31 TH MARCH 2019 HOTSPOTS 7 RACES IN FLANDERS FIELDS

Transcription

1 31 TH MARCH 2019 HOTSPOTS 7 RACES IN FLANDERS FIELDS

2 KM 85 KM 65 FURNES DIKSMUIDE KORTEMARK START TIELT DEINZE ROESBRUGGE-HARINGE KM 233 WAREGEM POPERINGE ZONNEBEKE KM 255 COURTRAI WEVELGEM BATTLE OF THE YSER KM 0 DEINZE / MACHELEN FRENCH HEUVELLAND MESSINES KM 193 MENIN COMINES-WARNETON PLOEGSTEERT ARRIVAL The map describes a limited number of hotspots. West-Flanders has 1,388 war remnants. This means that you can discover many other relics along the track, such as Locre No. 10 Cemetery, La Clytte Military Cemetery, Wulverghem-Lindenhoek Road Military Cemetery the latter two provide a final resting place for more than 1,000 soldiers each. The km marker indicates the distance to each hotspot from the starting position. - If the hotspot is located on the track (marked with ), then the kilometre marker indicates the track distance. - If the hotspot described is not located along the track, then the distance indicated will denote the distance from the starting point to the nearest kilometer marker on the track. These hotspots are located no further than 6.5 km from the track as the crow flies (men s and ladies track combined). - For example, the Pool of Peace is not labelled with and is therefore a hotspot not on the track but nearby. This means that the hotspot is situated within a range of 6.5 km from the track. Specifically: the Pool of Peace is 1.75 km from the trail, on the road from Kemmel to Messines, at 164 km into the race. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) is responsible for commemorating almost British Commonwealth soldiers who lost their lives in one of the two World Wars. The graves and memorials to these men and women, who came from every corner of the British Commonwealth, are located in about 153 countries around the world. There are more than 4000 CWGC cemeteries and memorials in Western Europe, commemorating more than casualties of the First and Second World Wars. The monuments and graves along the Ghent-Wevelgem route are indicated with the following symbol: The French military cemetery in Machelen is the second largest French military cemetery in Belgium. 1,325 soldiers are commemorated here. It is the collective burial place for nearly all the French soldiers that died during the liberation offensive from 28 th September to 11 th November The graves of soldiers from the former North and West African colonies stand out by their Muslim gravestones. Buried here as well is one Chinese soldier.

3 KM 0 WAREGEM FLANDERS FIELDS The American soldiers only arrived in Europe in 1917, but were mostly deployed in Belgium during the final offensive in The American military cemetery in Waregem is the only cemetery in Belgium to provide a final resting place for approximately 370 American soldiers from WWI. In 1927, Charles Lindbergh paid tribute to the fallen soldiers by scattering poppies across the cemetery. KM 33 HOOGLEDE GERMAN In October 1914 German troops occupied the municipality of Hooglede. Many services and facilities were appointed here, including a number of cemeteries. The current cemetery has its origins in the cemetery Hooglede Ost, built in After the war, German graves from the area were brought together. Now approximately 8,200 German soldiers rest here. At the back of the cemetery you can find the Ehrenhalle, decorated with a large colourful mosaic. BATTLE OF THE YSER KM 36 HOUTHULST KM 50 KOEKELARE KM 61 DIKSMUIDE KM 64 DIKSMUIDE BELGIAN LANGE MAX GERMAN VLADSLO BELGIAN KEIEM This military cemetery on the outskirts of the forest of Houthulst was built after the First World War. The 1,723 Belgian graves came from field graves and smaller cemeteries from the area. Most of the soldiers died on 28 th or 29 th September 1918, during the first two days of the final offensive. This cemetery also contains 81 Italian graves. These Italian soldiers were German prisoners of war. This is the second largest Belgian military cemetery and has a sixpointed star as a floor plan. The German cannon Long Max was stationed in Koekelare during WWI. It was 17 meters long and weighed 75,500 kg. This made Long Max the largest gun used in war fighting. The giant cannon was put into action in 1917 and one of its targets was the French city of Dunkirk. As early as the Battle of the Yser in October 1914 fallen German soldiers were buried in the nearby Praetbos. In the 1950s several German cemeteries were merged at the current cemetery in Vladslo. Now, more than 25,000 soldiers lie buried here. Peter Kollwitz also has his final resting place here. He died in His mother, artist Käthe Kollwitz, honoured her son with the sculpture The Grieving Parents. This burial place in Keiem was only built after World War I. Here you will find the graves of nearly 590 Belgian soldiers, who died in the area around Diksmuide. Many of these soldiers died during battles for Keyem on 18 th and 19 th of October Approximately 60% of the graves in this Belgian military cemetery commemorate an unknown soldier.

