Vimy Ridge

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89spartans_12/03/77

Vital Squad Member
About 20 years ago me and a few chums drove down to Vimy Ridge to visit the remarkable and moving memorial there.
Afterwards we decided to have a beer in the village.
We bumped into a group of Colombia fans fully kitted out in flags and feathers. We shook hands and both our groups entered the pub and shared a pleasant couple of hours boozing in readiness for the big game later in Lens.
Beckhammmmmmmm!!!!!
 
Oh I didn’t watch the game in the pub. I was at the game itself. I was fortunate enough to have a ticket. My mates not so.
I stayed with them until the last moment. It reminded me of the scene where people are trying to get on the last lifeboat on the titanic.
Things were getting really ugly as ticketless fans mugged ticket holding fans.
 
Former City player Peter Mackin was killed on Easter Monday, 9 April 1917, the opening day of the Battle of Vimy Ridge (part of the wider Battle of Arras). He was 38, and is buried in Roclincourt Military Cemetery.

He had earlier been wounded on 1 July 1916 at the Battle of the Somme; his brother Thomas was killed that day.

Peter Mackin was born in Gateshead in 1878 of Irish parents. City's records show him as 'Machin' but it appears that his surname was actually Mackin (Ian, do you know for sure?).

He was signed from Sunderland in 1905 as part of the Dennis O'Donnell transfer, and made 54 appearances for City, scoring 21 goals. He was also part of the team that won at Chelsea alongside George Kennedy, who was also killed in WWI. He returned to his native north-east where he became a star performer for Blyth Spartans.

He was a Private in the 24th Battalion of the Royal Northumberland Fusiliers at the time of his death.
 
Ha ha Spartan , remember it well , big cinema screen for us unlucky ones 10 francs and bottles of pop , did go back to vimmy ridge few years ago , well worth a return visit
 
If you go on certain days and book in advance you can go in a section of the tunnels under Vimy Ridge, or at least you could.

Likewise the memorial at Arras takes you underground to the tunnels under the town which held the British prior to the main advance.

Both are interesting trips.
 
On a slightly different slant, we were at Vimy Ridge a couple of days ago and it did put into perspective as to whether we sign John Akinde or not, and really anything else to do with footi.
 
89spartans_12/03/77 said:
I’ve been back there too Daz, took the kids there when we were driving back from Italy. For me they just had to see this.
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Quite a few school trips do include visits to this and other monuments to the FWW in Northern France as part of their curriculum . It certainly left an impression on me for the first time some 50 + years ago, and more recently last week.
 
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