In memory of James Chappell Bham.

[tobyma123]

7th August 1918,James Chappell age 19, 2nd Batt Essex regiment private 44145.
James was my great uncle killed by shellfire in the advance,
the day before the Battle of Ameins.
Commemorated Loos's memorial France.
tobyma 123.

[Viktoria]

How kind of you to remember and share with us.
I watched the service from Amiens Cathedral today,low key but very impressive.A bit “awkward “ to say the least for the German representatives.
It is true to say that other battles did not have such a great measure of success have been more remembered.
It always seems a great pity that someone should be killed so close to the end of a terrible war,more poignant in a strange way.
Wilfred Owen was killed only days before the Armistice,indeed the Bell’s were ringing in Shrewsbury,his home town , when the telegram informing his family that he had been killed a few days earlier was delivered.
Amiens Cathedral is wonderful and each evening in the Summer a light show is a fascinating thing to see.All the street lights go off and a coloured “negative” is superimposed on the Cathedral facade,so it looks in all the colourful glory it had when built.It was covered in bright wax paint,all the figures appeared to be in gorgeous clothing,angel wings were gold etc.We think the Cathedrals were just in the bare stone but no,they were like the illuminated manuscripts and just as stained glass windows were wonderful to
the peasants so must the Cathedrals have been too.
Amiens is a lovely town.
Have you visited your relative’s grave.?
Not many people get thought about a hundred years after they died,you have remembered and posted a little memorial to his memory.
All we can give is remembrance,it is so little to do yet means a great deal.
Thank you.
                Viktoria.

[tobyma123]

Hello viktoria your lovely message brought a tear to my eye.
James was my grandfathers brother he has no grave.
I have not been as yet but may sometime.
Grandfather also served and survived he was at Ypres he served all the war.
He  joined up in 1914 as i met him i know something of what they went through.
James was called up in 1918 he was engaged to be married his girl had a breakdown
when he was killed but recovered and married someone else.
It only takes a moment to remember the great sacrifice of these brave young men.
James knew from grandfather how bad it was but he went anyway.
They met once in France which was amazing a needle in a haystack you might say.
At least they saw each other once more.
regards tobyma123

[Viktoria]

On one of our many visits to France and Belgium we seemed to follow one particular family who were also visiting graveyards and signing the Books of Remembrance which sit in a little cupboard at the entrance to every one.
The parents wrote; “We just called in to say hello and Thank You”.
The children in ages from young teens to six years old all wrote “Thankyou”.
At the first the parents had written ,then another visitor or two and then the children.It was obvious they had wanted to go back and write something.At later cemeteries they wrote directly under their parent’s entry .
This was on The Somme,near Delville Wood.
I sit in church on Sundays by a stained glass window, a memorial to one Percy Turnbull,who was killed aged19 in October 1916 at Delville Wood.
Turnbulls, his family were of Stockton &Turnbull,local textile
manufacturers and also textile printers,.
I am ,hopefully going to Ypres with my son and daughter in law for  Nov11th this year,if I am allowed to fly and get insurance .
I hope you get to where he fought, at least, and see his name at Loos.

What a dreadful sacrifice, I wonder what our country would have been like had we not had to fight that war.
At least your relative has someone who is still proud of him.
Viktoria.

[tobyma123]

Hello Viktoria  thank you so much for your kind thoughts.
I have a few close relatives KIA in the first and second war even
one KIA in Vietnam a US cousin.
It is something you never forget even with time passing.
Have a good trip.
Regards tobyma123.