Derrick Sykes, the Flight Engineer in one of the Halifax Bombers that crashed near woods at Fontaine l’Etalon on 25th June 1944 should not been flying that day. He was due to be married and his leave had started that morning. However the raid being early he chose to fly Read more…
76 years ago today 102 Squadron set out on a daylight bombing raid to target a V1 Flying-bomb launch site at Montorgueil Farm. The V1 Flying bomb, also known as the doodlebug, was developed in 1939. The first was launched on London on the 13th June 1944. At its height Read more…
James McCudden V.C., D.S.O and Bar, M.C. and Bar, M.M., Croix de Guerre, is one of our Great War heroes. James McCudden joined the Royal Engineers in 1910 as a boy bugler but by the outbreak of war was working as an Air Mechanic in the Royal Flying Corps. By Read more…
As I write this, the borders remain closed and we await news of when they will reopen. As France is at last able to begin deconfinement, we offer our heartfelt thanks to everyone who continues to respect the travel restrictions, reducing the spread of the virus. May and June are Read more…
This week we commemorated the centenary of the death of Sam Pickersgill on behalf of his family. They had stayed with us in 2014 and had planned to return in person on the 21st March this year. When France went into lockdown this became impossible so they sent the wreath Read more…
Today we marked 75 years of peace in Martinpuich. The Mayor had asked us all to stay clear from the memorial while he marked the anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe so we walked up one hour later to lay our wreath, bringing us in Read more…
Yesterday we took advantage of a glorious afternoon to walk to Martinpuich British Cemetery. Many of our guests have asked how well the cemeteries are faring during lockdown and photographs seemed the best answer. The CWGC have changed the way they work, replacing teams of gardeners with individuals working alone. Read more…
This is not the ANZAC Day we planned but here at the Silent Picket in Martinpuich the courage and sacrifice of the ANZACs are not forgotten. ‘At every cost,’ they said, ‘it must be done.’ They told us in the early afternoon. We sit and wait the coming of the Read more…
Well March was not as we had planned. We had healthy bookings to start off our season and after a long quiet winter we were looking forward to welcoming guests once more. We never would have thought that all of our March and April bookings would cancel. As I write Read more…
We were pleased to welcome the grandson of Thomas Leslie “Jack” Axford who won the Victoria Cross at Le Hamel serving with the Australian Infantry Corp on 4th July 1918. We set out together to walk in Jack Axford’s footsteps. The tracks and field boundaries are such that we could Read more…