The First and Last

Early the next morning I am up early and taking photos out of the window, its a long way down though , once showered and shaved we made our way downstairs, now the night before I had noticed something odd about the decoration, but put it down to tiredness , a bit midnight cowboy?,but no I was not mistaken carpets knocking shop red and everything else hammerite silver , I would like to say it reminded me of a knocking shop, but never having been in one I might be wrong, perhaps the owners got a job lot of paint of a Belgian del boy ?.

Bikes loaded I told himself to aim for the Town Square, however we were distracted as usual by a cake shop, so dived in for coffee and quossants, and a big box of chocolates for the long suffering wife , after that pleasant break a short ride into the square, it looked so familiar to me, my Grandfathers used to tell me about it, and having seen so many images its like visiting an old friend , there are plenty of cafes in the square, and parking does not seem to be a problem for motorcycles plus the local children were finishing their cycling tests around us

The Town Hall at Mons is a must, if only to rub the monkey for good luck, so 103 years later I followed a family tradition , then we explored the wonderful buildings and gardens, an absolute pleasure, before saddling up and riding to our next stop

(If you want to give it a try, and don't want to go all the way to Mons, then there is such a monkey in Bootle Town Hall , twinned with Mons)

Our next stop was a small discreet memorial to the Men of the Royal Irish regiment who kept the enemy at bay and gave them a bloody nose, the Bascule crossroad are a few Kilometres out of the Town and the memorial stands beside a launderette, on the opposite side of the road stands a second memorial re sited from its old position, it commemorates the first and last battles of the 14-18 war, the text on the memorial being written by Sir Winston Churchill, it contains two urns with the soil from the grave of each British and Canadian soldier killed in the first battle of Mons

Local traffic speeds by with barely a glance, but I guess we would do much the same

Chaussee de Binch 46 ,7000 Mons Belgium

Then onwards we ride to an unusual Military cemetery, Saint Symphorien, it does not conform to the standard pattern of C.W.G.C. Sites , because it was once a private park, taken over by the German army to bury their dead, they also buried the dead from the Middlesex regiment who fought so bravely across the Mons- Conde canal, although naming them the Royal Middlesex Regiment on the granite cross , they are buried in a circular pattern around it .

Also worthy of note is the grave of Pvt John Henry Parr , a cyclist with the Middlesex regiment the first British solider killed in WW1, opposite and at his feet lies the body of the last man to be killed in the conflict George Edward Ellison killed on the 11th hour of the 11th day 1918

Also worth seeking out is the grave of Maurice Dease V.C. The first man to be awarded this medal in the conflict

we spent a quite hour wandering about and reflecting on the freedoms that we enjoy because of the actions of these men, its a great pity that so many people take it for granted !.

St. Symphorien Military Cemetery, Rue Nestor Dehon 32, 7030 Mons, Belgium

Onwards once again to our next stop, the railway and footbridge at Nimy crossing the Mons-Conde canal, from memory like all Napoleonic canals it was once 9 metres wide by 2 metres deep, however it has been enlarged a little since the great war, although the replacement bridge is very similar to the original in its construction , its a bit fiddly to find as the original swing bridge has been replaced by a road bridge heading North , but if you turn off to the right before crossing then ride under the road bridge along the Rue de Anglais, you will find the bridge and its memorial

The land on the other side is slightly higher, and the German troops attempted to cross by the rail bridge, the swing bridge had been opened fully back to the south side , and a team of machine gunners kept the Germans back, however they were all killed or injured such was the weight of troops and armour being directed against them , at this point Maurice Dease was badly injured fighting to keep the German army back he was evacuated badly wounded and later died, being awarded his V.C. Posthumously, Pvt Godley, the last remaining soldier, cleared the weapon and kept up a withering rate of fire until badly wounded, he dismantled the weapon and threw the vital parts into the canal, he was taken prisoner and recovered and lived to collect his V.C. The second to be awarded in that conflict.

Quai de Anglais 7020 Mons Belgium N6 to Nimy

Further along the river lies Obourg station , here the Middlesex regiment all of them marksmen kept up a withering rate of fire so much so that a German officer reported them as using machine guns , eventually the Germans brought down a mass of firepower and burnt the station down , we had hoped to visit but roadworks in the area precluded it

Rue de Beauval 7034 Mons Belgium

Our last and final part of the trip before heading home is the first and last shot memorial, confusing I know, the others relating to battles rather than a skirmish , we head North East on the N6 about 4 and a half kilometres, past the colossus of S.H.A.P.E. now the largest employer for many miles around ( thanks to big nose De Gaulle, ) and pull up outside an Italian restaurant, how apt, Restaurant Le Medici, here on the wall a Bronze Plaque records the last shot fired by Canadian troops on the 11th hour of the 11th day 1918, and oddly on the other side of the same road is another memorial to Corporal. E. Thomas of the B.E.F who fired the first shot by allied troops of the Great War

interesting fact, Cpl Thomas M.M. survived the conflict being honourably discharged in 1923 and becoming the Commissionaire at the Duke of Yorks cinema passing away after a shirt illness in 1939.