If These Walls Could Talk…

I am in no way entering the modern debate about building walls, but I am interested in history. Since ancient times, walls have been built in many places around the world, to mark borders, protect kingdoms, or keep out enemies. Examples include: The Great Wall of China, The Berlin Wall, The Wall of Ston in Croatia, and others. More recently, walls have also been built as memorials, like the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Wall in Washington DC, and the Wall of the Missing at the beautiful Cambridge American Cemetery. While in England recently, my husband and I visited three very different walls.

Those Romans built a lot of walls! Around 122 AD, the Emperor Hadrian ordered the construction of a stone wall to protect Roman Britain from the “barbarians” who inhabited northern England and Scotland. The result was Hadrian’s Wall, a 73-mile stone barrier that stretched across England approximately 15 feet tall and dotted with occasional forts. Over a thousand years of erosion and people “borrowing” building materials have reduced it to a fraction of its original size, but many stretches still exist today. We walked along one such stretch on a misty August evening, taking in the remnants of the wall, a fort, and the picturesque tree of “Sycamore Gap.” My imagination began spinning a tale of a young man who lived on one side of the wall, falling in love with a woman on the other…

York City Walls

The ancient Romans also fortified cities. The city of York has been defended by various walls since around 71 AD when it was a Roman colony called Eboracum. Today, York has more miles of intact wall than any other city in England. My husband and I enjoyed walking around them, taking in the history and views of the city, especially its impressive cathedral, York Minster.

We also enjoyed meeting up with a new writer friend for lunch while we were in her beautiful and historic hometown.

The Wall of the Missing

The most poignant wall we visited was the Wall of the Missing at the beautiful, heartbreaking Cambridge American Cemetery. More than 3800 American servicemen and women are buried there, including airmen who died over Europe in World War II and sailors from North Atlantic convoys.

The wall records the names of an additional 5,127 missing Americans, lost in the war. Among them, we found the name of Alton G (Glenn) Miller, the famous big band leader, whose plane went down over the English Channel in 1944 en route to perform a concert for allied troops in Paris.

But we were even more moved by the photographs and stories of the lesser known people who lost their lives. So many. So young. I found myself crying and went into the beautiful chapel to pray.

Heartbreaking as war was and is, I was touched to visit this special place—part museum, part memorial, part church. And thankful to know that these brave Americans who gave their lives will always be remembered in England.

Have you visited any such wall? Please share your experience with us here.