Exploring Normandy and Ypres: Battle Plan Day 3 {Part 3}

Actual Date of Event: March 12, 2014

After spending our early afternoon in Arromanches and the Musée du Débarquement we were off to the remaining two beaches, the Juno Beach Centre, and the Canadian Military cemetery. 

Juno Beach Centre

Juno Beach is the beach the Canadians landed on that proved a military success but costly in terms of men lost. The main task of the Canadian 3rd Infantry Division upon landing was to move inland to cut the Caen-Bayeux road and form a connection between the British beaches, Gold and Sword.

The plan was to land at low tide so the German defensive obstacles would be exposed but low tide was three hours prior to their landing so they were partially submerged. The mines took a toll on the landing craft and destroyed or damaged 30% of them. The men, after wading ashore, were then met with heavy firepower with an estimated 50/50 chance of surviving the gunfire.

After fighting hard for Juno Beach they reached the German positions behind the beach and were able to move inland with some speed to reach their target by the end of the day. The price they paid was 1,200 casualties of the 21,400 men that landed on the beach.
 

Exhibits at the Juno Beach Centre

In September 1939, Canada declared the state of war and joined its allies by mobilizing the mightiest military force in its history at sea, on land, and in the air. The Juno Beach Centre tells the story of the Canadians who fought in the military, as well as those the waited at home for their return. In the first room we stood in a simulated landing craft to watch a film projected around us showing images of the war, D-Day, as well as families back home describing what they were thinking and feeling at the time.

The permanent exhibits have lots of photographs and other artifacts to tell the story but my favourites are always the more personal documents like letters to home, even the letters sent home with the sad news that a loved one wouldn't be returning. The batteries, bunkers, and guns can tell part of the story but those artifacts are always what gets me. One word. Heartbreaking.

For the Fallen

by Laurence Binyon

They shall grow not old

As we that are left grow old;

Age shall not weary them

Nor the years condemn;

At the going down of the sun

And in the morning

We will remember them. 

Sword Beach

 

Sword Beach

Sword Beach was the furthest east of the five beaches used on D-Day that was assigned to units of the British 2nd Army. The area around the beach was lightly defended by the Germans, but only as compared to some of the other beaches, and doesn't mean that the British troops didn't lose soldiers too.

The landings started at 7:25 am and by 8:00 am most of the fighting around the beach was over. By 1:00 pm that day the soldiers had met up with the paratroopers at the bridges over the Orne waterways, but on the right were unable to link up with the Canadian troops from Juno Beach. At 4:00 pm the 21st Panzer Division (German) launched an attack but it wasn't to last long. 

By the end of D-Day the British had 29,000 men landed with 630 casualties. German casualties were much higher and many German soldiers had been taken prisoner, but the Caen objective was still several kilometers away. 

Musée Radar

Musée Radar de Douvres

After our short visit to Sword Beach the sun was starting to set so it was time to make our way to the Canadian War Cemetery which was our last planned stop of the day. On the way though we realized we had come upon the Musée Radar (which was on our list for the morning) so we decided to make our stop then.

This is the site of a former German radar station that was one of the most important radar detection links in the Atlantic Wall defenses with a unique example of the Wurzburg Riese radar. The site was closed so we took in the views through the fence and therefore didn't stay very long. 

Canadian War Cemetery

Before the sun did set on us it was time to make our way to the Beny-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery which is the very peaceful resting place of 2,048 soldiers. A large number of these soldiers were killed in early July 1944 in the Battle of Caen and the also those soldiers that fell during the D-Day assault on Juno Beach. Canadian prisoners of war, that were illegally executed at the Ardenne Abbey, are also interred here. 

After quiet wander it was time for another wonderful day out to wind down. Time to head back for a delicious {and romantic} dinner and our last night at our rustic and charming hotel in Crépon. 

In my next post I'll finish off our time in France as we spend the morning at Pegasus Bridge {with a guest post about this by L!} and at our last WWII cemetery in Ranville. The it is off to Belgium!

Postcard from...Brier Island, Canada

Shame on me. Ten postcards done and none of them have been from my own home country yet! Well I best change that immediately eh?

Brier Island is a small island {7.5 km by 2.5 km} on the westernmost part of Nova Scotia that makes up the Digby Neck along with Long Island. It is driven by the fishing industry year-round and a seasonal tourism industry that is mainly focused on whale watching tours. In fact this photo was taken upon our return from one of those tours where we had spent the better part of the day looking for humpback whales. Unfortunately for us most of the day was much, much foggier than this photo suggests it could have been and we didn't see {but did hear} very many whales. The few we did see were amazing. They are so much bigger than you can imagine, especially when they surface by the boat and just lay there peacefully.

