as though the place had been smitten by the plague’, he wrote.
The Berliner Tageblatt described the region as a ‘desert incapable for a long time of producing the things necessary to life’. The precious upper covering of fertile soil, from which the agricultural economy drew its living, had almost completely disappeared and the limestone substratum was laid bare. The huge mine craters gaped. The great one at la Boisselle was 200ft in diameter and 81ft deep in 1919. Wooden crosses marked the mound of British graves in its depths, a skull guarding them for years. Even as long after the war as 1928 it was thought that Serre could never be rebuilt. Thiépval, whose economy depended on its wealthy château (which was not rebuilt) was also slow in its rebirth, and never attained its former size.
The gradual rebuilding of the villages and towns took place in the Twenties, when the style known as Art Deco (from the name of the exhibition, Arts Décoratifs et Industriels Modernes in Paris of 1925) was at its short-lived apogée, leaving an extraordinary architectural legacy. Its trade marks of geometric shapes, sunbursts and zig-zags can be glimpsed in the wrought iron gates of farms and cottages, the designs of windows, the proud new station at Albert, and the incongruous church spires, like the somewhat bizarre concrete fretwork of Lamotte Warfusée.
The rebuilding was done using the reparation money voted to the ruined villages by the Treaty of Versailles. This was augmented by funds raised by subscription in many British cities and towns. The British League of Help inaugurated an ‘adoption’ scheme (see Biaches above), and, for instance, Birmingham adopted Albert (hence the street name ‘Rue de Birmingham’); Sheffield – Bapaume, Puisieux and Serre (where so many of her ‘Pals’ fell); Maidstone – Montauban; Wolverhampton – Gommecourt; Derby – Foncquevillers; Llandudno – Mametz (where the Welsh fought so gallantly); Stourbridge – Grandcourt; Ipswich – Fricourt; Tonbridge – Thiépval; Canterbury – Lesboeufs and Morval; Hornsey – Guillemont; Brighouse – Courcelette; Gloucester – la Boisselle and Ovillers; Portsmouth – Combles and Flers; Folkestone – Morlancourt and Leamington-Spa – Biaches (qv).
Imported Polish labourers helped to clear the battlefields, and the scrap-metal merchants prospered. The ‘iron harvest’, however, seems to be eternal, and Picard ploughs turn up tons of it each year (qv).
The Picard
That the Somme presents today a peaceful, prosperous, bucolic face, with the Santerre’s fertile fields that once were the granary of the Roman army, producing their habitual record harvests; that the Somme flows through tranquil, verdant banks; that the pastures of the little farmsteads around la Boisselle and Beaumont Hamel are calmly grazed by fat, sleek stock – are all due to the character and personality of the Picard.
They descend from the Belgae – a mixed race of Celtic and Teutonic stock. Their traits are a fierce pride in, and loyalty to, their land; resistance to change; quickness to defend liberty and rights; inherent honesty and courtesy. They are hard-working and independent of spirit, and they were determined to coax their battered land back to life.
One can imagine what torments the war must have caused to such people. Until ordered to leave by the military authorities, they would cling to their shell-torn homes and farms. They also had the humiliation of peremptory requisitioning to bear. Yet most of the personal accounts one reads by Allied soldiers’ talk of comfortable billets, much fraternising behind the lines, and families who kept their promise to look after the tragic crosses which marked pals’ graves. There are far fewer reports of profiteering from the captive market of the soldier here than on other areas along the front. After the war, a number of Tommies came back to Picardy, married their wartime sweethearts and settled down on their old battlefield. The daughter of one of them, Marie Baudet, née Salter, served her father’s country with the ATS in World War II.
The ancient language of Picardy, a dialect with ‘Romano’ origins, is unfortunately dying out with the older generation. But the pilgrim will still hear its mysterious tones in isolated villages along the Somme and in folk songs and recipes.