4 KM 66 DIKSMUIDE DODENGANG Along the Yser in Diksmuide are some reconstructed Belgian trenches from the First World War. The Trench of Death is a section of trench where the Belgian troops held out against the enemy for four years. The trench was quickly named the Trench of Death because of the large number of casualties in these trenches. This was due to the proximity of the German troops, both on the side of the Yser and opposite the head of the Dodengang in the Yser dyke. KM 67 DIKSMUIDE YSER TOWER To honour the fallen Flemish soldiers the Yser Tower was solemnly inaugurated in During WWII the Yser Tower became a symbol for the collaboration of part of the Flemish Movement. An attack in 1946 razed the tower to the ground. The Paxpoort rose from the rubble and a new Yser Tower was built. Since its reopening on 1st March you can visit the Museum at the Yser in the current tower, which tells the story of the Belgian front zone and emancipation. BATTLE OF THE YSER KM 72 NIEUWPOORT KM 72 NIEUWPOORT KM 74 NIEUWPOORT KM 84 FURNES LOCK COMPLEX GANZEPOOT KING ALBERT I MONUMENT BELGIAN MILITARY RAMSKAPELLE BELGIAN STEENKERKE De Ganzepoot : the name, meaning goose leg, refers to the shape of the entire complex. This location played a crucial role during the First World War. In October 1914 the locks were opened to flood the Yser Plain. This ended the advance of the German troops. The Belgian army ensured the area remained flooded throughout the war. At the locks is the memorial for the Belgian front soldiers and their captain King Albert I. This monument was erected by the national union of (ex-) servicemen in It is built of clay, mined along the Yser. The rust-coloured stains in the yellow brick were caused by ammunitions remnants from the First World War. On top of the monument you can enjoy the view of the Yser Plain and the city of Nieuwpoort. In October 2014 the new visitor centre The Ganzepoot will open here. Located close to the bicycle path the Frontzate is the Belgian military cemetery of Ramskapelle. This cemetery was created after the war. War graves from the flooded area and graves from communal cemeteries in the area were brought together here. In 1952 the body of a Belgian soldier was brought to the surface during ploughing. He received a final resting place at this cemetery. To this day, his grave remains without a headstone. In Steenkerke, near Furnes, you can find a Belgian military cemetery. 508 Belgian soldiers lie buried here. During WWI there was an aid station in the vicinity of Steenkerke. Soldiers that died here were buried in this cemetery. Corporal Joe English had his last resting place here until Now the grave of Joe English can be found in the crypt of the Yser Tower. At the Steenkerke cemetery you can also find 9 heroic memorial gravestones, designed by Joe English.

5 WAR BEHIND THE BATTLEFRONT KM 85 FURNES KM 85 FURNES KM 85 FURNES KM 90 DE PANNE KM 90 DE PANNE KM 99 FURNES VRIJ VADERLAND EXPERIENCE CENTRE FRENCH OSSUARY FURNES TOWN HALL BELGIAN ADINKERKE BELGIAN DE PANNE RECTORY HOUTEM / JOE ENGLISH - VINKEM Free Fatherland does not focus on the battlefield, but on the last little bit of free Belgium that remained, the so-called Belgian sector. From here King Albert I successfully defended against the German occupiers. Through the exhibition, we experience the story behind the front, the everyday life in this bit of unoccupied area and see a true melting pot of people -multiculturalism before the term even existed. Free Fatherland tells this story in an atmospheric setting. At the town cemetery in the centre of Furnes is a French mass gravesite. Some 80 French soldiers are buried here. This cemetery also contains a French honorary section with about 150 separate graves. Between the French crosses are also eight Arabic tombstones. Here you can also find the grave of Charles Cogge. He played a crucial role in the flooding of the Yser Plain in The town hall played an important role, especially at the beginning of the war. In October 2014, the General Staff of the Belgian Army took up residence in the town hall, with the upstairs hall functioning as a working cabinet for King Albert. In the town hall the meetings that would lead to the flooding of the Yser Plan were held. He also received numerous important international figures, such as the French General Foch, French President Poincaré, the British King George V This Belgian military cemetery was created during the beginning of World War I, as an extension of the existing cemetery. In the period the military hospital Cabour was located in Adinkerke. A large number of the soldiers that died in this hospital were therefore buried here. Many soldiers of special services are buried here. This shows that, during the war, the front was a long way away from this place. You will find about 1,650 Belgian graves at this cemetery. Behind the municipal cemetery of De Panne you will find the largest Belgian military cemetery in West Flanders. Approximately 3,370 Belgian soldiers are buried here. During the First World War, the hotel L Ocean in De Panne served as a hospital. Soldiers who died as a result from their injuries found a final resting place in this cemetery. Nearly half of the Belgian soldiers buried here were killed during the final offensive in In early 1915, the General Headquarters left the Town Hall of Furnes because of the bombing, in favour of the rectory of Houtem until 18th October Nearby was L Ocean II, an annex of the hospital in De Panne. On 31st August 1918 the artist Joe English from Bruges passed away due to untreated appendicitis. He designed the heroic memorial gravestones for pro-flemish fallen soldiers in the First World War. In 1918 he also became a painter at the front.

6 WAR BEHIND THE BATTLEFRONT KM 103 ALVERINGEM KM 110 ROESBRUGGE- HARINGE KM 112 VLETEREN KM 118 ROESBRUGGE- HARINGE BELGIAN HOOGSTADE YSER BELGIAN VLETEREN POPS LITTLE PARIS SHOW FOR THE TROOPS KM 120 BANDAGHEM + MENDINGHEM KM DOZINGHEM Soldiers who died during the war in the nearby military hospital Clep were buried in this cemetery in Hoogstade. In 1968 this cemetery was expanded by 117 Belgian graves brought in from the military cemetery in Reninge when it was shut down. Now you can find 825 graves here, including 20 British ones. Belgian-French border, the flooding of the Yser Plain stopped the Germans, this marked the start of the trench warfare. French soldiers started the construction of this cemetery in the fall of Not until June 1916 did fallen Belgian soldiers also find a final resting place here. After the war this cemetery expanded with graves of Belgian soldiers. The remains of French soldiers were excavated and transferred to their home. Today you can find 1207 Belgian graves here. Since 2008 it is a protected monument. Roesbrugge is now part of the municipality of Poperinge. English speakers pronounced this as Pops. The soldiers alternated periods at the front with periods behind the front. This became Little Paris, where the soldiers could relax in bars, cabarets, etc. The nickname refers to Paris where soldiers could go to when they were on leave. At this logistically convenient hub there were often Forces Shows for kings, presidents and military leaders. There was a railway junction and an airport. A hospital cemetery, therefore holding many identified soldiers, incl. German prisoner of war. The name is linked to medical jargon: Bandaghem: to bandage, Mendinghem: to mend, Dozinghem: to dose (morphine). Originally, more dead were buried here. After the war, four French plots were excavated. According to the current register there are now a total of 816 soldiers buried here, including five British graves from WWII. The British military cemetery Dozinghem Military Cemetery is home to 3,312 graves from WWI. The cemetery was designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield and has a surface area of about 12,300 m2. The name Dozinghem also the name of the WWI evacuation hospital is derived from the English verb to dose : the administering of medicine or anaesthetics in small amounts.

7 WAR BEHIND THE BATTLEFRONT KM 123 ROLAND GARROS KM 126 POPERINGE KM 130 POPERINGE KM 130 POPERINGE KM 130 POPERINGE KM 134 POPERINGE POPERINGE NEW MILITARY TALBOT HOUSE & CONCERT HALL DEATH CELLS & EXECUTION POLE T ZWYNLAND LIJSSENTHOEK Landed in the vicinity of Poperinge with his fighter plane. Was the first to fly with an aeroplane that was able to shoot through the propeller. Today, his name lives on through the Paris Grand Slam tennis event. British-French Cemetery, New Poperinge Military Cemetery holds the sad record of having the highest number of executed soldiers in the same cemetery: 17. Two religious Belgian women are laid to rest here: Euphrasia Vanneste sister Juliana died at 51 years of age, on 14 th July She worked as a nurse in the Elisabeth Hospital and was fatally hit by a German projectile. The second grave is that of Sister Martha Declercq, probably also a nurse. She also died on 14th July Soldiers Home, founded by chaplain Tubby Clayton and named after his colleague Neville Talbot, who died at the front. An Everyman s Club, where everybody is equal in rank and position. The first of its kind in the world. The former hop store at the back of the garden was used as a Concert Hall. The top floor served as an Anglican chapel. Soldiers could borrow books and gave their cap as deposit. Since then, barely anything has changed in the interior and you can stay in the same rooms as during the war. In Great Poperinge 17 deserters were executed shot at dawn during the war. This happened in the courtyard of City Hall, amongst other places. Today, many of these soldiers are considered to have been victims of shell shock (psychological trauma that affected soldiers, now well-known as military post traumatic stress disorder). This former brewery was the first stop after hell for soldiers, where they could bathe and be deloused in the yeast and brewing kettles. The next day beer was brewed again because in Pops they were singing their songs, playing their cheap comedy sketches and seeking restless solace in drink, hopeless love or divine grace. The Belgian gendarmerie stayed there, as well as the British military administration headed by the Town Major. There was also a YMCA (Young Men s Christians Association). The largest evacuation hospital (4000 beds) was located at Remy Quaghebeur s farm. Allied soldiers who died of their injuries as well as prisoners of war were buried there. A line-up of 1,392 posts shows how many deaths occurred on each day. Here, 30 nationalities found their last resting place far from their native soil. This is why that the Commonwealth cemeteries are British territory. Nurse Nellie Spindler is the only woman buried there.

8 WAR BEHIND THE BATTLEFRONT KM 142 CATSBERG KM 160 BAILLEUL KM 161 BAILLEUL KM 163 BAILLEUL KM 181 THE BATTLE OF KEMMEL HILL (LOKER/ KEMMEL) KM 181 THE BATTLE OF KEMMEL HILL (LOKER/ KEMMEL) ABBEY WALL BRITISH MEMORIAL COORDINATEN OUTTERSTEENE COMMUNAL EXTENSION COORDINATEN BAILLEUL COMMUNAL & EXTENSION COORDINATEN OSSUARY VICTORIA MONUMENT THE ANGEL On the wall of the abbey, next to the road on which the cyclists ride, there is a plaque to commemorate the Canadians. It was on these flanks that one of the last battles took place before both parties went into the trenches by Ypres. The German Prince Max von Hesen was killed here. This memorial was erected at the request of the War Office in London, in memory of the 25th British Division that suffered heavy losses from 1915 to 1918 in defending the Mont des Flandres frontline. The names of the participating units of the British Division and the places of the battles that they were involved in are engraved on the memorial as a tribute to the soldiers of the unit who perished. The Outtersteene Communal Cemetery Extension is located in Outtersteene, a hamlet of Bailleul. There are 1397 victims from the 1st World War buried from Great Britain, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. During the Second World War 72 people who were killed (including 23 unidentified soldiers) were added. They perished during the retreat of the British Expeditionary Force, direction Dunkirk, in May The British buried those who died in the civil cemetery of Bailleul as from April 1915, but when there was no more room, an extension was constructed on the east side, which was used as a military cemetery. In total, more than 4500 soldiers are buried there, mostly from Great Britain or from the British Commonwealth. After the war, the cemetery was further extended with graves that were transferred from the surrounding battlefields and from smaller cemeteries that were cleared out. The obelisk was placed on 4 mass graves, which were built here between 1920 and 1925, and which were probably expanded later. It is said there are 5,294 soldiers buried here, of which only 57 are identified. The memorial was placed to commemorate the presence of the French forces and the heavy losses they suffered in Belgium throughout the entire war. The Angel and about 200m further (and below), against the western flank of Kemmel Hill, lies the French ossuary with an obelisk in the centre for the unidentified French soldiers. This memorial column, the Roman goddess Victoria in fact, is there especially to commemorate the many French who fell here in April 1918 fighting at the Battle of the

