Archives for January 2016

Left Thieushouck at 11am for Godewaersvelde. Here I had boots re-paired by a Veteran of 1870 who showed me his medal. Left Godewaersvelde for Eglise at 12 noon. One Kilometer outside Eglise I got into a motor lorry & travelled the 5 Kilometres into Poperinghe arr 2 PM. The town which I entered by way of Cassel Street or Rue de Cassel was bombarded last week & the evidence of such can be seen.
Market square is deserted by carts of any kind. The Huns centered their attack on this square. Bought souvenirs had dinner (2 eggs & chipped potatoes with Coffee) + departed. Walked by same route back to Thieushouck. In billets at 5:30 PM. The weather was very stormy a howling wind blowing on into Poperinghe. There were no Canadians at La Hewplace

* Godewaersvelde – A village nearing the Belgian border half way in-between Poperinghe and Hazebrouck. Today it is the sight of a military cemetery whose first burials were later in the war, around 1917.
*Franco-Prussian War – Also known as the war of 1870, this was a conflict between the French Empire and the North German confederation, led by the Kingdom of Prussia. The outcome of German success was the collapse of the French Empire and the German annexation of Alsace-Lorraine. The conflict was also successful in uniting the German states under Prussian King Wilhelm I. The political ramifications and changes in power balances after the Franco-Prussian War helped in part to cause the First World War.