Hard to believe there are surrounded by houses now, crazy.
@StevenUpton14-183 күн бұрын
Thank you for watching.
@ThisBloke7607 күн бұрын
So glad my ancestors emigrated from Britain to Australia in the 1880’s. The Europeans need to settle down and live peaceful lives but no they can’t, it’s on again
@StevenUpton14-187 күн бұрын
@@ThisBloke760 Thank you for watching.
@michaelfinger730210 күн бұрын
Another magnificent history lesson, with attention to detail that -- all these years later -- brings the past to life. I've been to France, but as a tourist only visited the larger cities. If I ever go back, thanks to the world introduced to me by your videos, I will visit the countryside, where all these battles took place. I simply had no idea that so many of the ruins of this war, especially features like the craters and trenches, had survived. I was also very impressed by the number of cemeteries and memorials, all beautifully maintained. Your videos are wonderful, and I love how you compare what we see today to the original maps. Well done indeed!
@StevenUpton14-189 күн бұрын
@@michaelfinger7302 Thank you for watching.
@privatebribert13 күн бұрын
Hi Steve I don’t think Wellington trench existed on 1st July it was dug much later so therefore the trench by the road was the front line on the 1st July
@StevenUpton14-1812 күн бұрын
@@privatebribert Thank you for watching and the information.
@privatebribert12 күн бұрын
@@StevenUpton14-18 Love your drone footage,I was down that way two weeks ago but I didn't take my drone but I might nip back down soon with it,I stopped at the Ibis in Albert very basic but it has everything you need at a competitive price
@StevenUpton14-1812 күн бұрын
@@privatebribert - I have used the Albert Ibis several times. There is free charging for EV’s, which is great as I have a hybrid.
@privatebribert12 күн бұрын
@@StevenUpton14-18 No such luxury for me,a Triumph Bonneville T120 is my preferred mode of transport
@StevenUpton14-1811 күн бұрын
@@privatebribert - I have never had a Triumph, but currently own 4 bikes.
@pholland835314 күн бұрын
I didn’t get a spanner in my tool kit😢
@StevenUpton14-1814 күн бұрын
@@pholland8353 - Sorry to hear that, but thank you for watching.
@dmlarry17 күн бұрын
Battlefield 1s recreation of the Somme is scarily accurate. The map in game is modeled after a different sector than the crater. Despite that, it’s the same open fields with no cover that move slightly uphill. It’s absolutely ridiculous and sad to see that thousands of men were fighting over a few hundred yards of land
@EarthGeographicalRecon24 күн бұрын
🤡🤡🤡
@andylees294027 күн бұрын
2024 great video, fascinating, very well shot, in fact the low sun accentuates the features, what a terrible place it must have been for those men and where did that war get us??. Looked on goo maps and in those last 7 years it appears to have worn down considerably.
@warofrazors27 күн бұрын
To the southeast, near the German ww1 cemetary, there appears to be a new tag on google for "war museum in the making"
@dm607Ай бұрын
So glad I found this. Good info on Fromelles is hard to find. My hubbies Grandfather and Great Uncle were both in the 5th Division. They were not related. Grandfather was badly wounded, Great Uncle was killed. They are still in the process of trying to identifying him as I type this, using hubbies DNA, he's the last male of his Great Uncles family line. Grandfathers son married Great Uncles niece! Thank you for posting an awesome narrative of events.
@StevenUpton14-18Ай бұрын
@@dm607 Thank you for watching and sharing this information.
@bottomtext1241Ай бұрын
I just found the entire service record of my great-great-grandfather. VRC 24th Battalion, CEF. Sgt Richard Baxter of Montreal. First wounded by shrapnel in the knee at Kemmel in March 1916 and was shot through the shoulder, into his neck and out his jaw on the first day of Lens August 15, 1917. He survived and was returned to Canada in 1918 where he was discharged. Lived the rest of his life in the US.
@StevenUpton14-18Ай бұрын
Thank you for watching and sharing your GGF's service record.
@Salazar777Ай бұрын
No trench would survive...😢
@StevenUpton14-18Ай бұрын
Thank you for watching.
@Salazar777Ай бұрын
@@StevenUpton14-18 thank you for your work
@georgeloven1981Ай бұрын
Thank you, Mr. Upton for all you do I thoroughly enjoy World War I interviews scenery, battlefields, monuments, and cemeteries. I love watching your commentaries. Thank you again Mr. Upton.
@StevenUpton14-18Ай бұрын
@@georgeloven1981 Thank you for watching.
