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Thursday 17 February 2011

Quatre-Bras

I am grateful to Conrad Kinch for bringing to my notice the campaign to save the farmhouse at Quatre-Bras from demolition to make way for some new houses and offices.

Dominique Timmermans is leading the campaign to prevent this wanton act of historical vandalism, and I have sent an email deploring the possibility that permission will be granted for the demolition to the the two local municipalities involved.

The more of us who join in and support this campaign, the greater is the likelihood that permission will not be granted. The deadline is very short, and if – like me – you want to try to stop this from happening, please go to Dominique Timmermans' website and see how you can help.

2 comments:

  1. Bob,
    Thanks for the heads up on this. I went to the site and sent my emails off right away. I received a thank-you from Mr. Timmermans shortly thereafter.

    This sort of problem crops up all the time over here as well. The current travesty is a campaign to build a gambling casino immediately next to the Gettysburg Battlefield Park. Apparently there are no other locations available anywhere else in the state of Pennsylvania! ARRRGH!

    Your country seems to me to have a much better sense of history than mine--is battlefield desecration a problem in the UK? I hope not!

    Best regards,

    Chris

    ReplyDelete
  2. Chris,

    Thanks for lending your support to this campaign. I suspect that the developer will get permission to demolish the farm in the end ... but in the meantime we can at least try to stop them.

    I suspect that the US is better at preserving its heritage battlefields than we are in the UK. The Battlefields Trust does its best to prevent existing sites from being damaged or developed, but it is a constant battle to make sure that they are not. One problem is that the actual locations of many of the battlefields are difficult to accurately identify.

    All the best,

    Bob

    PS. A casino next to the Gettysburg battle site! I find it hard to credit it was even considered in the first place, let alone given serious consideration.

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