Gillian Thornton

Gillian Thornton reflects on some of the remembrance sites she has visited innorthern France. Each one is special, but this personal selection reflects sites fromboth wars that have lingered the longest in her memory.On 11 November 1918, an Armistice signed ina French forest marked the end of hostilitiesin World War I. Nearly 10 million soldiers haddied and another 10 million civilians. Butbarely 20 years later, the world erupted againand in 2025, we look back on 80 years sincethe end of World War II.From Normandy’s D-Day Landing Beachesto the cemeteries, memorials and museumsof Hauts de France, the French countrysideis dotted with remembrance sites, every oneof them an emotional reminder of courageand sacrifice.NorthernFranceremembersArmistice MemorialMuseum, Compiègne, OiseDeep in the heart of the Compiègne forest,just a short drive from the vast Imperial palaceof Napoleon, the Armistice Glade is wherethe German Empire signed the surrenderdocument in a train carriage on 11 November1918. But in June 1940, it was the French whosurrendered in this historic carriage after theGerman invasion. The original wagon wastaken to Germany but later destroyed, andtoday an identical one stands inside amuseum in the woodland clearing.armistice-museum.comEtaples MilitaryCemetery, Pas de CalaisServicemen from many nations includingChina, India and Poland rest beneath thesoil of Northern France, their cemeteriesoften within shouting distance of their fallencomrades from the US and Canada, Britainand France. Commonwealth practice isto bury soldiers where they fall or die ofEtaples, CWGC Cemetery © Gillian Thorntonwounds, hence why small groups of marbleheadstones often signify a skirmish fora strategic wood or ridge. But the sheernumbers of headstones at Etaples MilitaryCemetery are humbling. Close to manyhospitals and reinforcement camps, Etaples isnow the largest Commonwealth War GravesCommission cemetery with 10,771 burials fromWWI and 119 from WW2 in a green, tree-linedamphitheatre. cwgc.orgWellington Quarry, Arras,Pas de CalaisIn late 1916, experienced tunnellers from NewZealand sailed to France to enlarge ancientunderground chalk quarries beneath Arrasin preparation for a surprise assault on theSword Beach © Gillian Thornton62 | The Good Life France The Good Life France | 63