This weekend , I was visiting the wellington quarry
Battle of Arras Memorial 9 April 1917.
Under the paving of Arras , lie impressive chalk quarries which were dug during the Middle ages . during the great war, Arras was destroyed as soon as 1914 . From 1916 , the allies began preparing a diversion attack before the Chemin Des Dames assault . Their brillant idea : The New-Zealand tunnellers were in charge of linking up the quarries to create a true underground network where 24,000 soldiers could be quartered , waiting for the offensive to start.
After going down 20 metres deep in a glass lift , the audioguided tour , accompanied by a courier , takes the visitors into the intimacy of the place , strategic site as well as a living place , the quarry named Wellington by the New Zealand sappers preserves the memory of these thousands of soldiers billeted underground , a few metres from the frontline , before their surprise attack on the German positions in the morning of 9 April 1917 at 5.30 a.m. The raising to the surface , in the footsteps of these soldiers , will lead you to the shock of the battle , which you will experience through the projection of a film .
Also an emblematic memory place , the site of the Wellington quarry , on the surface , offers a memorial garden as well as memorial wall , to render homage to the regiments of the first , Third and Fifth British Armies involved in the Battle of Arras
If you're interested just click on the link below.
http://picasaweb.google.com/waminvero/LaCarriReWellington
I hope you enjoy the pictures!
Véronique