As Brier Island is frequently blanketed in fog it has a "lighthouse per mile" with Northern, Western, and Peter Island lighthouses all automated and operated by the Canadian Coast Guard. The island has seen 57 shipwrecks with the wreck of the "Aurora" in 1908 providing the lumber for the Westport Community Hall on the island.

This tiny island, in addition to being surrounded by whales, is also home to seals, many types of coastal plants and plays host to many birds during their migration. The beaches are also great for exploring tide pools and rock hounding...just be sure to keep an eye on the incoming tide!


Photo taken August 10, 2008

WWII Commonwealth War Cemeteries

Last week I wrote about the WWI Commonwealth cemeteries L and I were able to visit in Belgium and this week I'd like to finish this series of posts with a little tour of the WWII cemeteries we visited in France.


Bayeux War Cemetery

We woke the morning of March 12th to a very foggy day and set off for our first visit of the day- the Bayeux War Cemetery in Bayeux, France.

The Allies began their offensive in this part of Europe with the D-Day landings along the coast of Normandy on June 6, 1944. There wasn't much actual fighting in the city of Bayeux but it was the first French town of importance to be liberated by the 50th British Infantry Division on June 7, 1944. As the troops moved through Bayeux towards the landing beaches they ran into difficulties bringing the heavy equipment through the city. It was dangerous and very slow moving so the British Army's engineering department decided to build a big boulevard around the city. This became known as "the by-pass" and was the first ring road ever in France. The term and the road are still in use today.

 
The Bayeux War Cemetery is the largest Commonwealth WWII cemetery in France and was completed in 1952. It contains 4,144 burials of Commonwealth soldiers with 338 of those unidentified. There are also 500 war graves of other nationalities with the majority of those being German.


The grounds were given to the United Kingdom in perpetuity by France for the sacrifices made by the British Empire in the defense and liberation of France.






The Bayeux Memorial stands just across the road from the cemetery and commemorates more than 1,800 men from the Commonwealth forces who died early in the fighting after the D-Day landings and have no known grave.

The Latin epitaph along the front of the memorial is in reference to William the Conqueror and the Invasion of England in 1066. It reads: "We, once conquered by William, have now set free the Conqueror's native land."

Bayeux Memorial

Beny-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery

About 20 km to the east of Bayeux is the little town of Reviers and it is here out in the peaceful farmer's fields that you will find the Beny-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery.

This cemetery contains 2,048 WWII burials with the majority of them Canadian and 19 of them unidentified. Many of the 2,048 men buried here were from the 3rd Canadian Division who died either on June 6th or in the few days following it, when the Division engaged in battle with the German 716th Division and the 21st Panzer Division. The cemetery also includes the graves of four British soldiers and one French resistance soldier who fought alongside the Canadian soldiers and had no known family. This cemetery commemorates the graves of nine sets of brothers.







Ranville War Cemetery

Our last stop in France on Thursday, March 13th was the Ranville War Cemetery and church. Ranville was the first village to be liberated in France when the British 6th Airborne Division captured the bridge over the Caen Canal in the early hours of June 6th. Those soldiers landed nearby by parachute and gliders. Many of this division's casualties are buried here or in the churchyard next to the cemetery.

The cemetery contains 2,235 Commonwealth burials of WWII with 97 of those being unidentified. There are also 330 German graves and a few graves for other nationalities. In addition to the soldiers, the mascot of the 9th Bn Parachute Regiment a dog named Glenn, is buried with his master, Private E.S. Corteil. The churchyard next door contains another 47 Commonwealth graves, one of which is unidentified and one German grave.

"We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; 

we shall never surrender."

~ Winston Churchill

WWI Commonwealth War Cemeteries

Actual Event Date: March 14,2014

 

Continuing the series of posts from the past couple of weeks about the Commonwealth War Graves I'd like to share some information about the specific World War I cemeteries L and I were able to visit while in Ypres last month.

Perth Cemetery {China Wall}

Just a few kilometers outside of Ypres this was the first cemetery we stopped at. It was along the road we were traveling to visit another site so it wasn't a planned stop on the Battle Plan but I'm very glad we did.

