100 years ago on the 22nd of December 1917, Private Marshall Stockdale of the Sherwood Foresters: Notts and Derby Regiment, died in the Battle of Somme, from gangrene, in a field hospital, aged 26.
3 days before Christmas, his wife, Mabel, who was at home in Basford, Nottingham, got the telegram that her husband had been killed in battle.
Little did they know, 100 years later, 5 of their descendants would go over to France to see Marshall's gravestone in Greviller's British Cemetery.
4am on Saturday the 23rd of December 2017, me, Mum, Dad and Ryan set off for France. I'm a terrible traveler so I was absolutely dreading it. I had my travel wristbands on and some rescue remedy at the ready and snuggled up against the window with my new furry blanket and my pillow, trying to concentrate on falling asleep so that the journey would go quicker.
Couple hours later, a sleepy Beck arrived at Northampton services. We got out the car and I felt so ill! I headed straight to the toilets with Mum, trying my best to stop shivering from the cold and tiredness and then we went and took a seat at the services' McDonald's. I couldn't even think about food at that point but Mum, Dad and Ryan had a little something.
We set off again and next thing I knew, we were at Maidstone services with only half an hourish to go until we got to the Chunnel. We nipped in, went to the toilet and then Mum and Dad got some headlight adjustment stickers ready for going over into France. They spent a good 20 minutes trying to figure out where they go on the headlights, looking at the instructions, but gave up and decided to try again when we got to the Chunnel. We set off again.
I stayed awake for the rest of the journey. We arrived at the Euro Tunnel services and I was starting to feel a bit better. We went inside and found lots of shops and a little AA cart with all the stuff we need for going abroad and I suddenly thought, 'Crap, I've not got any adapters for my plugs' so I headed over and bought a pack of 2. As we went to find the toilets, we came across a fenced pen with 3 Reindeer inside! One looked fully grown, one a bit smaller and one even smaller than that. The smallest one we found out, was only 6 months old! It was brown with tiny antlers on it's head. It was curled up in a ball on the ground, out of reach so I went over to the fully grown one instead and stroked it's back.
Dad and Ryan went into WH Smith's and Mum wanted to go into the duty-free so we went in there and had a browse at the perfumes and jewellery (you know, the usual girly stuff). There was a choir singing Christmas songs which was really lovely, made me tear up a bit, as soft as that sounds. Our letter W then appeared up on the screen saying that we can get ready to go and line up for departure. On our way into the services, we'd had a look at everyone else's cars and any that were similar to ours to see where we were meant to be putting our headlight adapters. One car still had passengers in the front seats and caught us looking at the headlights, looking a bit confused so Mum went round to the window and just explained why we were looking and asked for advice. They said they'd just guessed and as it happens, most of the other people we spoke to said they'd guessed too. Back at the car it was a family affair. We all gathered around the headlights, looking at the instructions, me googling how to put the stickers on our specific car and eventually, Dad found a video on YouTube that said they needed to go on at 7 o'clock (not the actual time, the position), over the main light. Dad had the sticker and I crouched down and guided him into the right place. If it was wrong, we were all responsible as a family.
We got back in the car and set off towards boarding. We had about half an hour just waiting in the queue to start with and then we went through border control with the French and English checking our passports before we got on the train. The train is so weird! You drive onto it and then they guide you into place and tell you to turn off your engine, put it into first and roll down the windows. You're allowed to get out the car and move around if you want, just don't go in between the cars, stay at the sides on the walkway. I just stayed in the car but Dad and Ryan got out, Dad wasn't feeling too good and as a passenger, on a normal train you jig about a bit, imagine being in a car jigging about it bit with the extra suspension...? It's not the best thing if you're feeling dodgy to begin with.