DISTRICTS OF PICARDY FOUGHT OVER IN THE SOMME BATTLES
The Amiénois
The real heart of the province includes its capital city, Amiens, which was known by the Romans as Samarobriva (Bridge over the Somme). Its strategic position as the gateway to Paris and its situation on the great river made it an important distribution centre for local products. These include linen (woven from local flax) and woad (the blue dye used by the ancient Britons). Amiens was much damaged in the two World Wars, but some typical Picard houses remain in the picturesque and well-restored Old Quarter of St Leu. The city boasts an interesting stone Circus (opened by its famous citizen Jules Verne, who is buried in la Madeleine Cemetery and whose house at the corner of Bvd Jules Verne and rue Charles Dubois has been preserved), the Museums of Picardy and of Local Art and History, and a Costume Exhibition.
The castle-like Town Hall, Corbie
The Amiénois is a region of great natural beauty: of water and woods, hills and valleys, and heavy morning mists. It includes: Doullens (qv) with its Citadelle, planned by François I in 1525 and completed under Louis XIV, in the north; Bertangles (qv) with its imposing eighteenth-century château; Corbie (qv); Bray (qv) and the whole Valley of the Ancre, from Albert to Hamel. It therefore encompasses the greatest section of the British Front Line of 1 July 1916 and was part of the post-war Zone Rouge (qv).
In the Amiénois the traditional farm, with its courtyard and distinctly rural odours (what Bairnsfather called ‘a rectangular smell’) still exists – and many of them were rebuilt to the old format after the war. You will hear the skylarks singing over the scores of beautifully kept cemeteries and memorials, and Roses of Picardy bloom everywhere – as does the ‘Flanders’ poppy. Farm cottages have become exceedingly popular with British expatriates, fascinated by researching the battles of 1916 and 1918, who often buy them and convert them to B & B establishments.
In this region one sees evidence of a phenomenon which was widespread, but is now dwindling. It is the strange terraced formation of steep slopes, known locally as rideaux (literally ‘curtains’) or remblais (‘lynchets’). Contrary to popular belief they have nothing to do with viniculture. Wine has not been produced in Picardy since the Middle Ages, soon after Henry V’s invading troops got drunk at Boves on local wine. It was with their backs to a three-tiered slope of rideaux that Edward III ranged his batailles at Crécy – with devastating results for the French. Masefield, on his wanderings along ‘The Old Front Line’ in 1917, noted them (he always referred to them as remblais) near Hébuterne, near Matthew, Mark, Luke and John Copses at Serre, in the outskirts of the village of Beaumont Hamel, near ‘Y’ Ravine. You will see them on the right of the road from Amiens to Querrieu. Masefield speculates that ‘they are made … by the ploughing away from the top and the bottom of any difficult slope’, and this is a theory subscribed to by some local historians. The manifestation is also seen in Kent.
Throughout the region restaurants, from the simplest to the most sophisticated, serve delicious local dishes: Poissons de Picardie (Picardy fish – normally eels, river trout or turbot, in sorrel sauce, or with leeks and cream), duck, veal and pork, e.g. Le Caghuse (pork cooked in onions, butter and white wine) or flavoursome and tender Pintadeau (young guinea fowl). Perhaps the most popular dish is the Ficelle Picarde (a savoury pancake with ham, cheese and cream). Follow any of these with the famous macaroons or Tuiles (made of chocolate and almond) from Amiens or the rich Gâteau Battu (made with a large quantity of egg yolks and butter) or Galuchon (a sweet currant bread) – delicious!
The River Somme
The Somme is a river which meanders, changing its aspect at every bend, from a wide expanse of fast moving water to a myriad of secret pools (étangs), branches and canals, shaded and secluded by lush foliage. These pools are the delight of the weekend fishermen and hunters, whose cabins throng the banks. The river yields a variety of fish, the greatest delicacy being the eels, which are caught in Anguillières. From them is made Pâté d’Anguilles, or Anguilles à l’Oseille (eels in sorrel sauce), Anguilles du Hourdel (eels in a sauce of onions, parsley, egg yolks and vinegar), Anguilles au Vert (eels with spinach, sorrel, mint, sage, etc). In these tranquil pools, duck, snipe and other game birds are stalked by the hunters, often with colourful decoys. Duck pâté, therefore, is another local speciality, as is Canard Sauvage (wild duck) with a variety of sauces. Boat trips may be made along the Somme, which, with no great stretch of the imagination, will conjure up pictures of the hospital barges which plied from the battle area to Amiens after the 1 July 1916 battles. Apply to the local tourist office (qv).
