Picture of Ulster Tower taken this morning. Looks great.

Mick

Lovely in the Sun,

sunny here too!

Wish i was there!

mandy

A couple of years ago I heard that Thiepval Wood had been bought by the Somme Association of NI Is this true ?

Clio, if you google , " Somme Association buy Thiepval Wood", you can read a BBC news hit about it,,,,


regards, Barbara..

Snap,Mick,
this was monday at 11.30ish,then the valley then Munich.Magic week weatherwise,apart from thursdays fog.Dave.

More like the leaning Tower of Thiepval!

It looks stunning though.

Hope to see it this year as a trip out for my new C4 Picasso battle bus.

There is a lean to the tower. Not quite as marked as in Daves picture, but it is very difficult to photograph.

Mick

Tis hard,especially when its only yer car thats holding you up & yer heeds still seeing whisky bottles everywhere
Wot a night...

I took the pic below in October and I didn't notice a lean then. I was there in the morning so I didn't have my liquid lunch as yet.

If you haven't been there before, plan it as a lunch stop as there is a very nice couple who will sell you sandwiches, tea and biscuts.

Ted & Phoebe get back to the tower next week but I don't think the tower is open till 1st March. Always a great welcome, a good cup of tea & a bit of crack!
Regards
John.

That will be 'craic' (hopefully?!)

Seriously, after the 'miserable' days when 'others' were hosting the tower the warm welcome of recent years from Ted and Phoebe has been a joy.

I second that - a stop for a cuppa always figures in my days out in the region.

No doubt Dave squatted to take the photograph and if you knew Dave you would not be commenting on the lean of the photograph but be greatful he got down that far to get the full photo.

Kevin

I may have missed something in scanning through the links above. Who has paid for the splendid facelift and cleaning work on the Ulster Tower? No agenda to the question; I'm just interested. Was the cost perhaps included in the purchase cost for Thiepval Wood?

It looks like an excellent job. A very fine cup of tea there when I visited in 2006 and an equally fine welcome! They could do with some of the soda bread I have enjoyed on occasional trips to Belfast but this might confuse the local boulangerie.

Ian

Ian,

It gets my vote for the best cup of tea on the Somme too.

Aye

Tom McC

When Dave took the picture, it wasn't the tower that was swaying.

*thinks*
he know me too well.....

Teddy and Phoebe are absolute heroes. Their personal commitment and absolute love for this area alway shine through. I always stop at the Ulster Tower for coffee and the craic. Teddy must be the world expert on the 36th Ulsters on the first day of the Somme. I'll be there on March 1st and i'm delighted to hear that they will be there and open for business.

http://1914-1918.invisionzone.com/forums/i...13&hl=Teddy

These links to special UTV docu aboout Tower and the 'tenants' should still be working. Well worth a view.

SADLY they are now gone. I suppose the footage will now be stored away on UTVs digital archive and never be shown again. Ho hum.

Mick - et al in France

Thanks for posting the pic of the just newly cleaned "Ulster Tower" in the Feb sunshine on the Forum. Hopefully it looks as good now as it did when it was first opened. When speaking to Teddy and Phoebe last Thursday they are looking forward to getting back. They will however be "cross" if you managed to bend the Tower when they were away. Might it not be more a case of:

Mick + one new Nikon camera - a good tripod = one leaning Tower !!

Hope to see all again this November, if not before - Tommy.

No lean in the tower in this pic!

this is a nice one.

Mick

Glad everyone agrees Ulster Tower is looking well. It is the first clean it has had since 1921 and we are delighted with the results.

In Dave's defence the Tower does have a slight lean to the right as you are looking at it from the gate. We (the Somme Association) are carrying out a survey with CWGC to see if it is getting any worse each year.

The Ulster Tower and Thiepval Wood opened yesterday for business again, with Phoebe and Teddy back at the helm for another year. Please call in for a good old "Ulster Welcome"

Carol Walker

I'm so glad to hear that,Carol.
I shall take my family there at easter,but only if the tower can provide the weather!
Dave.

Sorry Dave can only promise a good welcome but here's hoping with the weather!!

For anyone interested we will be over in mid May to do some further work to Thiepval Wood. Slightly later this year due to other work commitments.

Carol

The work in progress on Ulster Tower

Photos thanks to Diane & Vic.

About 10 years ago I was allowed to the top, and took a superb 360 diorama.

Is this still possible, or has HASW reared its ugly head?

Sorry but access is no longer allowed due to health & safety, insurance premiums and that fact that it is the custodians home.

An old B&W postcard showing "Helen's Tower" on the Clandeboye Estate near Bangor, on which the design for the "Ulster Tower" at Thiepval was based.

Regards, Tommy.

You know this is very similar to a couple of war memorials in the Tayside region, at Forfar and Cortachy. I wonder if anyone can tell me whether it formed the model for these post war Scottish memorials too ?

Hi,
The new (clean) Ulster Tower here. Don't hesitate to seek for another memorial or cemetery on http://www.todayisfree.com/
Cordially
Alain

Hi Alain. That is an absolutely brilliant site. Thanks for posting the link.