This cemetery was started by French troops in November 1914 and was adopted by the 2nd Scottish Rifles in June 1917. The French graves were removed after the Armistice. It was used for front line burials until October 1917 and up to that point contained 130 graves. After the Armistice, graves were brought in from the battlefields around Ypres and from about 30 smaller cemeteries. Today there are 2,791 Commonwealth soldiers of WWI buried or commemorated here. 1,369 of the graves are unidentified, 27 casualties believed to be buried among them are commemorated on special memorials, and names of another 104 casualties are inscribed on memorials for those whose graves could not be found.

It was called Perth because the predecessors for the 2nd Scottish Rifles were raised in Perth, and China Wall from the communication trench known as the Great Wall of China. It was also called Halfway House Cemetery. 

Sanctuary Wood

Sanctuary Wood Cemetery was the 2nd one we visited during our afternoon in the Ypres area. This area is one of the larger woods in the commune of Zillebeke and was used in 1914 to screen troops behind the front line. It was at the centre of the Battle of Mount Sorrel in June 1916 involving the 1st and 3rd Canadian Divisions. There were three Commonwealth cemeteries in this area until this battle and after only traces of one cemetery was found. It is here that they built the present day Sanctuary Wood Cemetery. 

At the Armistice there were 137 graves, but like Perth Cemetery, many more were brought in from surrounding smaller cemeteries until it reached the present day number of 1, 989 Commonwealth servicemen of WWI being buried or commemorated here. 1,353 of the burials are unidentified and many graves are identified in groups but not individually. 

In this cemetery we chose to leave our cameras in the car and just take a quiet stroll around the cemetery. 

Hooge Crater

This cemetery we found quite by accident. It wasn't on our route but we saw several tour buses on a street we passed so we made note to come back to see what was up that street. We found a museum that we now have on the list for our next trip to Belgium and the Hooge Crater Cemetery.

At one time there stood Hooge Chateau which was the scene of much fighting during WWI. In October 1914 the 1st and 2nd Divisions were wiped out when the chateau was shelled. In May and June of 1915 the chateau was defended against the attacking Germans and in July of the same year the crater was created by a mine detonated by the 3rd Division. The chateau was then taken by the Germans four times between July 1915 and April 1918, and finally regained for the last time in September 1918 by the 9th (Scottish) and 29th Divisions. 

The cemetery itself was begun in October 1917 and originally contained 76 graves but was greatly increased after the Armistice to the current number of 5,923 Commonwealth soldiers commemorated within its low walls, with 3,579 of the burials unidentified. 

Tyne Cot

Tyne Cot received its name from the Northumberland Fusiliers who dubbed the small barn by the rail crossing on the Passchendaele-Broodseinde road "Tyne Cot" or "Tyne Cottage". The barn had become the centre of half a dozen German pill-boxes. One of these pill-boxes was unusually large and was used as an advanced dressing station after its capture by the 3rd Australian Division. In late 1917 through early 1918, 343 graves were made on two sides of it. The cemetery fell back into German hands from April to September but was finally recaptured by the Belgian Army.

There are four pill-boxes in the cemetery with the Cross of Sacrifice placed on the largest one at the suggestion of King George V. 

Image can be enlarged by clicking on it.

Tyne Cot is now the largest Commonwealth cemetery in the world in terms of burials. There are 11,956 servicemen buried or commemorated here with 8,369 of the burials unidentified. There are also 4 German soldiers buried in this cemetery. In addition to the graves the Tyne Cot Memorial forms the north-eastern boundary around the cemetery and commemorates another 35,000 servicemen from the United Kingdom and New Zealand who died in the Ypres Salient after August 16, 1917 and whose graves are not known.

Essex Farm

We finished off our day in Belgium with a stop at Essex Farm Cemetery which is the resting place for 1,200 servicemen of WWI. Of these 103 are unidentified and it was here that we saw the youngest soldier in all the cemeteries we visited. Rifleman V.J.Strudwick was just 15 years old when he was killed in 1916.

It was also here that Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae of the Canadian Army Medical Corps wrote his well known poem "In Flanders Fields" in May 1915. It is believed he started this poem the evening after he performed the burial service for his friend, and fellow soldier, Lieutenant Alexis Helmer. His poem has become one of the most enduring poems of the First World War and made the poppy a lasting symbol of self-sacrifice in war. I remember well reciting this poem each year at our Remembrance Day services in elementary school.

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

~ John McCrae, May 1915

Design and Structure of the Commonwealth War Cemeteries

Last Sunday I started a series of posts about the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and wrote about the history of the Commission and how the cemeteries came to be created. This week I'd like to continue in this series by describing the structure of these cemeteries, the symbols found within them, and the design of the stones marking the burials of the fallen soldiers.


