A grand day out with family and friends commemorating the men from both sides of the Line who fought, died or survived in our footsteps 1oo years before. Lest we forget.
Two Grandsons, a Great nephew and a great grandaughter at the position of Triangle Point 100 years later than Arthur Bell
Two Grandsons, a Great nephew and a great grandaughter at the Pals Memorial
Poppies in Railway Valley where the Pals waited for the bombardment to lift before they made the final push
A pipe band troop past with some French veterans and local dignitories.
The Gt Grandaughter of a Manchester Pal with her beau from the US
Re-enactment group march up the Grand Rue
A Manchester Pal’s Grandson, Grandaughter and her chap
Looking towards Machine Gun Wood with poppies
German group in the sunken lane approaching Montauban. Remembering all the losses at Montauban.
Bonjour Monsieur Le Mayor.
17th Battalion Manchester Regiment on the Somme 
Smashing photos. Must have been quite something to all make that journey together this special week. 🙂
Thanks Caroline. I had thought it was just another day, so didn’t think it would be worth the drama. Sharing the stroll with my eldest daughter, cousins and friends was brilliant and I’m delighted we all made it.
Cheers
Tim
What a great set of photos Tim. Very nice! Are you in any of them?
Cheers, Steve
>
Thanks Steve,
I keep returning to Montauban and now feel at home. I went up to Ypres afterwards to look at another Arthur Bell on the Menin Gate. I went up the bell tower in the Cloth House and looked across to Tyne Cott, but didn’t see Philip’s inscription this time.
Cheers
Tim
ps I’m the tallest bloke in the pictures with bad hat hair and the smallest belly…. tee hee
I am hoping to get back there some day, but it’s a long trek from Bangkok! Now that my school has broken up for the summer I will have a bit of time to update my site, and include that wonderful photo you sent me awhile back.
By the way, did you see any of those ‘ghost’ soldiers the other day. I have to say I thought it was a splendid idea.
The re-enactors were too well fed to be ghosts! My wife told me about the ghosts at Waterloo. It sounds wonderful and respectful.
Tim great to bump into you on the final RV for Jul 1 1916. It was very fortunate that an earlier group who stopped by the Manchester’s Memorial in Montauban had advised me of the midday parade so we could all be their to commemorate. It would have been too tough for the whole family to have woken up at 6am to make the 7:30 commemoration as we had only arrived in our billet at 0200 HRS the same day. Hard to imagine the exhaustion the Manchesters and others had that same time 100 years ago. Many not sleeping. All anticipating the final push. Keep in touch. The Pinkstone – Timms family remembering William Henry Pinkstone 19th Manchesters fought Jul 1 to Jul 23 wounded later joined the RFC 63 Sqn served in Mesopotamia. First cousins Baillie William, Harry and Walter who never made it home.
Lest we forget.
Hi John,
It was great to meet you and your lovely family. These events are significant for all of us and I still haven’t reflected on the whole day properly. I went to the Normandy Landings first, Arras after and finished looking for a cousin’s final days in Ypres. I did too much!
The 2nd & 4th Pals will have been exhausted on 2nd / 3rd of July and then went to Trones Wood on 8th & 9th. Then Guillemont finished most of the rest them on 23rd and 30th July. After Flers in October I can’t imagine many original men were left and the 23rd April 1917 losses in Arras cemeteries show this. Definitely not forgotten.
Cheers
Tim
Pingback: Twelve Days of Christmas – 2016 Review | 17th Battalion Manchester Regiment on the Somme