Day 14, June 23, 2026 Bapaume to Lens

Day 14, June 23, 2026 Bapaume to Lens – 40 miles, 1500’

Today began with a half-hour shuttle to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Experience in Beaurains. Previously, I mentioned that most small towns had a church with a graveyard adjacent to it and statues to honor the dead from the Great War and WWII.

Unknown to me until today, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission maintains war cemeteries throughout the world. We were taken on a tour to see the work that is needed to commemorate the Commonwealth casualties from the First and Second World Wars. This organization works to recover and rebury the dead as they are continually found throughout the world. Many people make headstones, others maintain grounds, etc.

In Belgium alone, the CWGC commemorates more than 200,000 servicemen. More than half have no known grave, and in just Belgium, they maintain 240 cemeteries—which is indicative of the fighting throughout the country. This picture is a sample of the many signs they make for cemeteries throughout the world:

As we biked, we regularly saw impressive war monuments and memorials along the Western Front.

Most notable was the Canadian National Vimy Memorial at Vimy Ridge. Vimy Ridge is sacred ground to the Dominion of Canada. Here, at the height of the ridge on Hill 145, stands the Canadian National Vimy Memorial with its great twin pylons rising up into the sky. Around the memorial are twenty sculptured figures representing such ideas as peace, justice, mourning and grief. Like the Australian National Memorial at Villers-Bretonneux, Vimy carries the names of Canada’s ‘missing’ soldiers, those with ‘no known grave’ who died in France between 1914 and 1918.

The Canadian memorial is situated in a 100 acre park given by the people of France to Canada as a tribute to the Canadian soldiers who fought and died on the Western Front beside their French allies. Significantly, the park is part of the battlefield of the Battle of Vimy Ridge, fought between 9 and 12 April 1917. During those days, the Canadians seized the ridge from the Germans and drove the enemy back down from the heights. It was a significant victory, for British and French forces had failed to drive back the Germans in this area despite strong offensives in 1915.

Another significant event today was the weather. It was HOT! France is experiencing its hottest weather on record. We are drinking lots of water with electrolytes.