Sir Frederic Kenyon who described his vision of the cemeteries in 1918 said this: 
 

 "The general appearance of a British cemetery will be that of an enclosure with plots of grass or flowers (or both) separated by paths of varying size, and set with orderly rows of headstones, uniform in height and width.  Shrubs and trees will be arranged in various places, sometimes as clumps at the junctions of ways, sometimes as avenues along the sides of the principal paths, sometimes around the borders of the cemetery.  The graves will, wherever possible, face towards the east, and at the eastern end of the cemetery will be a great altar stone, raised upon broad steps, and bearing some brief and appropriate phrase or text.  Either over the stone, or elsewhere in the cemetery, will be a small building, where visitors may gather for shelter or for worship, and where the register of the graves will be kept.  And at some prominent spot will rise the Cross, as the symbol of the Christian faith and of the self-sacrifice of the men who now lie beneath its shadow."

The structure and design of the cemeteries and memorials played an important part from the very beginning of their creation. Except for a few exceptions, due to local geological conditions, all of the cemeteries follow the same design globally so that they may be easily recognized and distinguished from war graves of other countries or groups.

Perth Cemetery in Belgium

Typically the cemeteries are surrounded by a low wall or hedge with a wrought-iron gate at the entrance. Notably for cemeteries in France and Belgium, a land tablet is found near the entrance to identify that the grounds have been provided the the French or Belgian government.

Land tablet and register at Bayeux War Cemetery in France

 

All but the very smallest cemeteries also contain a register with an inventory of the burials, a plan of the plots and rows, and a basic history of the cemetery. These registers are found in metal cupboards marked with a cross found near the entrance or in a shelter within the cemetery.

 

 
The grounds are covered in grass with a floral border around the headstones (except in drier climates) and were designed as such to make the cemetery feel like a traditional walled garden where visitors could feel a sense of peace instead of traditionally bleak graveyards.

"There is no reason why cemeteries should be places of gloom."

~ Sir Frederic Kenyon, How the Cemeteries Abroad Will be Designed, 1918

Tyne Cot Cemetery in Belgium

Cross of Sacrifice

Designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield, the cross of sacrifice is a symbol of the selflessness displayed by those commemorated in each cemetery and represents the denominations of all Christians. On each one is a downward facing bronze sword that symbolizes that the battle has been fought and those that gave their lives are now mourned. In order not to overshadow the grave stones a cross of sacrifice is only placed in those cemeteries with more than 40 graves. In cemeteries with a majority of non-Christians buried there is no cross, but instead they may have another symbol of the culture of the majority of the soldiers such as a magnificent pine tree representing longevity and endurance as found in the Chinese cemetery at Noyelles-sur-Mer in France.




 
Stone of Remembrance

The Stone of Remembrance was designed by an architect Edward Luytens and expresses the idea of eternity. It can be found in each cemetery that has more than 1000 graves and each one bears the words "Their Name Liveth for Evermore" which was chosen by Rudyard Kipling from the Old Testament. Although the words are from the Bible the Stone of Remembrance was designed to be a non-Christian memorial as a sign of respect for the diversity of the 1.7 million commemorated. Unlike the other religious symbols it is meant to represent everyone. Their bodies are buried in peace and their name liveth for evermore.

Beny-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery in France

British headstones at Bayeux War Cemetery in France

Headstones

On almost all headstones is a cross, whether wide or narrow depending on the country and regiment of the soldier, which shows the faith of those fallen. There are also some stones that bear the Star of David to mark the graves of Jewish casualties, and some bear no religious symbol at all at the request of some families.

The emblem on all Canadian headstones

Emblems

All British headstones bear the regimental badges (including those of Irish regiments) and the others are marked with their respective national emblem.


Personal Details

Each headstone is marked at the top with the soldier's name, number, unit, date of death and, often,his age. Preceding his name is his rank or Private if he was in the infantry, Gunner if he was an artilleryman, Sapper if he was with the engineers, and so on.

Sadly many bodies could not be identified at all and bear the inscription "A Soldier of the Great War, Known unto God" that was also developed by Rudyard Kipling. If they could be partially identified then the headstone carries the additional known information.

Where applicable the soldier's decorations, such as Military Medal and Distinguished Conduct Medal, follow the soldier's name on the stone.

Unknown soldiers at Tyne Cot Cemetery in Belgium

Epitaph

Soldier's families could chose an epitaph to be added to the bottom of the headstone. Many chose lines from poems or the Bible, while others chose more personal messages to show their pride and love. Interestingly Australian headstones have the highest ratio of epitaphs yet New Zealand headstones contain none.