35 minutes later we've time travelled into France. It was 20 past 10 when we left England, it was 5 to 12 when we arrived in France. We went straight to Euro City as soon as we got off the train. We knew Grandma, Grandad, Sukes and Levi were at Euro City so I gave Sukes a quick ring to see where they were. Unfortunately, they were literally just going to the car and leaving to carry on to the gite, so it was just us 4 until we met them there later on. Ryan forgot his wallet so he went back to the car while me, Mum and Dad parked ourselves on a bench and waited for him to come back. We all had food on our minds by this time so that was our main priority while we were there. However, I then spotted the Disney store so that then became my main priority. We went and had a look in there first before finding food and I was in awe of these little Disney princess figures in a see through kind of display case. They were sooo cute! They were the Disney princesses but as children. I walked away thinking 35 euros was a bit much to spend on the first day but for the rest of the week, I couldn't stop thinking about them.
We had lunch in a pub. We were in France and we went to a pub where the menu was in French and English. Definitely not complaining though! I took French at school for GCSE and got a B but it's been 7 years since then so my French is a bit rusty. I had sausage, egg and chips and it was very yummy!
After we'd eaten we went to Carrefour which is fricking huge! It's a hypermarket... a bit like Tesco I guess but better! As we walked in there was loads of Lindor chocolates and Ferrero Rocher, Kinder stuff and I was in heaven! I managed to resist and me and Dad found the books and DVDs. I had a look for Harry Potter in the books and found it in French. I really wanted it but again, it was our first day so I thought I'd find it another day instead. We got some bits and bobs for the house like milk and breakfast and some stuff for lunch. We went looking for crisps and I found some Lays which are exactly like Walkers and guess what flavour they had that they don't have in England anymore? BARBEQUE!!!!! I bloody love barbeque Walkers!!! So I pretty much ran over to them and grabbed a big bag and started cuddling and stroking them. I really, really wish I'd bought some more though :(
We headed back to the car and set off on the journey to Fresnoy-au-Val. It took a lot longer than we thought it would and it was a tad stressful! We were meant to be following the route that Dad had planned on Google but we got a bit lost so I got my phone out and let Google maps guide us from there. It took us through little French villages and down a couple dirt tracks that were apparently proper roads...? 2ish hours later we drove through Fresnoy-au-Val and after going the long way around the village, came to a stop outside our home for the week.
Grandma, Grandad, Sukes and Levi arrived a few hours before us so we had a nice warm welcome when we got there. Grandma had made parsnip and elderflower soup so we sat down and had that after we'd had a look around and put our bags in our rooms. As you walked in the door there was an open hallway with a wooden staircase leading upstairs. Upstairs to your left was Grandma and Grandad's room, straight ahead was the bathroom and then over on the right was Mum and Dad's room and mine was in the corner next to theirs. I had a big pink and purple room with 3 beds, a desk, a chest of drawers and a big wardrobe. Back downstairs, immediately to the right were some french doors leading to the front room/dining room and straight ahead was the door to the kitchen. A little way down the hallway, before you got to the kitchen door there was a long thin corridor to the left, where the door to the basement, Ryan's room, Sukes and Levi's room, a bathroom and a separate toilet were. Into the kitchen, straight ahead you had the door to the conservatory and to the right were some more french doors leading into the front room/dining room area. The front room/dining room was lovely and big with a working fireplace in the seating area. It was so cosy!
After the soup that evening, Grandma had made a chocolate and orange marble cake so we had a slice of that. I took a bite and thought, the icing tastes a bit strange... so to be polite, I just took off the top and ate the rest of the cake, deciding to just say I wasn't keen on icing if anyone asked. It seemed I wasn't the only one who thought the icing tasted funny. I can't remember who mentioned it but then we all agreed on it and then Grandma suddenly realised that she might have put cornflower in the mix instead of icing sugar. That was it, we all found it hilarious and it was an ongoing joke for the rest of the week.
