Flanders Battlefields
 

For many years we have visited the battlefields, museums and monuments of the salient and paid our most humble respect.

The War to end all War’s, the War that claimed so many young and precious lives from all corners of the globe.
Buglers at the menin gates

The centre of the salient must be the ancient city of Ieper (Ypres) which at the end of the Great War 1918 was no more than rubble, there was thoughts to leave the city in rubble to remind people of the devastation of war but she was to rise again and become a fitting home of living remembrance.

In the proud imposing centre of Ieper stands the Cloth Hall that houses a three dimensional museum cataloging the history of the War, this museum was the dream of Albert the curator of the smaller and more intimate original museum, Albert saw his dream come true but unfortunately died prematurely shortly after the opening of the new museum.  To the rear of the museum stands St. Martin’s Cathedral, a piece of original glass from it windows wasn’t taken home by a Welsh Solider and is today in the Welsh Regiment Museum at Brecon to it’s side is one of the great British Memorials – St. Georges Chapel, it’s a very moving experience to visit the Chapel and see the regimental colours arraying it walls and the seats for service dedicated to loved ones memories by their own loved ones.

Inside St. Martins Cathedral
 If in any way a memorial of stone can become a living monument to the dead the Menin Gate must be it.  The gate forms one of the main entrances to the city and is a an imposing arch which records names of 54,896 soldiers of the British Commonwealth with no known grave, every night at 8.00p.m. (20.00hrs.) the local Police close to traffic this part of British Territory so far, far from home for many of the names and the Buglers of City Fire Brigade sound the Last Post in memory and respect of the fallen and every night people from all over the World come to pay their respect, children of the fallen, grandchildren and great grandchildren alike and just people who thank them for their freedom and the giving of their precious life

“ They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old.
            Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
                    At the going down of the sun and in the morning
                                      We will remember them “.

When 54,896 names of the fallen without a known grave are carved upon the walls of remembrance and that is not enough space to accommodate the act of remembrance it is a shacking awareness of what a bloody war this was.

Another 34,984 names are carved on the walls of Tyne Cote Cemetery near the village of Passendale and these are regularly added to and our number is now probably inaccurate, “ We  died in hell, they called it Passendale “

Many visitors to the Salient have a particular memorial or battle site they wish to visit, private tours can be organized by your Hotel of stay or we can arrange it in advance for you or you can just go on one of daily tours.

The red poppy fields of Flanders will never be forgotten with the wearing of the poppy for remembrance.

“ In Flanders fields the poppies blow
 Between the crosses, row on row
 That mark our place; and in the sky
 The larks, still bravely singing, fly
 Scarce heard amid the guns below “

                                      John McCrae

Memorial Wall

 

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