Sunday 24 March 2024

Reims 2024 - Reims-Gueux Grand Prix Circuit

 The former Reims Gueux  race track is located 8 km west of Reims . The racing circuit was made up of public roads and was active during from 1926 till 1966.

Located 8 km west of Reims is a former Grand Prix racing circuit which was made up of rural public roads. 

The grandstand, pits and other buildings have been restored and the public roads used in the racing are in still in use. The preservation of the circuit and it's history is undertaken by Les amis du Circuit de Gueux.

The circuit established in 1926 when the circuit hosted the second Grand Prix de la Marne.

1926 Grand Prix de la Marne

The  original circuit  went through the village of Gueux.

Reims-Gueux Grand Circuit 1926

1928 Grand Prix de la Marne Gueux

The Grand Prix de la Marne was held on the circuit from 1926 to 1931.


 In 1932 it was the venue for the French Grand Prix. 

1932 French Grand Prix

From 1933 to 1937 the Grand Prix de la Marne returned, as did the French Grand Prix in 1938 and 1939. 
1936 Grand Prix de la Marne Gueux

Grand Prix racing was suspended from 1940 to 1946 during the Second World War.
The first post war race in Reims was the 1948 French Grand Prix which was also held there in 1949, 1950 and 1951.

1951 French Grand Prix

For the 1952 Grand Prix  de la Marne the track was re-configured to bypass Gueux.




Reims-Gueux Grand Circuit 1952

The circuit hosted the French Grand Prix in 1953,1954,1956, 1958 to 1961,1963 and 1966.

1966 French Grand Prix

The circuit closed in 1972. As well as the Grand Prix racing the circuit hosted hosted the 12 hours of Reims sports cars endurance race and motor cycle racing. 

1967 12 Hours of Reims

1967 12 Hours of Reims

Reims-Gueux

Reims-Gueux Pits and Hospitality Stand

Reims-Gueux Pits and Timekeepers building

Reims-Gueux Starting Straight

Reims-Gueux DM AJ IJ


Reims-Gueux Circuits

The current public roads make a circuit of the original 1926 circuit possible (Yellow Route). It does however pass through the centre of the village of Gueux. The 1953 circuit is not possible (Red Route) as part of that route comes to a dead end and does not connect the rest of the circuit.

It is possible to complete a circuit which combines both the 1926 and 1953 circuits. The starting straight is common to both circuits. Then it is case of joining the 1953 circuit to bypass Gueux, before rejoining the 1926 circuit. The circuits combine at the Virage de la Garenne down the straight  to Virage de Thillois and right onto the finishing straight. 

Reims-Gueux ready for the off

Reims-Gueux ready for the off
















Reims 2024 - Museum of Surrender

 On Monday, May 7, 1945 at 2:41 a.m. the unconditional surrender of the German Third Reich was signed at Supreme Headquarters Allied Expeditionary Force (SHAEF) in Reims bringing the war in Europe to an end.

German unconditional surrender Reims

The headquarters of SHEAF were located in the Collège Moderne et Technique near the railway station in Reims.

SHEAF  HQ Collège Moderne et Technique Reims

The headquarters returned to being an educational establishment after the war and remains so today.  The room where the surrender was signed was preserved and part of the college turned into a museum. 

Collège Moderne et Technique Reims

Surrender Museum Reims

German unconditional surrender Reims

German surrender room and signing table

German surrender room and signing table IJ


German Instrument of Surrender

German unconditional surrender display















Reims 2024 - Resistance / Deportation Memorial

 The Resistance / Deportation Memorial is dedicated to  to the martyrs of the resistance and deportation who were victims of Nazi repression during the Second World War.  It was inaugurated on May 8, 1955 on the 10th anniversary of the Allied victory.

Resistance / Deportation Memorial Reims

Central to the monument is a granite slab 9 metres by 6.5 metres inscribed  "To the Resistance". 

Resistance / Deportation Memorial Reims

In an alcove is an urn containing ashes from the crematoria in the Mauthausen, Flossenbürg, Bergen-Belsen and Neuengamme concentration camps. 

Concentration Camp Ashes

On the grass embankments either side of the memorial are stone slabs bearing the names of those who were killed. 

The slab on the right is inscribed "They fought, they suffered, they died for the same ideal" and records the names of the resistance fighters and deportees who were shot, killed in battle, died under torture or during deportation.

French Resistance Memorial

On the left the slab is inscribed "Civilian Victims of Nazi Repression", the names recorded being almost all victims of the Holocaust.

Civilian Victims Memorial



Reims 2024 - Monument aux morts de Reims

Monument aux morts de Reims

The Reims War Memorial commemorates the men from the city who were killed during the First World War.

The monument was inaugurated on 1 June 1930 by the Minister of War André Maginot, in the presence of Marshal Pétain,

Monument aux morts de Reims

A statue in the middle depicts "Thought Fulfilling Its Resurrection Effort." Above the statue and inscription reads CHILDREN OF REIMS WHO FELL ON THE FIELD OF HONOUR THAT THIS MONUMENT ERECTEDBY YOUR WOUNDED CITY FOREVER EXPRESSES ITS MOURNING AND PRIDE

 On the front of the curved frame are two sculptures. 

The sculpture of the left  "1914: The Sacrifice" is dedicated to the families of those lost. It is inscribed TO THE FAMILIES OF THE DEAD TO EXALT THE GREATNESS OF THEIR SACRIFICE.

That on the right"1918: The Lesson of the Past" is dedicated to those in the future to remember the sacrifices made. It's inscription reads TO THE NEW GENERATIONS SO THAT THEY KNOW AND REMEMBER.

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132e Régiment d’Infanterie Cynotechnique

132nd Canine Infantry Regiment

 
The 132nd Canine Infantry Regiment (132nd RIC) has historic connections to Reims tracing it's lineage back to the French Revolution. 

The Regiment train dogs for military duty. The dogs are used to support French operations abroad, including Africa’s Sahel region, West Africa and the Middle East. They also support  domestic missions such as anti-terrorist operations and work in French overseas territories.

132nd RIC Monument aux morts de Reims

132nd RIC Monument aux morts de Reims

132nd RIC Monument aux morts de Reims

Saturday 23 March 2024

Reims 2024 - Verdun Memorial Museum

Verdun memorial museum

French Soldier

German Soldier

Artillery

Obusier de Campagne de 105 mm modele 1916

Trench Mortar

German Artillery Observation Balloon

French Artillery Observation Balloon

French Nieuport

 German Fokker E III Eindecker

Dogfight

General Petain

Berliet CBA Truck used on La Voie Sacrée

La Voie Sacrée marker