The next morning was Christmas Eve. We all had a nice long lie in and met downstairs where I was greeted with the smell of croissants for breakfast. We chilled out for the rest of the morning and part of the afternoon, doing our own thing, and then headed out to the nearest supermarket to get supplies. Apparently, when they arrived, there wasn't a kettle! The French don't really do tea, it's more of a coffee kind of country so they just have coffee makers, so Grandad went out and got a kettle before we got there the previous day. That being said, there also wasn't enough mugs for us all either so that was one of the reasons we needed to go shopping. I'd realised I hadn't brought any shampoo and conditioner with me so that was my mission for shopping, as well as some chocolate, some hair grips and any other snacks I fancied. I got to the check out with Mum and Dad and realised that I needed a bag so I asked Dad what bag was in French and then it was a case of, okay now how do I ask for one? It was 'Je voudrais en sac sil vous plais.'. I liked speaking French and I found that when I was buying stuff, they still spoke to me in French whereas with Ryan, Mum and Dad, they tended to change to English. Maybe I'd mastered the accent or something but as soon as they said something I didn't recognise, I just kind of ignored them and said what I needed to say which was usually hello, thank you and goodbye in French.
That afternoon/evening Levi and Grandad made the fire and we all sat around reading, knitting and playing on phones and laptops. That's one thing I love about my family, they accept who I am and if I want to sit and read in silence, I can without being called anti-social or boring. There were several days that we'd all just sit in silence, doing our own thing until we made a move and went somewhere or got up to eat, it was so chilled! Exactly what I'd needed.
Christmas morning we had smoked Salmon on... some sort of tiny french bread, but for me and Grandma who aren't keen on Salmon, we had ham. After we'd all eaten and got dressed and settled, Levi opened a bottle of champagne and gave everyone a glass to have while we handed out presents. With the Stockdale's, we've always handed out presents individually and then waited while that person opened it before handing another out. I like it, you can see the person's reactions to the stuff you bought them instead of everyone opening them at once and there's just a general thank you to the room at the end. I got a Harry Potter pop vinyl and a pink mug with 'I get distracted by shiny things' on it from Ryan, the latest seasons of The Originals and The Vampire Diaries from Mum and Dad, a little lego kitchen from Grandma and Grandad (because I work in a cafe), and a big Harry Potter pillowcase from Sukes and Levi. Before dinner, me, Mum and Ryan decided to go for a stroll around the village to actually have a look at where we were staying. Fresnoy-au-Val is a very small French village with a lovely big church in the village square, what looked like a cafe, and a large pond. There was also a village hall but that's about it.
We had Christmas dinner and then went back to chilling out and doing our own thing until the evening when we watched It's a Wonderful Life. I hadn't seen it before, there's something warm and fuzzy about a black and white film on Christmas night!
Boxing day was the day we went to see Marshall at Grevillers British Cemetery. We stopped and had McDonald's on the way, for lunch and then headed straight there. It was very cold and windy but better weather than the previous time we'd visited a few years ago. None of us could remember exactly where Marshall's gravestone was but after about 5 minutes, I think it was Levi and Ryan that found it in the middle, on the right, 3 stones in. It was hard being there, to be honest, it's a bit overwhelming, knowing my great great grandad was only 2 years older than I am right now and knowing that he'd died in the war with all his life ahead of him. At the bottom of his gravestone, it had 'He gave his all', which hit me when I read it. So many people around my age are still figuring things out, finding what they want to do with their lives... the soldiers didn't have a choice. They got up every day, knowing what was to come and that it could be their last day so knowing or hoping that Marshall had given his all at age 26, was inspiring! I'm incredibly proud to be his great great granddaughter. It also put a lump in my throat seeing the other soldiers and how old they were as well, some as young as 19! Absolutely heartbreaking.
After leaving Grevillers, we nipped into a supermarket and then headed home. On our way home though, Grandad decided to take a detour and showed us a bomb crater that had been created by the English, Lochnagar. 27 tons of explosives made the crater to blow up the German front line. It was huge! At the entrance it actually said, 'This site is dangerous. All who enter it do so at their own risk.', so yeah, that wasn't off-putting at all! But we still went in and walked around it, then headed back to the car to go home.
