NOVEMBER 15, 2013 The war of 1914-1918 - the 'Great War' as it was called at the time -- left great swathes of northern France and western Belgium almost totally destroyed. The destruction wrought by shell-fire was immeasurable and the ground was churned into miles of waterfilled shell-holes. Complete villages had been razed to the ground and every forest blown to pieces. The former rich arable land had not only been pulverised but was now contaminated with the detritus of war. Trenches,dugouts,thousands of miles of barbed wire,abandoned equipment ,the smashed remains of hundreds of thousands...