Abbeville - A Trip In The Sun

The train from Amiens to Abbeville took us quickly and quietly to the start of an interesting, rain-free and sunny day's trip. The WW2 history of the town is horrible and the rebuilding of the place a testament to the resilience of  the survivors.

On May 20 1940, Guderian's blitzkrieg broke though the Allied forces at Abbeville and so reached the channel. Just before the arrival of the German Forces, twenty-two Belgian Right-Wing political leaders were shot by the French Police in a public park which resulted in hundreds of the victims followers joining the Waffen SS. The "Abbeville Boys" were one of the most famous German fighter squadrons. In December 1943 the RAF carried out two bombing raids (47 and 51 aircraft) on flying-bomb sites located between Abbeville and Amiens, The Lancasters were from 617 Squadron of Dambusters Fame based north of Lincoln.

Enough of that ...

The church of St Vulfran was badly damaged but, has been brilliantly rebuilt/restored. This church is really worth visiting; a peacefully plain and calm interior with many interesting objects.

Lunch ... you would have loved the almond tartlet and the millefleur ...

The church of St Sepulcre was also badly damaged and has been rebuild/restored. The modern stained glass, designed by Manessier, is spectacular. We were blessed with brilliant sunshine which showed the windows at their best.

The museum in town had an excellent exhibition of Manessier's designs.

Back to Amiens by express train.

A beer and Pernod plus a coffee while watching the passing crowd ended an excellent and thought provoking day.