gretnagirl

My great-uncle was Ivan Evans, from Victoria Harbour, Ontario (both of my parents hail from Ontario). He had recently been presented to the King and Queen in recognition of his distinguished action in important raids with the RAF and was returning from his final mission before heading home on leave when his plane crashed due to low cloud cover near Upavon. Apparently there's a large hill that numerous planes crashed into which could be one reason why there's a large number of soldiers buried there. Our Canadian VA website has provided us with some information (https://www.veterans.gc.ca/en/remembrance/memorials/canadian-virtual-war-memorial/detail/2710471), and my brother has done some digging into Uncle Ivan's service. His is a name I grew up hearing much about even though he died 15 years before my mom was born; I think he and my grandmother were quite close. My mom said my grandparents would have visited his grave in the 40s or 50s, so it's past time that the family go to see him.

Thank you, I've found him on that website and you're right, GPS coordinates are there. Luckily for us, my dad is a GPS fanatic, so I'm sure we'll be able to find him. We're not really sure why he wasn't buried in the military cemetery; could be because his plane went down upon returning from a mission and not during a mission, but that's just a guess. I've been impressed with the records that have been kept, both on the Canadian and British sides, about soldiers in general but my great-uncle in particular. Being able to pay our respects is incredibly important to my mom, so we very much appreciate the work of people such as yourself who have helped to make this possible for us, as well as the people who routinely care for his grave as we the family are unable to.

Thanks for that detailed response! We will certainly check out the drivers you mentioned. Luckily for us, Veterans Affairs Canada also has pretty good records of soldiers, and there's actually an entire page filled with pictures, articles, and information about Uncle Ivan, including the exact location of his grave (row and number, if you can believe it) in the "Upavon Cemetery." This is also corroborated by the Commonwealth website you listed. I'm hopeful that with those details, we'll be able to find him. As far as we know, he is not buried in a military cemetery, but in the local church graveyard. I guess we'll find out for sure when we get there.

My family and I did this cruise in August of 2022 and it was amazing! The ABSOLUTE highlight was cruising Prins Christian Sund. As we were on the inaugural sailing of this itinerary, I think it's safe to say that no one really knew what to expect and we weren't prepared for what was to come, and I think that's one of the reasons why it was so impactful. We went in with zero expectations and had our minds blown! My parents and I were up on deck in the early morning (before 7am, I'm sure) and I happened to walk past the cruise director on my way onto the deck who was commenting on the fact that so few people were outside and why would they be missing this? My immediate thought was because none of us knew "this" was a thing! We happened to get out just as we were entering the sound (we were on the eastbound itinerary from New Jersey to Iceland) and the only word I have to describe the experience is otherwordly. We spent almost eight hours outside that day, from the time we entered the sound until we were back out in the open ocean. The bookends of this passage were unreal; from the sheer cliffs at the entrance to the stories-tall icebergs we sailed past after exiting, it was astounding. I highly suggest that you pack enough layers to support a day spent on deck and get up as high as you can. You will want to be able to walk back and forth between the sides of the ship as the scenery is different on the two sides. The temperature was for sure in the single digits (Celsius) but we're hardy Canadians and it truly didn't bother us at all. As they say: There's no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothes! Beyond that, we did a ship tour to Peggy's Cove in Halifax; took a taxi to Signal Hill, Quidi Vidi, and The Rooms (a museum) and then wandered our way back to the ship; wandered around Qaqortoq, but be warned that if you're there on a Sunday, nothing will be open; we did a full-day tour in Akureyri and saw all the highlights; simply got off the ship and wandered around Isafjordur; and then we spent an additional five days in and around Reykjavik. This was a phenomenal trip and one that I would happily do again. I don't think you'll find landscapes like those in Greenland or Iceland anywhere else on earth and I don't think you'd be able to see Prins Christian Sund without a ship. It was truly the highlight of our trip, by a long shot. I will try to include some pictures for you but bear in mind that they simply do not do the area justice. Some things you just have to see (with your own eyes) to believe!

Hello everyone, My family (of 4) has booked a cruise out of Southampton for August of 2025. We are planning to spend at least three days pre-cruise in Southampton and our top priority is to visit my great-uncle's grave in Upavon (he was killed in a plane crash during WWII and buried in Upavon's local cemetery). We are hoping to hire a driver to take us not only to Upavon, but also to Salisbury for the cathedral and Stonehenge since it all appears to be in the same general area. The reason I'm asking here (and not simply relying on an internet search) is because we would need to customize an otherwise standard tour to include Upavon and I'm hoping other people have suggestions of companies that they've used and recommend. Looking forward to your responses! Jessica

Hi there, My family and I are wanting to do a cruise to the Norwegian fjords in August of 2025. We are loyal to Celebrity and have found two itineraries that we're hemming and hawing between. However, having never been to this part of Europe, I'm hoping those of you with more experience can help guide us one way or the other. The two itineraries are as follows: Option 1: Southampton, Zeebrugge, Alesund, Flam, Tromso, Honningsvag, Trondheim, Southampton (12 days) Option 2: Southampton, Stavanger, Olden, Molde, Trondheim, Honningsvag, Tromso, Geiranger, Flam, Rotterdam, Southampton (14 days) We obviously want to see the fjords themselves so that would lead me to choose option 2, but I'm wondering if the beauty of the fjords comes from seeing them from above more so than from the water. We've cruised the Prince Christian Sound in Greenland which was THE most amazing bit of scenery we've ever seen, and that was entirely from the water, so that makes me think that we would enjoy the process of sailing through the fjords as much as seeing them from elevation but I do want the fullest experience possible. I am open to any and all advice/suggestions that this collective brain can give me as we more closer to choosing our cruise. I would also be open to comments about the other ports as this cruise is about more than just the fjords, like passing the Arctic Circle as that is also a priority for us. There are lots of duplicates between the two itineraries but maybe there's something about one of the ports that I don't know about that can help us make our decision. Thanks in advance for your help! Jessica

My family is going to our local Shopper's Drug Mart for the test. $40, done by a pharmacist, results in 15-ish minutes.