| EXPLOITS IN FRANCE |
| SO..WHATS IT ALL ABOUT THEN? |
I hope to cover various topics, dear to my heart, based around my interest in the Great War.
Interested in collecting war relics,and battlefield pickups? This will be the site for you. I aim to provide info on cleaning, restoring and displaying WW1 relics, as well as articles relating to the collecting and restoration of Imperial German helmets, and other leather gear.
Are you a diver? Sick of watching iron items (cannon balls) fall apart before your very eyes. I will be writing articles on preserving ferrous items recovered from the sea.
Well..the site is growing and so is my disc storage and bandwidth usage. Sadly this is not free!! If you like the site and want to help keep it online...please help!! Every penny helps, so any donation of any size will be gratefully accepted. This site is none profit making and I fund it from my own pocket, please help to keep it online. Click the button below to make a donation
| A word on Metal Detecting |
The author of this site is proud to say that he never uses a metal detector.There are valid reasons for this.
Anyone visiting the battle fields of France should be aware of the suffering that took place there. Good times and bad times were shared by all, but many of those responsible for creating the dugouts, trenches and pill boxes that can still be found in the woods, are still there. Not only that, but they still have living relatives, some of whom remember a father, grandfather etc. Nothing brought the point home to me more than attending the funeral of a young Canadian soldier, who was killed on the Somme. I was one of a party of people who found the body, ploughed up in a field. We reported our find and in due course went to his funeral.His sister had died three years before his body was found. She had made three trips to France looking for him (no mean feat on an early 20th century wage) she had never given up hope. When I look at some of the ID discs advertised on Ebay today, I think of that lady, and I wonder what became of the remains the disc came from. If you use a metal detector, sooner or later you will find a body. Bear in mind that the person you just found may well have living relatives. The gratitude shown to myself and other members of the group who found the body by the soldiers niece, was worth far more than the bracelet that identified him. All too often these identifying pieces end up in the private collection of some ghoulish person, along with other personal effects, while the human remains are kicked back into the hole. Your choice, you live with it.
Secondly, and sadly more likely to influence someone, metal detecting in France is illegal in many departments. You run the risk of heavy fines, and worse. You can have your vehicle, and all your equipment impounded, and quite frankly, tough! is what I think. You can also be deported, sadly not on a permanent basis, and that will really stuff up your holiday!
Finally, there is no need to do it. With a little research, patience and dedication, you can find all you want through field walking, which is legal, and bunker ratting. I`m not sure about the latter, but my advice is don`t get caught!
The message is, show respect. I accept that some of the things I do, may not be strictly "kosher" but at least I can justify them to myself, morally. Like it or not, the artifacts I bring back are saved for posterity, and thats got to be better than letting them rust away to nothing.
| FRANCE 2002 TRIP |
| Entering a French dug out for the first time in 80 years. |
This can sometimes be a little traumatic, as well as exciting, and yes that is fear making my eyes roll up!! You generally get lots of loose soil in your eyes, ears and down your back, especially if you had to widen the entrance.
Large rocks should be removed before going down on the rope, because they tend to hurt when they implant themselves in the top of your head having bounced 30 feet or so down a shaft. The finds can make the risk worth while though, and I have incurred no serious injury in ten years.
Some of these dugouts are really well preserved, as you will see later, and you get a real insight into what it must have been like to call one of these places home. I have encountered all types of artifacts, including a news paper clipping in German advertising a horse and cart for sale!!
| Some of the finds made. |
When you hit the bottom, you can expect to find some, or any, of these items. German dugouts tend to be less productive, as they were souvenered by the victorious allies at the time, as well as by interested tourists. However, with a little patience, and perseverence, you will always find one dugout that is relatively untouched. The author has found handgrenades, bayonets, pickelhaube badges, buttons and even a silver watch in a German dugout. Remember the lighting in these places was never great. Take a sieve, and in time you will find coins, rings, and all manner of small items.