Fishing on the Somme from at Chipilly
The Hortillonages
The name for these small gardens, made in the rich mud and silt of the marshy banks of the fragmented rivulets of the Somme above Amiens, comes from the Latin Hortus – garden. They have long been a picturesque tradition, now sadly dwindling. They are tended from the flat-bottomed black boats, Bateaux à Cornet that, until 1976, transported the crops to the market at the Quai Parmentier in Amiens. Leeks, onions, carrots, radish, cauliflower, crisp lettuce and many other varieties of vegetables and salad stuff grow to perfection in the dark soil. They are the ingredients for Soupe des Hortillons (mixed vegetable soup with chunks of bread) and other soups, and an array of savoury flans and quiches, known as Flamiches, for example, aux Poireaux (with leeks and cream), des Hortillons (vegetables and ham) and many more variations. Guided visits by boat may be made to the Hortillonages – apply to the local tourist office (qv)
The Santerre
As the origins of its name implies (from the Latin sana terra – good earth) this is an extremely fertile plain, broadly bounded by the Somme in the north and the Avre in the south. It encompasses Villers-Bretonneux, the site of bitter fighting in 1918, but otherwise mostly covers the French sector of the 1 July battle. Because of the carnage and destruction which took place on the rich soil, it too became part of the proposed Zone Rouge after the war. But the land was recultivated, and now sugar beet, wheat, salsify, spinach, potatoes (brought to France by Parmentier, citizen of Montdidier), sweet corn, tender little peas and flagiolets, flourish in the expansive fields of the Santerre. It is the centre of the vegetable canning industry, producing the perfect accompaniment to the rich game dishes of the region, or as the basis of soups, such as Potage Crécy (carrot soup) or Soupe aux Endives (chicory soup). During the hunting season, local farmers and ‘weekenders’ from Paris and other regions beat the fields and woods, shooting hare, rabbit and game birds. Be vigilant when walking across fields in the autumn. The sound of shots can often be too realistic and close for comfort. Lapin Farci à la Picarde (stuffed rabbit with beer, cider etc) and Lapin aux Pruneaux (rabbit with prunes) are among the tasty results.
The Somme is a region to be enjoyed, not only for its history, but for the many delights of its picturesque landscape – but beware, it can be very muddy!
WHERE TO STAY/WHERE TO EAT/LOCAL TOURIST OFFICES/GUIDES
SOMME BATTLEFIELDS’ PARTNERS
The Departemental Tourist Committee, the Péronne Chamber of Commerce, the Historial and the Somme 1916 Museum have created a quality brand for owners of accommodation (hotels and b+b), restaurants, transport businesses, shops, tourist guides and offices who serve the visitor to the Somme battlefields. Applicants are vetted by the Committee and attend a short course at the Historial.
If successful they must display the brand logo which will indicate their quality and status. The authors are proud to be Partners. Contact: Somme Departmental Tourist Committee, see below, also http://www.sbpartner.org’.
Towns which provide a convenient base for your stay and/or which offer restaurants for lunch/dinner breaks are listed below with details of their Tourist Offices where further lists may be obtained. You can contact them for more detailed information on hotels, restaurants, general local tourist information, holidays and calendar of events – the serious student of the battlefields may well wish to avoid the latter as local hostelries will be full and roads congested.
Hotels and restaurants that are conveniently on the routes are mentioned as they occur in the Itineraries and are printed in a distinctive typeface. Any comments about particular establishments, as ever, depend upon the patron and chef of the day.
