Riding a Tiger along the Maginot Line

28/05/26 – Travels with a Tiger: Riding the Western Front – Phil Drabble

Phil began by explaining that his presentation would focus on the First World War Western Front, which stretched from Pfetterhouse on the Swiss border, through Alsace and Champagne into Belgium, ending at Nieuwpoort on the Belgian coast. Covering a distance of approximately 475 miles, it was a route that he had ridden the previous year on his Triumph Tiger motorcycle. Although he already had a good knowledge of the Western Front, he was particularly interested in the stories of two Nottingham men: Albert Ball and Alf Schofield.

Inspired by a letter written by a Scottish soldier, Douglas Gillespie, to his parents suggesting that the Western Front should become a modern-day pilgrimage route, historian Sir Anthony Seldon established the Western Front Way Association to help make Gillespie’s vision a reality. To launch the initiative, Seldon walked the length of the Western Front and later recorded his experiences in the book The Path of Peace. After reading the book, Phil was inspired to follow the same route on his motorcycle.

Phil then explained how the Western Front came into being. Following the rapid advance of German forces through Belgium and much of northern France, the French army eventually halted the Germans at the First Battle of the Marne, when they were within sight of the Eiffel Tower. As both sides dug in and attempted to outflank one another, the front gradually extended eastwards and westwards, eventually forming a vast network of interconnected trenches stretching from the Swiss border to the Belgian coast.

Phil began his journey in Alsace, crossing the Vosges Mountains, an area that witnessed some of the bloodiest fighting of the war. He then travelled through Lorraine to the site of what was perhaps the most brutal battle of the First World War: the Battle of Verdun. Here, the Germans sought to “bleed the French army dry” in an attempt to break French morale and military strength.

Continuing westwards, Phil entered Picardy and those sections of the front that were largely occupied by British and Commonwealth forces. In Artois, he visited the area where the Nottingham-born pilot Albert Ball was killed after having shot down 44 German aircraft. It was also here that the other Nottingham man, Alf Schofield, was gassed. Phil had mentioned earlier that his journey was very much a personal one, and it was revealed that Alf Schofield had been his maternal grandfather.

Phil travelled further west, stopping at Vimy Ridge, where many Canadian soldiers fought, and at the Thiepval Memorial, which commemorates the missing of the Somme. On the first day of the Battle of the Somme, around 60,000 British soldiers were killed, wounded, or reported missing, making it one of the darkest days in British military history.

After crossing into Belgium, Phil visited Ypres and the Cloth Hall, which, despite the devastation suffered during the war, has been magnificently restored. It was also in this region that Adolf Hitler served as a corporal in the German Army.

Phil concluded his presentation by showing a video of soldiers singing Take Me Back to Dear Old Blighty.

Stan gave the vote of thanks, saying how much he had enjoyed the presentation and praising its wealth of detail. Having visited Verdun himself, he said he could readily relate to much of what Phil had described. The members joined him in a warm round of applause to thank Phil for an informative and engaging presentation.                        AR