@hanssaykiewicz4319Ай бұрын
Good job!
@StevenUpton14-18Ай бұрын
Thank you for watching.
@michaelfinger7302Ай бұрын
Mr. Upton, your films are beautiful, informative, and at the same time, heartbreaking because they show the full extent of the horrors of World War One. For some reason, this is the war nobody talks about (I'm in the U.S.), but the death toll was staggering from the new "machines of war" like machine guns, tanks, flame throwers, airplanes, mines, and more. You very clearly show that almost all of France was a battlefield (for the Second World War as well), but what I never realized was how much of the past is still visible in the form of trenches, ruins, cemeteries. A hit BBC show, "Peaky Blinders" features a character who was a tunneler in this war, and of course I was aware of the trenches, but had no idea of the extent of the tunnels dug beneath enemy lines. Thank you for sharing these. As you say, let us never forget the sacrifices made here.
@StevenUpton14-18Ай бұрын
Thank you for watching. Two weeks ago I was back in France and visited three American WW1 cemeteries. They are stunningly beautiful and a credit to your nation.
@michaelfinger7302Ай бұрын
As a young man, my grandfather lived on a farm outside the tiny community of Grand Junction, Tennessee, USA. He joined the Army and was quickly sent overseas, participating in five major WW1 battles, until he was gassed and shot. He spent the rest of the war in a hospital, where he recuperated and when the war ended, he returned to Grand Junction, where the spent the rest of his life. His journey to/from Europe took him through exciting places like New York City and Paris, so I've always wondered how he managed to return to such a humdrum existence in a farming community. But somebody mentioned that after enduring the horrors of the World War One battles, perhaps going back to his little town in Tennessee was his way of recovering (physically AND mentally) from what he'd endured.
@StevenUpton14-18Ай бұрын
Thank you for watching. I have met several Americans in France who were visiting place their relatives have served.
@cecilwilson5442Ай бұрын
Seat looks great 👍
@StevenUpton14-18Ай бұрын
Thank you for watching. I was a Corbin.
@cecilwilson5442Ай бұрын
I'd never seen this model until I was looking at st1300 ,, and one came up on eBay,, what a cracker off a motorcycle,,many attributes,, great video and again great choice,,☘️☘️☘️☘️ from northern Ireland
@PeterSdrolias2 ай бұрын
Awesome video Steve. I had the honour of taking my high school students from Winnipeg to Beaumont-Hamel. Being there and listening to our guide tell the story of the tragedy that occurred on July 1st is something that we will always remember.
@StevenUpton14-18Ай бұрын
Thank you for watching.
@jattytakeover70992 ай бұрын
Was the explosion filmed like the shwaben hobe/ hawthorn ridge crater, I’ve seen footage in Peter Jackson’s they shall not grow old and the ground beneath the crater has a similar shape to the one in this video. Sounds odd but it’s a distinctive polygon shape
@StevenUpton14-182 ай бұрын
Thank you for watching. I do not think it was filmed. The film used in 'They shall not grow old" is the Hawthorne Ridge explosion. On the 1st July there were quite a number of mines detonated. Only Hawthorne Ridge was filmed. The reason the the non-circular shape is because it was not a single mine. The tunnel from the British trenches split into two as it approached the German line. At the end of each of these two tunnels was a chamber packed with a total of 60,000 lbs. of ammonal (36,000 and 24,000). They were detonated simultaneously thus creating the non-circular shape crater.
@jefferss16392 ай бұрын
If you look at the old photos of the area you will see how the greedy French farmers have nibbled away at the surrouding land.If they had had their way it would have been filled in like other craters.I believe an Englishman bought the land to prevent the crater's erasure.
@StevenUpton14-182 ай бұрын
Thank you for watching. You are correct in that it was bought by Richard Dunning. Many of the other craters were filled in. Hawthorne Ridge crater has recently had work done on it to clear some trees and vegetation.
@waynemanning32622 ай бұрын
Excellent as always!
@StevenUpton14-182 ай бұрын
Thank you for watching.
@gerardwilkie36502 ай бұрын
Hi, i recently watched a lecture from an author whom has written books on the first world war and given a few recored lectures on certain topics relating to the war. His name is Gordon Corrigan and he claims there is no evidence whatsoever that the football match ever took place and he believes it did not happen. Does anyone have an opinion on this matter they would like to express
@StevenUpton14-182 ай бұрын
Thank you for watching. I have heard claims that the football match did not take place. However, if you go to the location where it is claimed to have happened there used to be a small sign at the side of the road informing you of it and that it happened in the adjacent field. I was there last year and there is now a new more substantial memorial to the event. Whilst the creation of this memorial is not proof in itself, the people responsible for it must be fairly certain that it happened. Incidentally, my GF’s first experience of being in the front line in March 1915 (only 3 months later) was in this very field. Unfortunately I cannot ask him about it.