9 WAR BEHIND THE BATTLEFRONT KM 181 KEMMEL KM 191 MINE BATTLE ZERO HOUR WIJTSCHATE KM 192 MESSINES KM 194 MESSINES KM 194 MESSINES KM 195 MESSINES LETTENBERG BUNKERS POOL OF PEACE MESSINES RIDGE NEW ZEALAND MEMORIAL PARK IRISH PEACE TOWER BETHLEEM FARM & ADOLF HITLER In the spring of 1917, the 175 th Tunnelling Company built deep-dugouts for headquarters and underground accommodation for a platoon. These departed from four concrete structures against the flank of the Lettenberg. In April 1918, during the Spring Offensive, the site fell into the hands of the Germans, who made good use of the property. One of the constructions was used as a medical post: they painted a red cross on the facade, which is still visible. 7th June 1917, a.m.: FIRE! 19 landmines tear the silence and cause a giant conflagration. The ridge of Wijtschate-Messines ( Messines Ridge ) is shaking 2,266 guns simultaneously open fire. 80,000 British troops begin the attack. The apocalypse is audible in London. 5 days later, preparations begin for the battle at Passchendaele. The craters in the landscape are the silent witnesses of all this violence. The Pool of Peace is 12m deep with a circumference of 129m. The ridge of Messines, Messines Ridge had become strategically very important during WWI. There were therefore fierce battles for the ridge during WWI, which was strengthened with numerous tunnels and concrete structures. Messines was occupied by the British, the Germans, the New Zealanders (in the Mine Battle), the South Africans, the Germans and eventually the city fell into British hands again. The Messines Ridge Memorial to the Missing commemorates some 840 missing New Zealanders. During the Mine Battle of June 1917 the Messines Ridge was recaptured by troops of the New Zealand division. Messines therefore has two memorials, dedicated to the soldiers of the New Zealand Division, that commemorate the bloody Battle of Messines (Mine Battle). The memorial for the New Zealand division is located in the New Zealand Memorial Park. In this park there are also 2 German bunkers. The Island of Ireland Peace Park or the Irish Peace Park is a bi-national memorial, which commemorates all Irishmen killed during the First World War, regardless of their background, religion or military unit. This peace park refers to the Mine Battle of 7th-14th June 1917, when the two main Irish units, the Catholic 16th (Irish) Division and the Protestant 36th (Ulster) Division fought side by side in the vicinity of Wijtschate. At the Bethleem Farm East Cemetery, a small cemetery, 44 soldiers are buried, including 43 Australians. At the Bethleem Farm West Cemetery 165 dead from WWI are buried, including 24 soldiers from the United Kingdom, 114 Australians and 27 New Zealanders. Adolf Hitler stayed at the nearby Bethleem Farm between December 1914 and February He made, amongst other things, a watercolour painting of the ruins of the Saint Nicholas Church of Messines.

10 KM 198 MESSINES CHRISTMAS TRUCE Around Christmas 1914, the weather had made war negotiations impossible and both armies were facing each other in the trenches. An atmosphere of live and let live arose. At Christmas soldiers even visited the enemy to celebrate Christmas in the trench around a Christmas tree, and gifts were exchanged. The next day a few scattered football matches took place in the no man s land. It is one of the most remarkable phenomena in military history. KM 200 PLOEGSTEERT BERKS ; MEMORIAL TO THE MISSING Ploegsteert Memorial to the Missing, erected in 1931, is an impressive circular pavilion. The names of 11,447 British soldiers and South African officers, with no known grave, who fell to the south of the Ypres Salient, are engraved. They lost their lives at smaller attacks that supported larger offensives. They fought near the frontline from the Catsberg, over Heuvelland and Ploegsteert, up to and including the Quiet Front in North France. KM 200 PLOEGSTEERT PLUGSTREET Experience centre. Close to the Memorial an interpretation centre will be opened. This centre, in the extension of the forest of Ploegsteert, will tell the life of both the soldiers and ordinary people during the War of Afterwards, visitors will be invited to discover the history and memorial locations in our region. SALIENT KM 212 LOKER KM 226 KEMMEL KM 227 WIJTSCHATE REDMOND AMERICAN MONUMENT DUTCH SHED MINE CRATER PARK More than 170 cemeteries of the Commonwealth mark the landscape. 1 of them holds an individual grave: William Redmond. He was an Irish freedom fighter, who inspired many Catholic Irish to join the British Army in order to win favour for the independence of Ireland. He was killed during the Mine Battle on 7 th June This memorial was erected in It commemorates the 27 th and 30 th American divisions that were deployed in the region of Ypres and the Lys between 18 th August and 4th September During these salvation battles there were approximately 1,300 casualties at the 27 th division and 800 victims in the 30 th division. Many of them are buried in the American cemetery near Waregem. WWI was the first foreign war in the history of the United States of America. Three ponds around the farm the Dutch Shed. The 3 craters that resulted after the detonation of the charge on 7 th June 1917 had, respectively, a diameter of 55.8 m (8.8 m deep), 32 m (4.3 m deep) and 43 m (7.6 m deep). After the war, the Dutch Shed was rebuilt between the three craters. Their respective depths today, however, are only 7.2 and 3 m.

