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| Hiking | 1.88 Miles |
50 AEG |
| | Hiking | 1.88 Miles | 40 Mns | | 2.82 mph |
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| no partners | | While my step mom made me promise to do the things my wife wanted, I only asked my wife to allow me to do one thing: Visit the site of the action for which ... hard to type, just broke out in serious shivers ... William Angus recived the Victoria Cross. Long story short, William rescued an officer from beneath the parapet of a German trench in World War I. In dragging the officer back to British lines -- a mere 40 yards away -- William was wounded 40 times. That is not a typo. The officer lived. So did William. His battalion commander, Lt. Col. Gemmill called it "The bravest deed done in the history of the British Army."
You can read more about it here: http://www.forvalour.com
So, my wife and I left Brugge, taking back country roads the 110 kilometers (~68 miles) to Cuinchy, which is a very small town about 20 km southwest of Lille, in the Nord-Pas-de-Calais region of France.
Prior to our trip, I had been in contact with a lady from Kilmarnock, Scotland, who had taken over the site from William's great nephew, who had since himself passed on. I promised her I would send updated photos for the site, so instead of driving right up to the battlefield, we parked at the Cuinchy train stop, and I hiked in from there, while my wife drove. It was pleasant stroll, but surprisingly warm.
There was a war memorial at the train station, and several more on the way.
The VC site itself has gotten even more over grown, and part of it gated off, so I was not able to explore. (Plus the farmer was just a few hundred meters away on his tractor ...) Still I stood in stinging nettles for several minutes to make sure I got enough photos and video that I would not regret leaving too soon. (Holy  do they hurt!) I figured after what William went through, how could I complain about stinging nettles?
I had completed the final step of my William Angus VC pilgrimage. The other steps:
Afterwards, my wife & I drove off, hitting the motorway all the way to Reims, which was the one thing my wife really wanted to do on this trip. 
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Video: Eventually. This will be a labor of love, and so is a long way off. |
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| http://prestonm.com : Everyone's enjoyment of the outdoors is different and should be equally honored. |
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Route Editor
Route Scout
