Legacy Of A War Hero’s ABANDONED LEGS

what can we learn about ourselves by taking a close look into our past and why is it we so easily forget where we've come from over the summer I teamed up with my good friend big Banks to set out on a journey across the world in hopes of finding the answer to these questions during a 21-day road trip throughout Belgium and France we traveled thousands of kilometers through beautiful countryside to find some of the most secretive abandoned locations from castles that were built during the 12th century home to nights and descendants from Royal Family Blood to mansions that have been left completely untouched for decades like a museum perfectly hidden behind the walls of nature during this trip we uncovered countless stories of these marvelous structures and documented them in hopes of preserving their legacy but for now let's start from the very beginning [Music] once we landed in France our very first destination was a place unlike anything I've ever seen in a small village just an hour north of Paris sits the home of World War One veteran Louis Toure abandoned since 1993 after Lewis passed away his small cottage home is Now hidden by the woods that have grown around it although the locals seem nice enough we didn't want to draw attention to ourselves as we look for a way into the thick Woods in search of Lewis's abandoned home we're in the middle of this neighborhood you can see houses behind us and people are just like looking out their windows at us we're gonna find a way in this place it's happening just don't know how yet look at this that is a car in there all right we're doing it thank you look at this some Banning car out in the woods following the clue from the abandoned car Lewis's house must be close by not to alarm the neighbors we quietly Trek through the woods for a short five minutes or so and that's when we caught our first glimpse of Lewis's Cottage okay we're coming up on this place it's looking good so we didn't take into account there's these plants out here called staining Nettles and Carter's wearing shorts it got me on my arm you can see his face says it all sorry I don't mean to laugh dude France is off to a great start but look we're walking right under an apple tree straight up green apples it's looking a lot more hopeful just off camera we found entrance and see the abandoned Cottage through a broken window okay so Carter and I just made it inside this place and it is incredible so far I cannot wait to start this video here we go Lewis served in the French army as an infantryman and was severely wounded during the Battle of Verdun in the summer of 1916. thus losing both of his legs and was sent home as a war hero sometime after he married a single mother widowed by losing her husband to the war and he acknowledged her child as his own Lewis and his wife both feeling unlovable because of their horrible circumstances Found Love in each other a love that would last for the rest of their lives they would stay married until her death in 1992. okay so coming into this house already I've got to say this is probably one of the oldest places I've ever been in my life if not the oldest place I've ever been check this out there's an old bottle of rum unopened still on the table this is insane guys absolutely insane you can see how the floor is falling in everything in this house is crooked look at all this beautiful furniture what's inside of here I wonder yarn and old sewing supplies wow [Music] this is crazy wow I wonder who this little girl is up here and this painting [Music] and look at this beautiful old wallpaper let me see if I can get a better shot of it without my light on look at this wallpaper all ripped up [Music] this place is mind-blowing guys [Music] in this dining room table still with cups out on it look at this cobweb up here [Music] just kind of adds to the aesthetic of this place I'm almost afraid to touch anything because [Music] it feels as though I'm like in some sort of Museum [Music] from way back in time all these old sewing supplies still in here and this beautiful floral chair I'm so blown away at this place look at this wallpaper [Music] look how the fabric is just it's come off the wall more cobwebs here in the corner [Music] so fitting for this house [Music] okay so going further along into the house as you can see this place is definitely seen better days but I love this half spiral staircase and the architecture in this place is already so amazing I don't know what's in this room so it looks like this was a kitchen at one point in a grandfather clock wow wow look at these colors on this stove I can still smell soot I can still smell the fire from when they used to burn the stove to cook their food that's crazy [Music] look at this cabinet what is all this stuff so it looks like there could have been a fire in here at one point this looks like all this stuff is so like sooted yeah this China wear look at this they're set on it I believe there was a fire in here at one point it looks like possible smoke damage all up on the ceiling which would explain why it smells like soot in this room so I'm gonna attempt to go up these stairs and true Explorer fashion we can't leave any part of the house unseen even at the stairs to take us there are beginning to collapse I don't know how safe it is [Music] these stairs have definitely seen better days yeah it looks pretty bad dude but definitely worth checking out just really watch your step coming up yeah you can make it up here Carter just be real careful as you come up despite the passing of time taking its toll on this old Cottage that once held them this bedroom still holds on to the story of Lewis and his wife though they may be gone now they've moved Beyond form and into what is now a beautiful story of their love let's see more of what's in this room it is bad it's still here [Music] man this is so sad this is his bedroom [Music] oh my God guys look at this whoa this is his prosthetic legs still on this chair oh Lewis is Ghostly and prosthetic legs still resting on the chair were likely given to him shortly after he was disfigured by his wounds these wooden legs were some of the most painful and primitive forms of Prosthetics of the time World War one had soldiers on a scale the world had never seen leading to Major technological advancements of prosthetics sadly I don't think Lewis was ever able to experience these advancements foreign [Music] I rarely become emotionally overwhelmed when I explore but this this was one of those times this is something else yeah this is something else man [Music] all of his linens are still in here [Music] during the World War One the number of amputees in the French army ranges anywhere from seventy thousand to seven hundred thousand and for many the life after the war was a new kind of front as they integrated back into society in Lewis's case he had to learn to defend heavily on his wife I can only imagine how difficult it was to accept this new way of living okay let's see what's over here this place is very very dilapidated as you can see so we got another Rim over here wow what a simple home but also this wallpaper fabric on the wall it's peeling off really interesting because of the lack of information I could find I can only speculate through the clues of the doll and various items throughout the room that Lewis and his wife raised a daughter and this must have been her bedroom I love this uh this quilt that's on the bed this color it's something like very yellow artwork over here that's a cool little knickknacks on there on the counter still an old hairbrush gosh stuff is so it was so cold what's in this wardrobe here of course more Linens oh bugs piglets it looks like it possibly could be a is even look at this look at this I love how the date you can see it right here the date is in Roman numerals so cool all in French of course I have no idea what it is the writings are [Music] another another book so this one's a published one [Music] oh look at this an old pair of handmade Dutch clogs likely from the 1930s and after the World War II wooden shoes steadily disappeared throughout Europe and were replaced by more fashionable all leather and synthetic shoes though covered in dust this place has a history that deserves to be documented with each passing year we lose countless structures like this one and along with them their stories also decay now that we've seen this place it's time to head to the next location and document what we find thank you so much for watching this video thanks for coming along with me on this expiration of my first exploration in France this place is absolutely incredible at any rate if you guys enjoyed this video like subscribe let me know what you thought of this video in the comments below and until next time stay out the bean path foreign

Channel: JeremyXplores

Views: 66,488

Keywords: abandoned, urban exploration, urbex, decay, photography, abandoned building, abandoned house, abandoned church, abandoned car, abandoned school, abandoned prison, abandoned insane asylum, abandoned factory, abandoned bridge, abandoned photography, travel, abandoned places, abandoned mansion, documentary, video tour, abandoned nashville, abandoned castle, abandoned chateau, abandoned france, abandoned manor, abandonednashville, abandonednashvilleofficial, jeremyxplores

Id: MJL84D1jv9I

Length: 15min 54sec (954 seconds)

Published: Sat Dec 31 2022