@gerardwilkie36502 ай бұрын
I have read a few accounts from soldiers as in memiors and eye witness accounts and many claim an informal match took place as in 30 or 40 soldiers on each side both German and British. I have certainly read that even a result was recorded. A Saxon regiment beat a British regiment 3-2. No change there then!!!!! Many historians tend to disbelief what they call anictotal evidence but this is to dismiss the genuine experience of soldiers that were actually there at the Christmas truce and kick about. Regards Gerard
@Vaffel912 ай бұрын
All that death and destruction for nothing.. Nice..
@StevenUpton14-182 ай бұрын
Thank you for watching.
@Tom_Quixote2 ай бұрын
What a crazy war. 21 counterattacks burning through 20,000 men, and they still didn't recapture the hill. Blackadder didn't have to exaggerate much to capture the absurdity.
@StevenUpton14-182 ай бұрын
Thank you for watching.
@nicholaspatton17423 ай бұрын
Thank you for your great video.
@StevenUpton14-182 ай бұрын
Thank you for watching.
@CH-vv2hr3 ай бұрын
WHAT THE HELL CAUSED THIS CRATER?
@StevenUpton14-183 ай бұрын
Thank you for watching. It was caused by an underground explosion.
@CH-vv2hr3 ай бұрын
@@StevenUpton14-18 makes sense since I do not think many, if any weapons of the time could cause this
@StevenUpton14-183 ай бұрын
It was 60,000 lbs of ammonal.
@jefferss16392 ай бұрын
Read your history and you will find out.Don't be lazy and ask someone else.
@deanalm54923 ай бұрын
Just finishing our trip to the WW1 trenches, last night in Arras..! Have you done anything near Ors? Wilfred Owen was killed there and quite an interesting place and a fierce battle, with a couple of VC’s won..
@StevenUpton14-183 ай бұрын
Thank you for watching. I have not filmed that area.
@SuperJonrose3 ай бұрын
Do you have anything about Trones Wood, my great grandfather fought there, he got the MM for action there, he was with the Northamptonshire Regiment.
@StevenUpton14-182 ай бұрын
Thank you for watching and sorry for the delay in replying, I missed your post. I have not yet filmed Trones wood.
@samdesmet76373 ай бұрын
Thank you for this. It's all so fascinating. I keep coming back to a quote that I can't place. "It had become an industrial process in reverse".
@StevenUpton14-183 ай бұрын
Thank you for watching.
@P5ychoFox3 ай бұрын
A relative of mine (Edward Arthur Powell) of the 10th Lincolnshire Battalion died near the crater on 1 July 1916. He’s still there somewhere. Nice to finally see the place.
@StevenUpton14-183 ай бұрын
Thank you for watching. Sorry for your family’s loss. We will remember them.
@arniewilliamson17673 ай бұрын
A wonderful video. Two of my great grandfathers fought at Vimy. Another interesting fact is that as the Nazis advanced they were desecrating any war memorial the came to. After visiting Vimy and being so moved about the fact it deals with the suffering of war rather than celebrating a victory, Hitler ordered that the memorial be protected. He further stationed a permanent SS guard force to ensure no German troops desecrated it. The guards were maintained even after Normandy to ensure retreating troops did not harm it,
@StevenUpton14-183 ай бұрын
Thank you for watching.
@ronaldwhite17303 ай бұрын
Thank you . ( 2024 / May / 17 )
@StevenUpton14-183 ай бұрын
Thank you for watching.
@deanodean19843 ай бұрын
👌
@StevenUpton14-183 ай бұрын
Thank you for watching.
@NiSiochainGanSaoirse3 ай бұрын
Having some family in Canada, what I've learned as a Brit is that at the outbreak of WW1, most Canadians had direct links back to Britain, often being British immigrants to Canada and who fought under a sense Canadian British paternal duty. What happened at vimy ridge, when all four Canadian divisions fought together and won their battle was that they forged a new Canadian identity, and found they could stand on their own two feet, alone, as Canadians.. The significance of vimy ridge to Canadians is more than just a heroic battle. The battle became the genesis of a new nations identity, where Canada came of age and fledged the British nest to independence. A symbolic battle in many ways.
@StevenUpton14-183 ай бұрын
Thank you for watching.