ALBERT. Tourist Office: 9 rue Gambetta, BP 82, Albert 80300, Tel: +(0)3 22 75 16 42. Now known as ‘Le Pays du Coquelicot’ (Poppy Country). E-mail: ot.albert.ancre@wanadoo.fr. Website: www.ville-albert.fr. Open: Oct-March Mon-Fri: 0900-1230 and 1330-1700. Sat: 0900-2000 and 1500-1700. April-Sept Mon-Fri: 0900-1230 and 1330-1830. Sat: 0900-1200 and 1400-1830. Sun and holidays: 1000-1230.
Le Royal Picardie, 3 star Best Western. Reported as more expensive but perhaps more sophisticated than other hotels in the region. No lunch-time restaurant service. Avénue du Gen Leclerc. Tel : +(0) 3 22 75 37 00. E-mail: royalpicardie@wanadoo.fr
Hotel de la Paix, 2 star. A favourite with battlefield tourers (especially the ‘Friends of Lochnagar’ (qv)). 10 refurbished rooms, excellent restaurant. No lift. 43 rue Victor Hugo. Tel: +(0)3 22 75 01 64 E-mail: This appears when you google the hotel.
Hotel de la Basilique, 2 star. Opposite the Basilique as its name implies. Popular restaurant. Tel : +(0)3 22 75 04 71. E-mail: hotel-de-la-basilique@wanadoo.fr
Hotel Ibis, 2 star, by the second roundabout on the D929. Bistro (evening only)/bar. 57 rooms, secure parking. Ideal location for battlefield touring. Tel: +(0)3 22 75 52 52. E-mail: h6234@accor.com
Camping du Vélodrome, Allée Charles Queret. Tel: +(0)3 22 75 22 53. E-mail: campingalbert@lapost.net
Auberge de la Vallée, Authuille, within easy reach of Albert. Delightful location on banks of the Ancre. Gourmet food (2 Michelin ‘forks’) but reasonable menus. Closed Mon and Wed & Sun evenings. Tel: (essential to book) (0)3 22 75 15 18. www.auberge-ancre.fr
Hotel de la Paix, Albert
AMIENS. Departmental Committee for Tourism in the Somme [CDT] (Director François Bergez), 21 rue Ernest Cauvin, 80000 Amiens, Tel: +(0)3 22 71 22 71. E-mail: acceuil@somme-tourisme.com
Tourist Office Métropole: 40 Place Notre-Dame, BP 1018 Amiens cedex 1, Tel: +(0)3 22 71 60 50
E-mail: ot@amiens-metropole.com
There are hotel/restaurants to suit all budgets and tastes in Amiens including:
Hotel le Carlton of WW1 fame (qv), 3-star 42 rue de Noyon, Tel: +(0)3 22 97 72 22 E-mail : reservation@lecarlton.fr
Le Saint Louis, 2-star, 24 rue des Otages. Tel: +(0)3 22 91 76 03 E-mail: info@amiens-hotel.fr
Express by Holiday Inn, 3-star, 10 Bvd Alsace Lorraine (near the station), Tel: +(0)3 22 22 38 50 E-mail: express@hieamiens.com
Hotel Ibis, 2-star, 4 rue du Lattre de Tassigny. Tel: +(0)3 22 92 57 33 E-mail : h0480@accor-hotels.com
Without restaurant but establishments with character:
One of the enticing buffets, Flunch, Albert-Méaulte
Hotel Marotte, 5-star, 3 rue Marotte. Lounge Bar and Coffee Shop. Tel: +(0)3 60 12 50 00 E-mail: admin@hotelmarotte.com
Grand Hotel de l’Univers, 3-star, Best Western, 2 rue de Noyon. Tel: +(0)3 22 91 52 51 E-mail: hotelunivers.amiens@wanadoo.fr
Mercure Amiens Cathédrale, 4-star, 17-19 Place au Feurre. Tel: +(0)3 22 22 00 20 E-mail: h7076@accor.com
Le Prieuré, 3-star, 6-17 rue Porion. Tel: +(0)3 22 71 16 71. E-mail: hotel-le-prieure@ornage.fr
There is a variety of restaurants around the station area and, for charm, in the St Leu district, known as ‘The Little Venice of the North’ where picturesque umbrella-shielded tables line the bank of the Somme. Notable is Les Marissons, Pont de la Dodane, St Leu. Tel: +(0)3 22 92 96 66. http://www.les-marissons.fr/
At 593 route de Rouen is Le Vivier, specialising in fish and sea food. Tel: +(0) 22 89 12 21. E-mail: contact@restaurantlevivier-amiens.com
Longueau. Within reach of Amiens and easier of access is the group of hotels near the commercial centre here where there is also a supermarket where you can buy picnic items and fill up with petrol.
