The Debora Matthews Fellowship

A bit shorter ride today, about 80km to the very attractive town of Peronne. As this is located on the Somme, very few people will need telling that the history of the area is far from attractive. Most of us know a little about the battles and the war graves, but it wasn’t until cycling through today that I realised just how many cemeteries there are. We stopped at one – the sunken road cemetery which had 400 beautifully kept graves of soldiers from all over Britain, Ireland and Canada. They all seemed to have died in September and October 1918, less than TWO months before the end of the war. We were all deeply affected by the experience and were glad there was a register of burial so we could learn more about the people resting there, and a visitor’s book so we could leave a note of our thoughts.
Hotter again today, we recorded 32c and the wind is still not helping. Tomorrow is a much longer day, and we need to make an early start. Weather is forecast to change with rain and cooler. Don’t need the first glad about the second.
Camping in a very attractive pretty site by the river. Hope the others have finished the washing up while I’ve been writing this. Better go and help.