War Memorials
Below is a collection of memorials that I have had the honour to visit during my visits to France & Belgium. Friendships have been formed and a better perspective of the area has been achieved so as to understand what I teach just that little bit better.
Click on a thumbnail below to enlarge the image and access the gallery.
Carrière Wellington, Arras, France
The Wellington Mines is both a memorial & museum dedicated to the Battle of Arras in 1917. The site itself focuses on the 16th century mining quarries used by the British and NZ soldiers, prior to storming the German trenches on the 9th April, 1917. The tactic was successful in driving the Germans back 11 km from their trenches yet, the offensive would eventually be called off when casualties reached 4,000 a day.
Canadian National Vimy Memorial, Vimy Ridge, France
Just as Gallipoli and Villers-Bretonneux are sacred to Australians, Canadians hold Vimy Ridge with the same level of reverence. The site opened in 1936 still clearly shows the impact of war on the surrounding countryside. How anyone could have taken this area from below, displays the enormity of the task that faced the Canadian divisions in 1917. Reconstructed sections of the trench and tunnel system that existed in 1917 are available to visit in an adjoining site.
Newfoundland Regiment Memorial, Beaumont Hamel, France
The memorial was opened in 1925 by Field Marshall Haig and is dedicated to the Newfoundland Regiment. The most fascinating thing about this site is the preserved nature of the battlefield. the trench lines and the gradient of the area highlights how difficult it must have been for any attack to take place.
Hill 60 & The Lochnagar Crater, France
The Caterpillar Mine Crater, located near Hill 60 in Ypres, Belgium was created on June 7, 1917, as part of the Battle of Messines. The crater resulted from the detonation of 32,000 kg of explosives, placed by British sappers beneath German defensive positions. The Lochnagar Crater, located near La Boisselle in northern France was created roughly a year earlier on the first day of the Battle of the Somme. The crater measures 100 meters in diameter and 30 meters deep and was created by 27,000 kg of explosives.
Hill 62 (Sanctuary Wood) Memorial and Museum, Belgium
Hill 62, located near Ypres, Belgium, is a historic World War I site known for its preserved trenches and museum. The site features preserved trenches and dugouts as well as housing an extensive collection of wartime artefacts. During the war, Hill 62 was a vital high ground held by Canadian forces during the bloody battles of the Ypres Salient.
Western Front War Memorials
Hill 62, located near Ypres, Belgium, is a historic World War I site known for its preserved trenches and museum. The site features preserved trenches and dugouts as well as housing an extensive collection of wartime artefacts. During the war, Hill 62 was a vital high ground held by Canadian forces during the bloody battles of the Ypres Salient.
Pheasant Wood Cemetery, Fromelles
Pheasant Wood is home to Australian soldiers who fell at the Battle of Fromelles, between 19-20 July of 1916.
Pozières, Bullecourt & Polygon Wood (F)
The three sites cover areas fought during the Battle of the Somme in 1916 (Pozières) and the 1917 Campaign (Bullecourt & Polygon Wood). Two contain memorials to the First & Fifth Division and at Bullecourt, a statue that commemorates the bravery of soldiers from the April & May attacks. The approx. casualties from all three sites, Pozières 23,000, Bullecourt 10,000 & Polygon Wood 5,770 highlights the wanton destruction of these theatres of war.
Notre Dame de Lorette & Memorial (F)
To walk into Tyne Cot and try and take in approx. 12,000 graves is one thing, but to try and absorb nearly 40,000 war dead in one place is beyond comprehension. Add the 580,000 names that appear in the “L’Anneau de la Mémoire” (Ring of Memory) memorial and you have a very humbling experience. The panels in the memorial struck me as there was no defined nationality associated with any of the names. This helped to highlight the utter waste that war truly is and avoided trying to apportion blame.
Newfoundland Regiment Memorial, Beaumont Hamel (F)
The memorial was opened in 1925 by Field Marshall Haig and is dedicated to the Newfoundland Regiment. The most fascinating thing about this site is the preserved nature of the battlefield. the trench lines and the gradient of the area highlights how difficult it must have been for any attack to take place.
Carrière Wellington (F)
The Wellington Mines are both a memorial & museum dedicated to the Battle of Arras in 1917. The site itself focuses on the old mining quarries that date back to the 16th century. During WW1, the British and NZ soldiers were kept in the tunnels for 8 days prior to storming the German trenches on the 9th April, 1917. The tactic was successful in driving the Germans back 11 km from their trenches yet, the offensive would eventually be called off when casualties reached 4,000 a day.
Essex Farm Cemetery & John McCrae Memorial (B)
First established during the Second Battle of Ypres in early 1915, Essex Farm sits within the John McCrae Memorial Site. The Canadian born doctor composed the poem “In Flanders Field” while posted at the dressing station in 1915. The cemetery commemorates 1,204 soldiers who lost their lives between 1915 through to 1918, of which 104 are unidentified. The youngest of those interned was Private Valentine Strudwick who was killed 1 month short of his 16th birthday.
Hill 60 (B)
The area is synonymous with the Australian tunnellers who largely fought their war below ground level. The remnants of a major explosion which killed over 10,000 Germans on June 1917 (see image), as well other reminders, exist of the fighting in and around the Ypres region from 1914-18.
Ypres, Menin Gate & Welsh Memorial (B)
No trip to the Western Front is truly complete without visiting Ypres. The site of Four major battles between 1914-18, it contains iconic buildings and host’s the Menin Gate ceremony. The ceremony itself has been held every night since 1st May 1929 (except during German occupation 1940-44 when it was held in Britain).
Langemark German War Cemetery (B)
The Langemark German cemetery had an atmosphere unlike any other war cemetery I have visited. Officially inaugurated in 1932, it has been remodelled over time and contains the remains of 44,294 German soldiers. One of the site’s distinguishing features are the black headstones which was a provision in the Treaty of Versailles, stating that German war graves were not to be in white (the symbolic colour of innocence). Adolf Hitler famously visited the cemetery in 1940 as he had fought in the region south of Ypres during WWI.
“All war is a symptom of man's failure as a thinking animal.”
John Steinbeck