3-star Novotel Amiens-Est, Tel: +(0)3 22 50 42 42. E-mail: HO396@accor-hotels.com.
Restaurant with attractive décor overlooking the outdoor pool.
2-star Campanile Amiens, excellent Buffet. Tel : +(0)3 22 53 89 89. E-mail: amiens@campanile.fr
Hotel Formule 1, Tel : +(0) 08 91 70 51 59. E-mail: H2310@accor.com
En route to Amiens off the A16. Take exit 21 and follow signs through Flixécourt to Hangest-sur-Somme. By the station is The Restaurant du Canard, an attractive restaurant with gourmet cuisine and a very reasonably priced menu du jour. Tel: +(0)3 22 51 18 95. www.restaurantducanard.com An ideal lunch break on the way to Amiens on the Western Approach.
ARRAS. Tourist Office: Hôtel de Ville, Place des Héros, Arras, Tel: +(0)3 21 51 26 95. Fax: +(0)3 21 51 26 95. E-mail: arras.tourisme@wanadoo.fr This makes a convenient base for Vimy and for the Somme battlefields if you don’t mind a bit of daily motoring. It is also an ideal lunch break. All around the station square is a variety of restaurants and cafés from ‘quick snack’ (and what better for lunch than a Croque Monsieur or half a baguette with jambon de Paris or Camembert) to gourmet. The Astoria, 10-12 Place Maréchal Foch, is a good compromise. Highly recommended is La Coupole, 26 Boulevard de Strasbourg, Tel: +(0)3 21 71 88 44, with a great Parisian brasserie atmosphere and décor and fine seafood specialities. The only 4-star hotel in Arras is the Hotel de l’Angleterre, Place Maréchal Foch, Tel: +(0)3 21 51 51 16. A Conference Centre has been built in the square with a 3-star Mercure Hotel, Tel: +(0)3 21 23 88 88. E-mail: H1560@accor.com
The 3-star Hotel Moderne, Bvd Faidherbe, Tel: +(0)3 21 23 39 57. E-mail: contact@hotel-moderne-arras.com, is opposite the station. At 3-5 Place de la Croix Rouge is the 3-star Best Western Hotel de l’Univers, with fine restaurant. Tel: +(0)3 21 71 34 01. E-mail: univers.hotel@najeti.com
There is a 2-star Ibis, 11 rue de la Justice, Tel: +(0)3 21 23 61 61. E-mail: H1567@accor.com and on the outskirts there is a Campanile, ZA les Alouettes, good buffet. Tel: +(0)3 21 55 56 30. E-mail: arras.stnicolas@campanile.fr
Les Places (Squares) with their picturesque Flemish baroque arcades also offer a variety of eating possibilities. Beneath the Grand’ Place is a huge car park. Under the Gothic Town Hall and Belfry Tower are the Boves (qv) – underground tunnels and chambers much utilised in the First World War and now visited from the Town Hall.
Avril Williams Guest House & Ocean Villas Tea Rooms, Conference/Meetings Facilities (see pages 116 and 117). Tel : +(0)3 22 76 23 66. E-mail: avwilliams@orange.fr Web site www.avrilwilliams.eu
BAPAUME. Tourist Office: Hôtel de Ville, Place Faidherbe. Tel: +(0)3 21 59 89 84.
