13 April

After waking, then going back to sleep and finally getting up at 7:20, I was ready for breakfast at 8. Christian (mine host) had remembered and along came the egg and bacon WITHOUT pepper (but with a salt shaker).
He asked if an early breakfast would be okay tomorrow (suits me better), so tomorrow I will be having breakfast at 7, then off for an early start as I will be moving on, going to Calais and then working along and down the French coast, with excursions inland, until I hit Spain. He is doing a walk near Ypres.
After another must pleasant breakfast, I finished preparing for the day and then headed off to Peronne, to see the Historical. Rather than a straight museum, it presents materials and times from the periods before, during and after the war. I arrived in Peronne at 9:40, so had a little walk around before going to the museum (they open at 10). I noticed that yet again, the river had been barraged, and pools (or ponds) had been created from the trapped water. It makes very pleasant little open water areas for recreational use.
Once in the Historical I walked around, trying to glean a lot in a little time. I heard a familiar accent, (ex)teachers from Orange, NSW. They had to be at Calais at the end of the day, so were trying to pack more than I do into a day. The three main exhibition areas were well set out, with displays in “pits”, so they were easily visible to everyone.
After, I called into the bookshop, asking about maps for the actions of August 1918. The reply was n, but I skimmed through some books and found one, “Advance to Victory 1918 – Somme”, with an interesting Chapter Three. I quote from page 64,
“…Under the direction of two Australians who were already familiar with the approaches to Chipilly the 2/10 Londons then entered the village under the protection of a smokescreen fired by the artillery. These Australians then pushed around the south of the village, above the banks of the Somme, and then rushed the machine gun positions on the spur’s summit. This attack … allowing the soldiers of the 173 Brigade to complete the capture of their objective …”
This seems to tally fairly well with the account given in the citation:
“When the assaulting troops were nearing the RED line the advance looked like being seriously hampered by the fire from an enemy machine-gun nest which was on the ridge in front. Corporal Pound, regardless of personal risk, rushed his mortar forward and got it quickly into action, dislodging the enemy guns and crews. All this was done under the most severe fire from enemy machine guns. The advance was then able to proceed.”
Therefore I believe I have found the location of the action: it would be just south of the current War Cemetery in Chipilly, which is only a kilometre or so from the line between Morcourt and Mericourt-sur-Somme, and just north of the Somme.
Exhilarated by this, I headed north to catch up with Lawrence Brown at Thiepval and see if he accepted my belief. On the way I called in at a small Australian memorial at Mont St Quentin. I then stopped at a Souvenir (Remembrance) Chapel and found a small but moving museum and a cemetery with not only crosses, but markers for French of other religions. After that was a South African memorial at Longueval. Passing back through Pozieres, I found another Australian memorial (there is one at each end of the town). Just before getting to the Newfoundland memorial, which I wanted to get back to, I stopped at Mouquot Farm, which was christened “Moo Cow Farm” by the Australians.
At the Newfoundland memorial at Beaumont-Hamel, not only did I get to see the whole site properly, I also found Steven, a Canadian, who is checking to see if he can locate a large scale map of the area in question above, so I can be certain. He will get back to me.
Then it was into Thiepval, where Lawrence agreed that it most likely was the same action described in the book and in the citation. Now, far more certain in my belief, I headed back to scout the site better. As I had to pass through Albert on the way, I got a baguette for lunch (sounds better than saying I pigged out on a small breadstick) and photographed the town hall.
Once in Chipilly, at the cemetery I took photos encompassing the site of the action. The river is not easily visible, so I went down to Morcourt and found some lanes heading to the river, drove in (very carefully) with my narrow, low, front-wheel-drive and new Renault and then took some photos to show what the area is like. They are all labelled George Pound in the Flickr site, Europe Day 3 photos.
Feeling very satisfied, I headed back to Pozieres to note everything down, transfer the photos and perhaps hit the big M this evening and get everything on line. I decided that, as this “trench museum” was opposite, I should see it (and at €2, it wasn’t too much of a gamble). I parked and walked over, paid and went into the back yard. I didn’t get any further for the time being as a family from Paris, up here for the day (it’s only about an hour from the centre of Paris if you take the motorway) said Bonjour, I answered Bonjour, then added G’Day and said I was Australian and the next minute I was being asked everything and then took a photo of them and had mine taken with them. After half an hour they left to go home and I looked at the museum. It actually is his back yard, but very well done (as you can see). Before I was able to go, I chatted with three Englishmen over here for a few days, and that extended into another half hour once they realised I was Australian.
So I was able to retreat and do everything, and now at 6:40 I will head off to Macca’s at Albert and try to get everything posted for today.