11 KM 227 WIJTSCHATE BAYERNWALD TRENCH COMPLEX Bayernwald ( Croonaert Wood ) is located at a height of approx. 40m, and was a strategically important position. The trenches and bunkers that are now visible only amount to 10% of what the German defence system had been. The Germans feared that the British wanted to undermine their positions underground. They therefore attempted to dig out listening shafts meters deep into ground, through which they could keep better track of the British activities and react appropriately if necessary. KM 228 MINE CRATER SINT-ELOOI The hamlet of Sint-Elooi, south of Ypres, was the most forward point of the German frontline around Ypres and was therefore bitterly fought over. Both the British and the Germans detonated many mines here during the war. & SALIENT KM 229 KM 230 KM 232 CENTRE KM PETER PAN BEDFORD HOUSE RAMPARTS LILLE GATE GROTE MARKT At Voormezeele Enclosure No. 3, the boy who modelled for Peter Pan was buried. The character Peter Pan, developed by J. M. Barrie, was inspired by his adopted son George Llewelyn Davies, belonging to the 6th Bn King s Royal Rifle Corps and slain on 15 th March 1915 near Sint-Elooi, a hamlet of Voormezele. The Bedford House Cemetery is a British military cemetery with graves mostly from the First World War. It has a surface area of 25,765 m 2 and is one of the larger British cemeteries around Ypres. 5,144 casualties lie buried here, of which 3,011 are unidentified. Built on the destroyed castle domain Rosendael, the grounds have an irregular shape and various plateaus and are a prime example of landscape gardening. The Lille Gate was one of the main passages to the front and was used more than the Menin Gate, because this road could be better protected against enemy artillery. Only the graves on the city walls that are now part of Ramparts Cemetery are retained. The path to the cemetery is dedicated to Rose Coombs. On 4th May 1991 the ashes of the author of Before Endeavour Fades were scattered in this cemetery. She died on 7 th January Market Square, In Flanders Fields Museum, Cloth Hall with Belfry, Saint Martin s Cathedral, Saint George s Memorial Church.

12 KM 233 MENIN GATE After the war, the British government campaigned for the preservation of (a part of) the ruins of Ypres, as a symbol of the perseverance of the British defence of a city that was ruined, but never occupied by the enemy. This idea was not favoured by the Belgian population. Ultimately, the plan for a memorial to the missing was combined with a national British monument: the Menin Gate. A memorial with dual character, whereby the outer side can be seen as a triumphal arch. & SALIENT KM 233 KM 233 KM 233 KM 233 KM 234 ESSEX FARM / JOHN MC CRAE BUNKER YORKSHIRE TRENCH DUG-OUTS NEW IRISH FARM DIVISIONAL COLLECTION POST CEM. & EXTENSION MENIN ROAD SOUTH MILITARY Along the Ypres-Yser canal, just outside Ypres, you will find the Essex Farm Cemetery. This place is also known as Site John McCrae. The Canadian physician John McCrae wrote here in May 1915 the world famous poem In Flanders Fields. In the canal dyke a shelter was dug where physician John McCrae assisted victims of gassing. A few days later Essex Farm Cemetery was created. John McCrae died in 1918 and is buried in Wimereux, France. This section of trench from 1915 was brought to light in the 1950 during the construction of a new industrial area along the Ypres-Yser canal. The Yorkshire Trench emerged after the first gas attack in This large Commonwealth cemetery can be reached via the Northern ring in Ypres. It was created in 1917 after the area was declared safe. Previously the front line was here. New Irish Farm Cemetery initially consisted of 73 graves. After World War I the cemetery expanded with more than 4,500 fallen soldiers after the addition of graves from surrounding small cemeteries. In about 70% of the graves an unknown soldier rests. This cemetery close to the Northern ring in Ypres was built during the Third Battle of Ypres in It is located near the larger New Irish Farm Cemetery. Deceased soldiers from a nearby medical centre were buried here. The original cemetery comprised 87 graves, including one German grave. Between 1924 and 1926 this cemetery expanded with the Extension and 678 victims from the surrounding battlefields and smaller cemeteries were added. The Menin Road was an important road, along which the troops travelled to the front. According to the current register, there are 1,658 soldiers buried here, 120 of which could not be identified.