It chucked it down most of Wednesday, so it was an indoors day. Dad does roleplay in his spare time, he absolutely loves it. Most of the time he's a Dungeon Master for a group that plays Dungeons and Dragons at Geek Headquarters in Chesterfield. He's been doing it for most of his life since he lived in Weston I think where he played with a group of friends which included my Uncle Matt (Mum's brother). A few months before our trip to France, Mum mentioned about Dad maybe doing a Christmas game of Dungeons and Dragons for us and Grandma got quite excited, asking to be a Fairy for it. Dad, as I've said, spends his spare time doing it and it's hard work coming up with adventures for a group to do, it takes a lot of imagination and I guess it's like doing screenplay for a film because you've got to take into account how long it's going to take and if your players are going to be interested. Naturally, taking all that in, Dad was a bit nervous and a bit... erm, well, not pleased with the idea of having to create a new adventure, Christmas themed, for a family who had little to no experience in the game. Dad being Dad though, decided to take on the challenge, so on Wednesday, that's what we did!
It was brilliant! Grandma was a Fairy as she'd wished and I was a Bard with special magical powers (I can't remember what the others were). Our mission or quest I think is the right term, was to rescue Pere Nicholas from an evil Krampus kind of guy. We fought Snowmen and Toy Soldiers and made our way to a cabin where Pere Nicholas was captured and then had our final battle against the Krampus guy and won! It was so much fun, using our imaginations, making decisions as a team about what our tactics were and working together to defeat evil!
3 hours later and after some more chilling out time, Mum and Dad made dinner for us all and then we watched a film before bed.
Day 6 was Amiens day! We all had our usual lazy morning, getting up when we were ready to, grabbing breakfast in our own time and chilling out before going out. We weren't far from Amiens so it didn't take us long to get there. We parked up and walked into the centre, dawdling by the Christmas market stalls and ice skating rink on our way to a pub to get some food. We did some shopping and found there was an Alice in Wonderland thing that was like a mini park where you could walk around... it's hard to describe so...
It's quite hard to arrange photos on here but there you go.
After lots of shopping, browsing and wandering around, we made our way to Amiens cathedral where at 7 o'clock there would be a light show actually on the front of the cathedral. It. Was. Amazing! Beautiful colours and shapes moving around to the music, it was truly wonderful. Unfortunately, it was also extremely cold! Middle of Winter, at 7pm... you can guess how cold it was. I couldn't feel my fingers by the end of the show because I was trying to record it on my camera. Needless to say, the video is a little shaky from my shivering. Oh, also while in Amiens, I found Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone in French so I bought that.
Friday was another relaxed day. We nipped out to the supermarket to get what me and Ryan needed for dinner (pizzas), spent the afternoon chilling again and me desperately trying to finish Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows before we left. (It was my goal to finish all the Harry Potter books before New Year). Me and Ryan (mainly me) made tea and then we put on Ratatouille before bed.
Saturday morning was an early start. We were up for 7ish and wanted to be out by 8am. It was definitely a struggle after being able to have long lie-ins all week, getting up at 11 most days! We said our goodbyes to the rest of the family and I said thank you to Grandad for arranging it for us all, I'd had a wonderful week and I'd really needed it, and it was all thanks to him and Grandma.
Our first stop was Euro City again, I was desperate to get those little Disney Princess figures after thinking about them all week. We went straight there under my orders and then had a drink in one of the cafes, me having a pain au chocolat and a tea that came in a glass...? We had another look around the shops and got some bits in the Carrefour, then headed back to the car to carry on and go to the Chunnel. We went through border control again and had our passports checked before boarding the train and then time traveled back into England. I can't remember the exact times but I remember arriving in England before we'd set off if you get me? Because of the hour difference.
Then began the journey home, arriving back about 5ish I think it was.
And that concludes my tale of The Stockdale's Christmas in France. It was a wonderful week and the break from normality that I needed (Minus being away from Aiden... I didn't need that!). It's more as a record for me than anything but I hope you've enjoyed reading it.
Becks x
