War graves etc in Belgium
Discussion
the only one i've visited was the Tyne Cote cemetery, to the North of Ieper/Ypres.
this page may prove interesting for a bit of reading: http://www.fylde.demon.co.uk/welcome.htm
Spent half a day in the Ypres area, visited Hill 60, Tyne Cote, Passcendale and sanctuary wood.
this page may prove interesting for a bit of reading: http://www.fylde.demon.co.uk/welcome.htm
Spent half a day in the Ypres area, visited Hill 60, Tyne Cote, Passcendale and sanctuary wood.
pugwash4x4 said:
Anyone know anything about war graves, memorials and forts in Belgium
off to Bruges in December but would like to spend a day looking at war stuff- anyone have any ideas!
I used this guys site heavily for inspiration when I visited a couple of years ago. Had a great trip. Highly recommended.off to Bruges in December but would like to spend a day looking at war stuff- anyone have any ideas!
http://www.fylde.demon.co.uk/welcome.htm
Edited by Olf on Saturday 18th October 22:44
Here is a start:
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
http://www.cwgc.org/
They are also listed in most guide books. And well sign posted in Belgium, for you to visit.
Commonwealth War Graves Commission
http://www.cwgc.org/
They are also listed in most guide books. And well sign posted in Belgium, for you to visit.
smack said:
I did visit one that had part of the trenches on the site. I think it was near Ypres. It was full of French and local school children, interesting, but nothing like the Imperial War Museum or alike
sounds like Sanctuary Wood - Hill 62i found it a bit tasteless... almost profiteering. just a piles of items collected from the surrounding grounds piled around.
I believe the Hooge Crater museum is better - set up by the son, after he found out about his parents involvment as part of the Resistance - hiding RAF pilots during WW2 while their home was occupied by Germans.
And Commonwealth War Graves are scattered everywhere. Unlike the Yanks, who send their dead home, or in a site like the American Military Cemetery in Colleville-Sur-Mer in Normandy (The one in Saving Private Ryan), we buried the dead where they fell. So in fields and forests where the battles took place.
smack said:
And Commonwealth War Graves are scattered everywhere. Unlike the Yanks, who send their dead home, or in a site like the American Military Cemetery in Colleville-Sur-Mer in Normandy (The one in Saving Private Ryan), we buried the dead where they fell. So in fields and forests where the battles took place.
And often, since the battle raged back and forth several times, the original grave sites were destroyed/lost.Came back from there myself this summer - useful guides are a must ; http://www.afterthebattle.com/before.html and the other favourite http://www.guide-books.co.uk/ypres-leper.html Both are excellent. 'In Flanders Fields' museum in the Cloth Hall at Ypres is an excellent 'hub' to begin from.
It brings it home more if you visit your own family members’ graves.
Many names are traditions and persist within families down the generations. My family recycles names. There has been someone with my names all the way back to 1066. It’s sobering to read your own name upon a grave.
It comes as a shock when you find that only about a third of your forbearers from the 1914-18 war actually have graves. The rest are just names on plaques because presumably, there was nothing left to be found.
It makes you think.
Many names are traditions and persist within families down the generations. My family recycles names. There has been someone with my names all the way back to 1066. It’s sobering to read your own name upon a grave.
It comes as a shock when you find that only about a third of your forbearers from the 1914-18 war actually have graves. The rest are just names on plaques because presumably, there was nothing left to be found.
It makes you think.
There are British War Graves all over Northern France and Belgium. You can't miss them, and it would be good to find the grave of a relative or family friend - and there will be one, count on it. The important thing to remember is that it really isn't that long ago. The two main places to visit however are Ypres (where the various battles of Ypres were fought) and around Albert in the Somme Department.
At Ypres you should not miss the Menin Gate, particularly when they sound the Last Post in the evening, or Tyne Cot, which is the largest British War Cemetery in the world. Its also worth visiting the village of Pasendale, formerly Passchendaele, to see why they were trying to get there, and to look back on Ypres in the valley below which they held for four years. You should go to Toc-H at Poperinghe, which is still like a little bit of Britain from the twenties.
If you can't do both in one visit there is probably more immediately to see on the Somme. Places not to be missed are The Grande Mine at La Boisselle - the crater left by a mine detonated by the British at H-hour on 1st July 1916, the trenches and Newfoundland monument at Beaumont Hamel, and, certainly for me, the Lutyens designed Memorial to the Missing of the Somme, on the site of a former German strongpoint at Thiepval. On it are 75,000 names of men who just vanished. Another Memorial which you should see is the South African memorial at Delville Wood. Wherever you go on the Somme battlefield, however, you are walking among history and legend, as well as the graves of a lot of brave men. It is also, imho, the grave of the Empire and the nation we used to be. You would benefit massively from buying a couple of introductory books before you go, like the ones by Toni and Valmai Holt, or The First Day on the Somme by Martin Middlebrook, and also get a battlefield map, so you have some idea where you are and what you are looking at. If you can retain you composure out there you are a better man than me.
Personally, I think that museums can distance you from the truth rather than reveal it - there is a huge modern museum at Peronne in the Somme if that's what you want to visit, and other smaller ones scattered round run by the French.
A visit to Fort Douaumont at Verdun is also well worth the effort.
At Ypres you should not miss the Menin Gate, particularly when they sound the Last Post in the evening, or Tyne Cot, which is the largest British War Cemetery in the world. Its also worth visiting the village of Pasendale, formerly Passchendaele, to see why they were trying to get there, and to look back on Ypres in the valley below which they held for four years. You should go to Toc-H at Poperinghe, which is still like a little bit of Britain from the twenties.
If you can't do both in one visit there is probably more immediately to see on the Somme. Places not to be missed are The Grande Mine at La Boisselle - the crater left by a mine detonated by the British at H-hour on 1st July 1916, the trenches and Newfoundland monument at Beaumont Hamel, and, certainly for me, the Lutyens designed Memorial to the Missing of the Somme, on the site of a former German strongpoint at Thiepval. On it are 75,000 names of men who just vanished. Another Memorial which you should see is the South African memorial at Delville Wood. Wherever you go on the Somme battlefield, however, you are walking among history and legend, as well as the graves of a lot of brave men. It is also, imho, the grave of the Empire and the nation we used to be. You would benefit massively from buying a couple of introductory books before you go, like the ones by Toni and Valmai Holt, or The First Day on the Somme by Martin Middlebrook, and also get a battlefield map, so you have some idea where you are and what you are looking at. If you can retain you composure out there you are a better man than me.
Personally, I think that museums can distance you from the truth rather than reveal it - there is a huge modern museum at Peronne in the Somme if that's what you want to visit, and other smaller ones scattered round run by the French.
A visit to Fort Douaumont at Verdun is also well worth the effort.
Dont forget to check out Langemark German cemetary either, very interesting and a contrast from the Commonwealth stuff.
It has a huge pit with IIRC 40,000 dead in it.
http://www.greatwar.co.uk/westfront/ypsalient/ceme...
It has a huge pit with IIRC 40,000 dead in it.
http://www.greatwar.co.uk/westfront/ypsalient/ceme...
Gassing Station | The Pie & Piston Archive | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff