A brief legover

So, last week, I managed a ride out on Ginny, for the first time in almost 2 months. My bro' had sent me a link to a website called www.tracesofwar.com, which shows war graves, etc around the country. I'd already decided I was going to drop a book about the Somme to him, via the back roads but on checking out the website, I found a graveyard, just alongside the A20, down which I would be travelling. So I planned to stop there on the way down.

Doing a bit of digging on the CWGC website and viewing the graves, I realised that many of the 80 or so headstones had the same date on them, 24th June 1944. When I dug a little deeper, I discovered that 52 men, belonging to 6th Guards Tank Brigade, REME (Royal Electrical & Mechanical Engineers), had been killed at Charing Heath, when a German V1 flying bomb, apparently knocked off course by an RAF Spitfire, slammed into their camp. There is a dedicated area containing a memorial to the 52 and graves of the 46 men who were sufficiently intact, to be able to identify and bury. How dreadful for the six families of those other men, presumably blown to kingdom come.

Further reference to the traces of war website map, led me to discover a WW1 tank, on open air display in the centre of Ashford. In all the years I've lived in Kent, 37 now, I had never heard of this. So, that went on my stopping list too.

Ginny started first prod of the button and as usual, purred, whilst she waited for me to get astride her and click her into first gear. A gentle ride through the country lanes and old villages, led me to the cemetery, which is just on the outskirts of Lenham. I rode about 50 metres along a tarmac 'driveway', through some commemorative gates and into the cemetery. There, I spent some time checking out the headstones and also removing a beer can, that some disrespectful scumbag had seen fit to leave on the grass. Over half of the dead, I think, were in their twenties, the youngest, just 20, all having had their lives wrenched away from them, by a quirk of fate, as they made preparations to join the allied assault, just 3 weeks after D-Day.

Commemorative plaques on the entrance to the cemetery

46 of the 52 lost souls. All 52 are named on the memorial

Back on Ginny, I made my way just a few miles more down the A20, to Ashford. The tank is under a canopy in St George's Square. Luckily, as I arrived, there was one parking space left on the narrow one-way street, right in front of the tank.

The story of the tank, a genuine Mark IV Female, is that it was presented to the town in recognition of its effort in raising funds towards the war effort. This tank never saw action, as it was a training tank, and was presented to the town in 1919. Apparently, the tank was driven into position in the square and has remained there ever since. 101 years and counting. It was spruced up a bit in 2017, in preparation for its 100th anniversary and I must say looks very nice.

WW1 Mark IV Female Tank

Sticking to the country roads, I made my way to my brother's gaff, where we enjoyed a socially distanced drink & chat. It was a nice warm & sunny day, so nice to get out on the bike again. The ride back was not so leisurely, as I just jumped onto the M20 for the ride home, letting Ginny stretch her legs, at a legal 70mph of course.

As the weather seems set to be nice for the next week or so, I'll try and get out to more historical sites. Who knows what there is out there to discover?

Till next time.

Stay safe.