Ypres Salient

[smallhobbit]

 I got back late yesterday evening from the Battlefields of WWI tour (All Quiet on the Western Front), which was excellent.  Very informative and tiring.  Over the next few days I shall be blogging about what I saw.  This will be a personal reflection and a record for me, as well as sharing with anyone who is interested.

First visit was to Tyne Cot.  I've read about the WWI cemeteries, but seeing one for the first time is mind-blowing.  This is a memorial to 12,000 men, and practically impossible to comprehend:

  
 

In the middle of the fourth picture you may just be able to make out a picture of The Daughter (TD) in the centre - I was standing at one side of the cemetery, she's in the middle and there's the same again the other side of her.

From there we went onto Langemark - one of the German cemeteries:

  
 

Passchendaele (the third battle of Ypres) is known for its mud.  Outside the cemetery a Belgian farmer was ploughing, so I took a picture of the heavy clay to give an idea of what it's like:



On the way to our next destination we passed a monument to the Welsh:



And then we got to visit some trenches:

 

From there we continued to Hyde Park Corner Cemetery:

 

It's very strange when you find your own name on a memorial (yes, it's my married name, but I've had it for well over half my life).

And onto Ypres and the Menin Gate:

 
 

Nearly 55,000 names are listed on the gate.  I've pictured men for the county I live in, someone who could have been one of my father's relatives, and my own name again.  By searching for specific names - even if we don't know of them - it became more relevant.  And somewhere on one of the battlefields there are certainly going to be relatives.

We stayed for the Last Post Ceremony, which is held nightly at 8pm at the Menin Gate.  It was the day before ANZAC Day, so there were a number of Australians present, some of whom laid wreaths on behalf of their relatives who had fought and died there.  TD and I had an interesting conversation with a Dutch lady who was present.  The ceremony was a fitting end to the day.

Comments

[ride_4ever]

Thank you for sharing this. It's all of interest to me, plus I have extra-intense feelings about The Third Battle of Ypres.

[smallhobbit]

Thank you - I'm pleased you found it interesting.

Did you have relatives at the Third Battle of Ypres?

[ride_4ever]

I don't know which of my relatives fought where in WW I (in the next WW so much of my Jewish family was wiped out en masse that much pre-WW II family history was lost) but I have particular feelings about Passchendaele because of Michael Joseph Dunne and Paul Gross.

[smallhobbit]

Although both my grandfathers fought in WWI I don't know where either. But at least our family didn't suffer as yours did.

The film looks interesting - I've managed to find a cheap DVD of it on Ebay and have ordered it.

[ride_4ever]

That movie, yes. Be prepared for A Lot Of Feelings. (I own two copies of the movie and two copies of the novel.)

[smallhobbit]

I shall be ready!

[margaret_r]

So sad to see so much death. It has all been very close to us here in the last week and your lovely photos are a poignant reminder. Thanks so much for sharing.

[smallhobbit]

We were very conscious of the number of Australians who were visiting the sites - it's so sad to think how far people travelled and then never came home again.

[moth2fic]

Thanks for the interesting post. So far as I know, only one of my many great uncles was in France during WWI so I have an interest curiosity about the period but no personal knowledge. Most of my relatives were either in a reserved occupation (in the shipyards) or in the navy. Mr Moth is more interested in WWII so that's where most of our explorations have taken us. (The V2 sites etc.)

[smallhobbit]

I'm not sure exactly where my interest in WWI came from, but both the kids are also interested. Both my grandfathers fought (one gassed, one lost an arm), and I'm assuming my paternal grandfather had brothers/cousins who also fought. But even without a direct connection I found it extremely interesting, as well as emotional.

[mafief]

I’ve read through your other posts and looked at your images, but I’m just going to post my response here. They give a sense of scale and place to each place. Rather unsettling and sobering to me, but that is my normal response to war cemeteries and upsetting number of graves there.

Finding your name and a relative was interesting. As far as I know, none of my family fought in WWI or II. Now that I think about it, I don't think there has been much military involvement in my family.

[smallhobbit]

Thank you for taking the time to read my posts. It really is very sobering, visiting all the cemeteries, but it does help to grasp the enormity of what happened.

At the beginning of WWI there was a lot of enthusiasm, people signed up with their friends/people in their towns or villages and then fought together in what were called Pals Battalions. This meant that if the battalion was decimated (and some lost over 70% of the men in one day) the effect on the village or community was catastrophic. So for the second half of the war men were split up and sent to different regiments.

[mafief]

Oh, sheesh! Yah, splitting up is a better idea...

(Sorry if the first paragraph came off rude. I just wanted to let you know I read them and that I am not going back due to my own emotional response to them.)

[aome]

For the "twenty unknown German soldiers" I noticed there are four names inscribed underneath. Does this mean that four of the twenty have been since identified?

[smallhobbit]

Sadly not - 20 unknown German soldiers, plus four who were identified. All in one mass grave.

[vix_spes]

Oh wow, this is so interesting to see. My brothers done this trip (history teacher so obviously) but it's still on my travel to-do list

[smallhobbit]

I can definitely recommend it. TD did one when she was at school and still wanted to go again. TS takes school parties and uses the opportunity to see parts for himself.