@unconquered823 ай бұрын
Did this particular Canadian happen to be Herbert McBride?
@StevenUpton14-183 ай бұрын
Thank you for watching. I’m sorry I cannot now remember.
@jasoreed3 ай бұрын
In 1990 I was 22 and living near in kortrijk cycling racing quite often u would ride down this road and even went to the amusement park there. Now I’m 55 and watching the history of the war reminiscing of those times . During my training rides and races I would visit all these grave sites , what an experience .
@StevenUpton14-182 ай бұрын
Thank you for watching and sorry for the delay in replying, I missed your post.
@martincolclough43873 ай бұрын
It is great to see you back Steven, love your videos.
@StevenUpton14-183 ай бұрын
Thanks Martin, hope you are keeping well.
@martincoutts67473 ай бұрын
Hi Steven, do you still have the CTX? If so how has your ownership panned out? Thanks Martin 12:59
@StevenUpton14-183 ай бұрын
I changed it for a BMW K1600 about 4 years ago.
@chriswarburtonbrown15663 ай бұрын
Great film Steve! Many thanks. But like most people, you don't mention the stand of A and B companies of 1/7th DLI on this ground on 25th May, a prelude to this better known battle. The battalion lost 29 killed, 76 wounded or gassed, and 183 missing and prisoners. In total this was around two thirds of the men committed. The dead included my great-great uncle, Joseph Bell.
@StevenUpton14-183 ай бұрын
Thank you for watching and sharing this information.
@CGM_684 ай бұрын
Linge not Ligne,
@StevenUpton14-184 ай бұрын
Thank you, typo corrected.
@CGM_684 ай бұрын
@StevenUpton14-18 sorry Steven I should have explained fully. You are saying it incorrectly. It is Le Linge rather than Le Ligne. Not a typo.
@CGM_684 ай бұрын
la ligne de front, means the frontline. However le linge, name of the nearby ridge, and mountain pass, means laundry.
@StevenUpton14-184 ай бұрын
@@CGM_68 I should have checked on a map before changing it.
@CGM_684 ай бұрын
@@StevenUpton14-18 French is a foreign language for both of us. An easy confusion to make, since the spelling is quite similar.
@jimwalton20144 ай бұрын
Remembering the boys of 1/6 North Staffordshire Regiment who lost their lives here on 13 October 1915
@StevenUpton14-184 ай бұрын
Thank you for watching.
@napoleonlempereur30214 ай бұрын
Mein Großvater kämpfte im 1.Weltkrieg auch in Verdun für Deutschland und er überlebte den Krieg.Aus den Erzählungen meiner Mutter weiß ich das er danach weder einen Hass auf die Franzosen hatte noch jemals abfällig über diesen Kriegsgegner sprach.Ich bin froh das Frankreich und Deutschland heute befreundete Nationen sein können.🇨🇵❤❤🇩🇪
@StevenUpton14-184 ай бұрын
Vielen Dank fürs Zuschauen.
@StevenUpton14-184 ай бұрын
Vielen Dank fürs Zuschauen.
@napoleonlempereur30214 ай бұрын
Es ist sehr,sehr traurig für jeden Soldaten der dort getötet oder verwundet wurde.🇩🇪❤❤🇨🇵
@StevenUpton14-184 ай бұрын
Vielen Dank fürs Zuschauen.
@StevenUpton14-184 ай бұрын
Vielen Dank fürs Zuschauen.
@julianbennett37724 ай бұрын
Thanks - such a relatively featureless area topographically, but for those there... Amazing how little shows in aereial photography today
@StevenUpton14-184 ай бұрын
Thank you for watching.
@ronaldwhite17304 ай бұрын
thank - you . ( 2024 / Apr / 08 )
@StevenUpton14-184 ай бұрын
Thank you for watching.
@TheWolfIsHere4 ай бұрын
I'm just found your channel searching Honda CTX 1300 and all I've seen your breaks it down like for us regular mechanics. Hope all is well and good. New fan
@StevenUpton14-184 ай бұрын
Thank you for watching.
@bryanmatthews15405 ай бұрын
Thank u for the great Great War video Steven. Could u show us no man's land from soldiers perspective when u walk the trenches. Find a safe place to lay or perk over without disturbing relics and show camera view nice n slow n different places. So we can picture what they were looking towards. Thanks
@StevenUpton14-185 ай бұрын
Thank you for watching and your suggestion for a future film.
@marcdecuyper55985 ай бұрын
Great job Steven. Your comments are clear en just, as always, love Your video's.