So I was in the bar having a drink....

......and in walked Philipe the tank man. (It is his hotel after all). He sees me, points his finger and then walks out again to reappear minutes later with a 6" thick photo album full of original photos and postcards of tanks in and around Cambrai - this is just the E & F battalion pics. Another interesting hour disappears as I get a detailed commentary on the pictures, why and where and how he got them. Apparently you wont see many of them on the internet or anywhere else as he doesn't publish them in any form. He'll admit himself he's bordering on obsession but his collection will form the basis of the future Cambrai tank museum, hence he wishes to keep them low profile for the time being.

After that, plans made for tomorrow's route home and I'm avoiding the Peage with a cross country route via St Pol across to Etaples and up the coast to Calais. Once over the channel, pop into Ashford to see their tank as I pass on the A2. I'm becoming obsessed with the trapezoidal form, so I'd  better take a tablet or start planning the next trip in May before I start buying postcards eBay .