13 & SALIENT KM 234 KM 234 KM 234 LANGEMARK- POELKAPELLE KM 234 LANGEMARK- POELKAPELLE KM 235 LANGEMARK- POELKAPELLE KM 235 LANGEMARK- POELKAPELLE WELSH NATIONAL MEMORIAL PARK FRENCH CHARLES DE POTYZE CEMENT HOUSE BROODING SOLDIER GUYNEMER GERMAN STUDENTEN- FRIEDHOF The Welsh National Memorial Park commemorates all men and women from Wales who were involved in the First World War. The memorial park supersedes the background of the battles in Flanders. As the Welsh National Memorial, it commemorates the efforts of the entire Welsh population during the Great War. The monument, in the form of a dragon, the national Welsh symbol, was erected in 2014 and was the result of a Flemish-Welsh volunteer campaign, supported by the municipality of Langemark- Poelkapelle and the Government of Wales. During the First World War there was a small school near this cemetery. The French troops used this school as a medical post. Deceased soldiers were buried in the vicinity. This grew into a cemetery, but a great number of graves were destroyed during the war. The current French cemetery is the largest on Belgian soil. Around 4,200 French soldiers are buried here, including 616 in the mass grave. Here you will also find 69 Muslim gravestones, rounded at the top with a horseshoe arch. This cemetery is named after a nearby farm that the British units called the Cement House. Cement House Cemetery is an example of a concentration cemetery. For a long time, it was the only Commonwealth cemetery for which the register was opened for new graves. Until recently all British victims who were found in later years, for example, in the construction of the industrial zone in the channel, were buried here. The Canadian Forces Memorial St. Julien, better known as the Canadien or The Brooding Soldier, commemorates the role of Canadian soldiers during the Second Battle of Ypres. 2,000 soldiers lost their lives in the first gas attack. The monument represents a Canadian soldier who salutes the dead with a traditional military salute. The park surrounding the memorial was built with Canadian soil and plants. So here you stand on a piece Canadian territory. In the centre of Poelcapelle you find the Guynemer monument as a tribute to the French pilot Georges Guynemer. With 53 air victories, he is one of the greatest aces in the First World War. On 11 th September 1917, German troops took Guynemer down above Poelcapelle. His body was never found. In July 1923 the memorial was unveiled. A stork adorns the top of the monument and thus refers to the Escadrille des Cigognes, the unit to which Guynemer belonged. The German military cemetery in Langemark is one of the four German collective cemeteries in Belgium. This cemetery is also known as the Studentenfriedhof. A number of young German volunteer soldiers were killed here during the First Battle of Ypres in Now more than 44,300 German soldiers lie buried here. More than half are buried together in the comrade grave near the entrance of the cemetery. Approximately 17,000 soldiers from the mass grave could be identified. Their names can be found on the blocks surrounding the comrade grave.