Leaflets on the history of the town and lists of restaurants/hotels are available here. This can make a convenient base or lunchbreak for the Somme. There are two hotels: the 2-star La Paix (a Logis de France), Avénue Abel Guidet, with an excellent restaurant, Tel: +(0)3 21 07 11 03. Fax: +(0)3 21 07 43 66, and the 1-star Le Gourmet, rue de la Gare, Tel : +(0)3 21 07 20 00. There are several restaurants, including the Stromboli Pizzeria Tel: +(0)3 21 59 88 51.
CORBIE. Tourist Office of the Bocage and Les Trois Vallées: 30 Place de la République. Tel: +(0)3 22 96 95 76. E-mail: officetourismecorbie.80@wanadoo.fr Very helpful staff. Lists of local Chambres d’hôte, gîtes and camping sites (many in delightful rural settings) and local restaurants. Here the key to the Church is kept. Market day Friday, when parking is unavailable in the main square. This picturesque town on the banks of the Somme has a spectacular Benedict Abbey St Pierre founded in 657 and 16th Century Church (qv) and a fairy tale castle for its Hotel de Ville. Corbie makes a perfect base for a lunch or overnight stay.
It now boasts the fantastic ‘Maison d’Hôte’ Le Macassar hidden behind an unprepossessing white façade at 8 Place de la République. Macassar is the hard wood much used in the 20s and 30s when this large private house was refurbished in the ‘modern’ styles of Art Nouveau and Art Deco. Many of these ornamental features remain and hosts Miguel De Lemos and Ian Nelmes have added much authentic period décor and furnishings. There are five superb themed suites with luxurious modern bathrooms (some with whirlpool baths) and four elegant salons and a courtyard for guests to enjoy [naturally no young children please]. Breakfast and evening cocktails included in room price. Evening meal on prior request (especially on Sunday when local restaurants tend to close). Tel: +(0)3 22 48 40 04. E-mail: info@lemacassar.com Website: www.lemacassar.com
La Table d’Agathe, with good regional dishes. Closed Mon and midweek evenings in winter. 6 rue J & M Truquin (off the main square towars the Hotel de Ville). Tel: +(0)3 22 96 96 27.
Brasserie Le Fauquets (closed Sun and Mon evening). Good choice of menus, fast service if required. 8 rue Charles de Gaulle (near the Church). Tel: + (0)3 22 48 41 17.
DOULLENS. Tourist Office: le Beffroi, rue du Bourg. Tel: +(0)3 22 32 54 52. E-mail: office-de-tourisme-doullens@wanadoo.fr Lists of restaurants, hotels and tourist attractions and events available. This is an attractive town with its 13th Century Belfry and 16th/17th Century Citadel – the largest in France – with guided visits during the summer. It is the capital city of the area known as le Doullennais. There is a handful of small hotels and a variety of chambres d’hôtes, gîtes, camping sites and restaurants in and around the town.
ETAPLES. Tourist Office: La Corderie – Bvd Bigot Descelers. Tel: +(0)3 21 09 56 94. E-mail: contact@etaples-tourisme.com
This delightful fishing port on the Bay of the Canche is a seafood lover’s paradise. Markets every Tuesday and Friday. It makes a perfect lunch stop on the way to the Somme – but make sure you get there well before the prompt kitchen closing hour of 1400. A variety of restaurants along river front offer freshly caught fish and shellfish, notably Aux Pêcheurs d’Etaples, Quai de la Canche, Tel: +(0)3 21 94 06 90, There are several small, individual hotels in the town itself (list from the Tourist Office) and the conveniently situated (next to the CWGC Cemetery) 2 star Interhotel de la Baie, Tel: +(0)3 21 89 99 99. E-mail: 166208@inte3rhotel.com. Terrace overlooking the Bay. Restaurant closed lunchtime. Otherwise you will be spoilt for choice at nearby Le Touquet.
MONTDIDIER. Tourist Office: Place Général de Gaulle. Tel: +(0)3 22 78 92 00. Worth a visit is the impressive War Memorial by Albert Roze in the Place de la République inaugurated on 12 July 1925, the day the town was awarded the Légion d’Honneur, and the French Military Cemetery, rue de Roye, which contains 7,406 French WW1 burials (of which 1,617 lie in two ossuaries), 24 French WW2, 1 Belgian, 1 Italian and 13 RAF, 1 RAAF, 10 RCAF from WW2.