Special Memorials

When a soldier is known to be buried in a particular cemetery but the exact location of his grave can not be determined, he is commemorated by a "Special Memorial". His name will appear on this stone only, and not on a Memorial to the Missing. Engraved above his name will be one of the following inscriptions:
a)  "Believed to be"
b)  "Believed to be buried in this cemetery"
c)  "Known to be buried in this cemetery"
d)  "To the memory of"

For those soldiers where there is no known grave his name is inscribed on a Memorial to the Missing. In the coming weeks I'll have some information about these memorials too, most specifically those at the Menin Gate and Tyne Cot.

To view information about each of the 23,000 cemeteries and memorials maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission you can visit their website and search their databases for particular cemeteries or soldiers.

"Where the sacrifices had been common, the memorial should be common also" 

~ How the Cemeteries Abroad will be Designed, 1918

History of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission

Beny-sur-Mer Canadian War Cemetery in Reviers, France

A very important part of the trip L and I took recently to Normandy and Ypres were the military cemeteries we visited to take some moments to reflect and pay our respects to the soldiers that fought and died during WWI and WWII. In France we visited an American, a German, a Canadian, and two Commonwealth cemeteries and then in Ypres we visited several more Commonwealth cemeteries.  Eventually I'd like to feature each one we visited but today I'd like to start with the history behind the Commonwealth War Graves Commission that created and continues to maintain the Commonwealth cemeteries and memorials.

As we slowly wandered through each one we noticed the similarities between them, wondered about the layout of some that seemed odd (in that they weren't all laid out in straight and tidy rows), and noted the higher proportion of unknown soldiers in WWI cemeteries in Ypres and the surrounding areas than in the WWII cemeteries in France. I picked up some pamphlets along the way and studied information at the Tyne Cot visitors center describing the story behind how these cemeteries and memorials came to be and the common symbols in each and this is what has led to today's post.

The story begins in 1914 when a former teacher, Fabian Ware, arrived in France. He wanted to enlist in the British army but was told he was too old so he joined, and later commanded, a British Red Cross Unit. His task was to lead a mobile unit that recovered injured soldiers and, all too often, bodies of fallen soldiers that need burial. During the war soldiers were typically buried near hospitals or battlefields and it was their comrades responsibility to mark their graves. Many of these records were lost or the simple crosses erected were damaged during the continued fighting. Fabian noticed the problems with this system and was very concerned that the graves would be lost forever. He and his unit took it upon themselves to start registering and caring for all the graves they could find.

Tyne Cot War Cemetery in Zonnebeke, Belgium

In 1915 the War Office recognized the work of Ware's unit and they officially became the Graves Registration Commission. During this time they received hundreds of letters from the soldier's relatives looking for information and photographs of their loved ones' graves. By 1917, 12,000 photographs had been sent to relatives around the world. Later in 1917, Ware grew further concerned about the fate of the graves once the war was over and became convinced an official organization was needed. With the support of the Prince of Wales, he submitted a request for this to the Imperial War Conference and unanimously his request was granted and the Imperial War Graves Commission was established on May 21, 1917. Later in 1960, the name was changed to the current name, "Commonwealth War Graves Commission", a decision made when the Commission recognized the name "Imperial" in the title was not in tune with post war strengthening of national and regional feelings.

From Bayeux War Cemetery in France

In addition to recording the details of each soldier the IWGC began creating lasting memorials and cemeteries to commemorate the fallen soldiers. Debates and disagreements then ensued over how they should be created but in the end four principals were agreed upon:

• Each of the dead should be commemorated by name on the headstone or memorial
• Headstones and memorials should be permanent
• Headstones should be uniform
• There should be no distinction made on account of military or civil rank, race or creed

 

By 1938 the building work for hundreds of memorials and cemeteries was complete but then only one year later WWII began and with it also began more burials. From WWII another 600,000 men and women were commemorated.

 In addition to the soldiers the Commission also recognized in WWII that casualties were no longer only military personnel and Ware insisted on the commemoration of the civilian deaths as well. Their over 66,000 names have been recorded on a roll of honour that was placed near St. George's Chapel at Westminster Abbey in 1956.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission cares for cemeteries and memorials in 23,000 locations, in 153 countries. In all 1.7 million men and women from the Commonwealth forces from WWI and WWII have been honoured and commemorated in perpetuity.