14 KM 236 HILL Hill 60 is an authentic preserved area from the First World War. The artificial hill from 1850 was about 60 meters high, which explains the name: Hill 60. In the period heavy fighting took place here between the Germans and the Allies. From 1915, both parties dug tunnels under the hill in order to detonate mines. The explosions of the deep mines on 7 th June 1917 resulted in the current landscape of Hill 60. Many soldiers are still buried, unnamed, under this hill. KM 236 LANGEMARK- POELKAPELLE POELCAPELLE BRITISH This cemetery in Poelcapelle is the third largest Commonwealth cemetery in the Westhoek. Poelcapelle British Cemetery was created in 1919 by bringing together field graves and smaller cemeteries. Approximately 7,500 soldiers are buried here. In this cemetery the gravestone of John Condon can be found. For a long time he was, at 14 years old, known as the youngest soldier killed. Recent research shows that John Condon was probably older and possibly not buried here. KM 237 ZONNEBEKE TYNE COT Tyne Cot Cemetery is the largest Commonwealth cemetery on the mainland and also the main witness to the bloody Battle of Passchendaele. Originally Tyne Cot was a fortified position of the German Flandern I position, where Australian troops set up a first aid station in October Approximately 12,000 soldiers are buried here. On the impressive Tyne Cot Memorial you can find another 35,000 names of soldiers with no known grave who died after 15 th August SALIENT KM 237 ZONNEBEKE KM 238 SALIENT KM 238 SALIENT MEMORIAL MUSEUM PASSCHEN- DAELE HOOGE CRATER CANADIAN MEMORIAL In this museum you will discover everything about the Battle of Passchendaele, one of the greatest battles of the First World War. The dugout in the museum lets you experience just how the soldiers 1917 lived below the ground. Hooge Crater Cemetery is located along the Menin Road, against the hillside of t Hoge, directly opposite the Hooge Crater Museum. Throughout the war there was heavy fighting in the vicinity of Hooge, as its elevation was strategically interesting to both parties. On 19 th July 1915 a mine charge of 2,200 kg was detonated. During the explosion a dozen of men of the 4 th Middlesex were buried alive under the debris. This memorial was made of white granite from Quebec and weighs nearly 15 tons. The monument at the top of the Hill 62 is a tribute to all Canadians who fought in the area in There were as many as 8,430 Canadian casualties. The road was built after the war on the route of the British second line to serve the cemetery and the Canadian memorial. On both sides of the road Canadian maple trees were planted.

15 KM 238 SALIENT SANCTUARY WOOD The name Sanctuary may be ironically interpreted here, as it concerns a cemetery rather than a sanctuary. It is in the shape of a circular segment (fan-shaped), constructed on a gently sloping site with a surface area of approximately 7,000 m 2. According to the present register there are 1,990 buried (or commemorated) here, of which 1,353 are not could be identified. Here lies Lt. Gilbert Talbot, after whom the Talbot SALIENT & MENIN KM 238 SALIENT KM 238 ZONNEBEKE KM 238 ZILLEBEKE KM 254 ARRIVAL HILL 62 MUSEUM & TRENCHES BUTTES NEW BRITISH COMINGWORLD- REMEMBERME THE BLUFF EHRENFRIEDHOF MEENEN WALD N Pictures: Flemish Community CWGC Westtoer The Schier family, owners of the local café, retained a portion of the trench system after the armistice and built a museum from it. Behind the museum are still the (largely authentic) trenches with concrete structures and shelters, who were part of the Vince Street Jam Row complex in Before the war, the Polygon forest was a military training ground with a butte or goal : an artificial hill to catch bullets. The forest was alternately in the hands of the Allies and the Germans. Buttes New British Cemetery forms, architecturally speaking, a whole with the nearby Polygon Wood Cemetery. 2,103 dead are buried here. The New Zealand Memorial commemorates 378 New Zealanders that went missing in the period September May Here the land art installation ComingWorldRememberMe was built as from the winter of A reminder of the futility of the war statuettes for every victim of WWI in Belgium, located near the Bluff, a mine crater from WWI. Tens of thousands of people from Flanders and the rest of the world helped CWxRM come into being, they made the statuettes together. There is a dog tag for each statuette, the universal identification system for frontline soldiers. Menin was a German cantonment with German military field hospitals and cemeteries. At the end of the war, Ehrenfriedhof Meenen Wald n 62 held approximately 6,400 graves. After the war, the German military graves were brought together to 184 cemeteries. In 1952, the Belgian and German governments decided to bring them together at 4 locations in West Flanders: Vladslo, Hooglede, Menin and Langemark. Nearly 48,000 German soldiers now lie buried at this cemetery.

16 THE GREATEST RACE IN FLANDERS FIELDS