Information is given here on the history of the town and some of its famous citizens, lists of restaurants (a variety of cafés, pizzerias, crêperies and traditional hostelleries), of b & bs and gîtes and its three hotels:
Le Condé, 2-star, 1 Place de la République. Tel: +(0)3 22 98 08 62.
Le Dijon, 2-star, 1 Place du 10 août 1918. Tel: +(0)3 22 78 01 35.
Le Mouton d’Or, 10 Boulevard du Géneral Debeney. Tel: +(0)3 22 78 03 43.
MOREUIL. Mairie: Place Norbert Malterre. Tel: +(0)3 22 35 33 33. Details of restaurants and accommodation in the locality, local events.
PERONNE. Tourist Office: 1 Place André Audinot, 80200 Péronne, Tel : +(0)3 22 84 42 38. Website: www.hautesomme-tourisme.com. This historic town is the recommended base for those approaching the battlefields by the Eastern Route (qv), principally because of the Museum, the Historial de la Grande Guerre, built behind the façade of the 12th Century Château. Also of note is the Town Hall whose 18th Century façade survived the Great War and whose bell tower plays the soldiers’ song Le Madelon. The Best Western 3-star Hotel Saint Claude, is in the central 42 Place du Commandant Louis Daudré, with two restaurants. Tel: +(0)3 22 79 49 49. E-mail: hotel.saintclaude@wanadoo.fr Also in Place Louis Daudré is the pizzeria/restaurant Le Central, Tel: +(0)3 22 84 60 75.
Opposite the entrance to the Historial is the attractive Bistrot d’Antoine, Tel: +(0)3 22 85 84 46.
On the outskirts the Campanile Hotel has now become the 2 star Fasthotel Relais and is completely renovated, Tel: +(0)3 22 84 22 22. E-mail: peronne@directfasthotel.com
At Exit 13 of the A1 motorway, next to a motorway services petrol, information station and cafeteria, at Assevillers is the 3-star Ibis Styles Hotel, Spacious bedrooms, Tel: +(0)3 22 85 78 30. E-mail: HO50@accor.com Adjacent to it is a Formule 1 Hotel, Tel: +(0)3 22 85 90 38.
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
In addition to all those who gave us assistance and information in previous editions of this we would like to thank those who have been generous with their help in this new edition. They include: Richard Dunning, owner of the Lochnagar Crater; François Bergez, Director of Somme Tourisme; Hervé François, Director the Historial; Teddy and Phoebe Colligan, Curators of the Ulster Tower and their daughter, Carol Walker of the Somme Association; Thapedi Masanabo, Curator, Delville Wood Museum and Information Centre; Philippe Drouin, Chairman of the Somme Remembrance Association; Avril Williams, Auchonvillers; Bernard Delattre, Maire of Pozières; Bruno Etévé re Polish Memorial, Lihons; Ross Bastiaan creator and designer of the Australian Bronze Memorial Plaques, J-P. le Palec re Aviateur Aubry and Jessica Wise re Sqn Cdr Petre et al. Finally - throughout - David Hemingway and all of the supportive team at P & S.
PICTURE CREDITS
In addition to all those who provided photographs in previous editions, we would like to thank those who have been generous with their help in this edition: Jessica Wise (Lochnagar at sunset); Somme Association (for Wooden Cross) and Teddy Colligan (for the trenches, Thiepval Wood); Ian Johnson (16th (Newcastle) Bn, Northumberland Fusiliers Plaque, Authuille); Philippe Drouin (McIver VC Memorial); Appeva (Le P’tit Train); ‘Pierre Grande Guerre’ (51st Highlander, Newfoundland Park); Terry Heard & Brent Whittam [ww1cemeteries.com] (Heumann, Mills & Torrance); Jackie Hayes, (American Somme Cemetery, Bony) …….
All other photos were taken by the authors.
‘Men who march away…’ Great War Society, 1 July, Lochnagar