Ranville War Cemetery in Ranville, France

To learn more about the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, find a cemetery or a fallen soldier please visit their very informative website. 

Working alongside the CWGC is the War Graves Photographic Project that have undertaken the huge task of recording, archiving and making available to descendants the images of the graves or memorial listings of every service casualty since the outbreak of WWI. As of 2013, with the help of a dedicated group of volunteers, they have been able to record over 1.7 million named graves and memorials and the task continues.

 

"I have many times asked myself whether there can be more potent advocates of peace upon earth through the years to come than this massed multitude of silent witnesses to the desolation of war."

 - King George V, Flanders, 1922

UNESCO World Heritage Sites Travel Goal

If you follow this blog for awhile you'll start to see that I have many travel goals that I'd like to accomplish in my lifetime and along with these goals comes another favourite of mine to keep up with these goals...lots and lots of lists!

I've been tossing around a goal to visit a certain number of UNESCO sites for awhile but wasn't really sure how many there were all together {981} or just how many I have visited to date {only 16!} so this weekend I decided to find the official list, set my goal and start tracking it. Please visit my permanent UNESCO Sites page to stay up-to-date on my progress.

So now, along with my goals to visit 100 countries, all the castles of England, and various other travel & adventure goals I've also set a goal to visit 500 UNESCO sites in my lifetime. As sites are added each year if I've already visited them, before their inclusion, I'll still allow myself to consider them one of the 500 because let's face it, if I'm starting at 16 I'm going to need all the help I can get to reach 500! Really though, in the end, if I reach 462 or 534 the ultimate reward will be that I have visited and experienced some awesome natural and cultural sites all around our world. 

The official UNESCO World Heritage Centre website can be found here and there is tons of information on their site. Also for those that are curious, like me, UNESCO stands for United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization. 




A UNESCO World Heritage Site is 

...a place (such as a forest, mountain, lake, desert, monument, building, complex, or city) that is listed by the UNESCO as of special cultural or physical significance. As of January 2014, 981 sites are listed: 759 cultural, 193 natural, and 29 mixed properties. While each World Heritage Site remains part of the legal territory of the state wherein the site is located, UNESCO considers it in the interest of the international community to preserve each site.

To be included on the list a site must be of "outstanding universal value" and meet at least one out of ten selection criteria. The list of criteria can be found here.  Only countries that have signed the World Heritage Convention, pledging to protect their own natural and cultural heritage, can submit nominations for sites to be included on the list. Each year the World Heritage Committee meets to decide which sites will be added to the list. For more information on the nomination process visit here.

For the full list and an interactive map you can visit the World Heritage Sites List. Each site on the list is also linked to further information about that site giving a description, photos, and the criteria/criterion it met to be included. It is very informative and if you're like me I'm sure you'll spend way too long reading about all the places you've been and the ones you know you'll see. I even found a few places that I was very surprised to see made the list. Have fun checking it out!

To keep this list on this page at a reasonable length I'm only going to include the places I've been. Eventually that might get divided up by continent but for now my list includes:

BELGIUM

• Belfries of Belgium and France {so far only one belfry visited in Ypres (Ieper) at the Cloth Hall}

CANADA

• Historic District of Old Québec
• Old Town Lunenburg

FRANCE

• Mont Saint-Michel and it's Bay
• Palace and Park of Versailles
• Paris, Banks of the Seine
• Le Havre, the City Rebuilt by Auguste Perret

HOLY SEE

• Historic Centre of Rome, the properties of the Holy See in that City Enjoying Extraterritorial Rights and San Paolo Fuori le Mura {have seen Centre of Rome from this entry}*shared with ITALY*
•  Vatican City

ICELAND

• Thingvellir National Park

ITALY

•  Historic Centre of Rome, the properties of the Holy See in that City Enjoying Extraterritorial Rights and San Paolo Fuori le Mura {have seen Centre of Rome from this entry}*shared with HOLY SEE*
• Historic Centre of Florence
• Assisi, the Basilica of San Francesco and other San Franciscan Sites

NETHERLANDS

• Seventeenth-Century Canal Ring Area of Amsterdam inside the Singelgracht

UNITED KINGDOM OF GREAT BRITAIN AND NORTHERN IRELAND

• Canterbury Cathedral, St Augustine's Abbey and St. Martin's Church
• Tower of London
• Maritime Greenwich

STATS {Last Updated March 2014}

Number of Sites Visited: 16

% of Total Sites Visited: 1.6%

% of Sites Visited to Meet my Goal of 500:  3.2%