Olham 164 Posted February 22, 2012 Just fought down a typical winter low by putting this graphic together - the aerodromes at Bertangles, according to the booklet "In the Footsteps of the Red Baron". This is the aerodrome Major Lanoe Hawker started from, when he flew his last mission and met the German ace Manfred von Richthofen. And this was the aerodrome von Richthofen's aircraft was brought to, when he was shot down. Enjoy! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
DukeIronHand 8 Posted February 22, 2012 Spectacular job...again. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Herr Prop-Wasche 7 Posted February 22, 2012 Thanks again, Olham! You are a treasure trove of information. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olham 164 Posted February 22, 2012 Thank you, guys! Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shredward 12 Posted February 22, 2012 Here is the facade of the Chateau, one of many photos I took of Bertangles on one of my journeys. It really is an imposing place, and the outbuildings, gates and farmyard are actually more interesting than the main Chateau. But talk about the pleasures of living in a simple country home!!! Cheers, shredward Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olham 164 Posted February 22, 2012 Great shot indeed, Shredward. Looks like a treated photo - what did you do to make it look so special? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shredward 12 Posted February 22, 2012 (edited) Nothing - it's just the vestiges of the Ancien Régime. The reason for the grainy photos at Chateau Cappy is that they were taken at last light, hand held (you can see street lights reflected on the cars) No special tricks required to make provincial France look fabulous - it just is. Cheers, shredward ps if I remember right, these were shot on Fujichrome. What is interesting about the Google aerial shot, and this applies to any aerial or landscape photo taken at the appropriate time of year, is that the land shows it's history in its shadings, patterns and colouration. In the photo you have shown us, one can clearly see where old roads have been taken out, buildings removed etc. Many times when going over the old battlegrounds, you will clearly see the pattern of the trenches, gun pits etc outlined by the lighter chalky pattern on the redder soil of the fields. Edited February 23, 2012 by shredward Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olham 164 Posted February 22, 2012 Yes, it is indeed. I MUST do that bicycle trip, before I get too old for camping. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shredward 12 Posted February 23, 2012 I cheated. I did credit card bike touring. Stayed in some fabulous old villages, and to splurge, a couple of magnificent chateaux. Just having to haul cameras and clothes for three weeks was enough for me, especially in that hilly terrain in the Vosges. Plus I retrieved a fairly hefty item from the fields in front of Vimy Ridge. No way I could have survived with tent, bags, pots & pans. I roughed it by living off the land ie the boulangeries, the patisseries, and the hospitality of the local people. One does have to make sacrifices! Cheers, shredward Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olham 164 Posted February 23, 2012 As a researching historian you did the right thing residing in some of the Chateaus (Roucourt is one such place, where you can dine, or even stay overnight, as far as I know) - surely a must for the chief historian of OFF. The local food is often excellent surely - the French have so many specialities I never knew before. But I must find out before, which time of year they have the most dry weather there. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shredward 12 Posted February 23, 2012 May and June are nice, but take raingear - there will be showers. Early to mid September is perfect. I'd love to go, but I have a little one now. However, I am for sure going in 2017 for the centenary of Vimy Ridge. Cheers, shredward Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olham 164 Posted February 23, 2012 Thank you, Shredward. Will remember that. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JFM 18 Posted February 24, 2012 I agree, I've been twice in mid-September and overall the weather was nice. Spots of rain on some days but mostly partly cloudy, some overcast. On my last day in France the weather went downhill slowly as the day went on and around dusk it started raining when I was in Lagnicourt. Other than that, no problems. Vimy Ridge, weather slowly closing: Later at Lagnicourt. Can't see it but the rain had just started and it was pouring: Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olham 164 Posted February 24, 2012 Thanks, JFM! I guess that is the acre which was the airfield at Lagnicourt? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
JFM 18 Posted February 24, 2012 Yeah, that's the church you see in the background of several Boelcke/Jasta 2 photos. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Rugbyfan1972 1 Posted February 24, 2012 May and June are nice, but take raingear - there will be showers. Early to mid September is perfect. I'd love to go, but I have a little one now. However, I am for sure going in 2017 for the centenary of Vimy Ridge. Cheers, shredward Shredward, Vimy ridge was taken on the 9th April 1917 wasn't it? What is is the weather like in late August/early September, as I am possibly going over to see the war grave of my great-great uncle who died on the 19th August 1917 at Ypres, and is buried in Brandhoek new military cemetary no 3. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shredward 12 Posted February 24, 2012 Shredward, Vimy ridge was taken on the 9th April 1917 wasn't it? What is is the weather like in late August/early September, as I am possibly going over to see the war grave of my great-great uncle who died on the 19th August 1917 at Ypres, and is buried in Brandhoek new military cemetary no 3. Generally pretty nice. There is always the chance that you will luck out and get the same weather that prevailed in the Salient in August '17, but usually it's quite nice. Cheers, shredward Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olham 164 Posted February 24, 2012 For all, who want to travel through Flanders, I have translated this diagram for the average weather around Antwerp.. You see that the least rain is from June September with average 10 days a month. My own experience from the 80s was less rain, but perhaps that has changed now? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shredward 12 Posted February 24, 2012 For all, who want to travel through Flanders, I have translated this diagram for the average weather around Antwerp.. You see that the least rain is from June September with average 10 days a month. My own experience from the 80s was less rain, but perhaps that has changed now? And August '17 was one of the wettest ever. Rain and artillery shells falling out of the sky turned the whole Salient into a a vast sea of mud. Cheers, shredward Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Olham 164 Posted February 24, 2012 Yes, I have read somewhere, that they assume, that the huge amounts of gun powder, smoke and cordite etc. might have caused much more rain - do you know if that's true, Shredder? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
shredward 12 Posted February 24, 2012 I suppose it's possible - that there was so much more dust,smoke and particles hanging in the air, that it caused water droplets to form much more readily. Or that it was just unusually wet. I dunno. and I dunno if anyone else does either. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Dej 17 Posted February 25, 2012 (edited) And August '17 was one of the wettest ever. Rain and artillery shells falling out of the sky turned the whole Salient into a a vast sea of mud. Cheers, shredward And hence those memory-hooking scenes of WW1, namely Passchendaele. Yet the weather wasn't all bad, September was hot, I recall reading. Nevertheless, duckboards across a sea of sucking mud in which stand the vestiges of once-proud trees, and into which men and horses fell irredeemably to their deaths, is one of the mind-seared images of the whole conflict. Near enough a 'racial memory' for my generation. Edited February 25, 2012 by Dej Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
GMU 0 Posted April 6, 2012 1330090925[/url]' post='554732']Yeah, that's the church you see in the background of several Boelcke/Jasta 2 photos. Great photos Jim. So, you visited Lagnicourt as well! I have been studying this location for a while, for a future trip. Two things: 1) The original church was destroyed. 2) The aerodrome occupied by jasta 2 in 1916 was on another side of the town! Basically the same angle as your photo but from the left side of the church. Mike O' Connor book on aerodromes got it al wrong. George Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
foreigndevil 0 Posted April 6, 2012 For all, who want to travel through Flanders, I have translated this diagram for the average weather around Antwerp.. You see that the least rain is from June September with average 10 days a month. My own experience from the 80s was less rain, but perhaps that has changed now? Most of the time it's much drier these past few years in Antwerp. Climate change is noticeable. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
