List of World War I memorials and cemeteries in Flanders

This list of World War I memorials and cemeteries in Flanders describes some of the war cemeteries and memorials erected in Flanders to mark events there during World War I.

Following various declarations of war, the German Army opened hostilities by first invading Luxembourg and Belgium and at the same time gaining military control of important industrial regions in France. The tide of the German advance was dramatically turned with the Battle of the Marne and following the race to the sea, both sides dug in along a meandering line of fortified trenches, stretching from the North Sea to the Swiss frontier with France. This line remained essentially unchanged for most of the war. It was what was to be the Western Front.

Between 1915 and 1917, there were several major offensives along this front. The attacks employed massive artillery bombardments and massed infantry advances. However, a combination of entrenchments, machine gun nests, barbed wire, and artillery repeatedly inflicted severe casualties on the attackers and counterattacking defenders. As a result, no significant advances were made. Among the most costly of these offensives were the Battle of Verdun with a combined 700,000 dead, the Battle of the Somme with more than a million casualties, and the Battle of Passchendaele, part of "Third Ypres", with roughly 600,000 casualties.

In an effort to break the deadlock, this front saw the introduction of new military technology, including poison gas, aircraft and tanks. But it was only after the adoption of improved tactics that some degree of mobility was restored. The German Spring Offensive of 1918 was made possible by the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk that marked the end of the conflict on the Eastern Front. Using the recently-introduced infiltration tactics, the German armies advanced nearly 60 miles (97 kilometres) to the west, which marked the deepest advance by either side since 1914 and very nearly succeeded in forcing a breakthrough.

In spite of the generally stagnant nature of this front, in was in this theatre that the final breakthrough was to occur. The inexorable advance of the Allied armies during the second half of 1918 persuaded the German commanders that defeat was inevitable, and the government was forced to sue for conditions of an armistice. The terms of peace were agreed upon with the signing of the Treaty of Versailles in 1919.

This listing concerns that part of the Western Front located in Belgian Flanders, namely the Yser river region and the Ypres Salient.

The Yser Region

By the end of 1914 the trenches of the Western Front ran from Nieuwpoort on the North Sea Coast to the Swiss Border. After the war many memorials were erected in and along the area through which the front line had run, and this is a record of some of these memorials in the Flanders area : the list is by no means a definitive one.

The Battle of the Yser

Battle of the Yser
Part of the Race to the Sea on the Western Front (World War I)
The "End of the Line": the Western Front reaches the sea near Nieuwpoort, Belgium
Date 16 October – 31 October 1914 Location River Yser, Belgium Result Allied victory
Belligerents
Belgium France	German Empire
Commanders and leaders
Albert I of Belgium Admiral Ronarc'h	Albrecht, Duke of Württemberg
Strength
Belgium: 4 infantry divisions, 2 reserve divisions France: 1 infantry division, 2 Fusiliers marins regiments	6 Corps (12 divisions)
Casualties and losses
Belgium: 40,000 France: 15,000

After the Battle of the Marne, which halted the German Army’s advance as had been defined and set out in their "Von Schlieffen" plan, there followed what some historians have called the "Race to the Sea". What in fact happened, once the Germans had retreated from the Marne and dug in north of the Aisne, was that the opposing sides tried to take each other's flank with each outflanking movement being parried so that eventually the North Sea Coast was reached without either side achieving a breakthrough although many battles and skirmishes were fought along the way.

It was in the area north of the Yser that the Germans saw their last chance of a breakthrough. If they could break through the Allied Army’s left flank in that region they had the opportunity to take Dunkirk and then Calais and so cut off the Allies’ supplies from these two ports, enabling them to then deliver a lethal if not terminal blow on the French Army and her British and Belgian Allies.

On 9 October 1914, Antwerp had fallen to the Germans after use by them of the intensive siege artillery that had proved so successful at Liege, Namur and Mauberge. Brussels had already been evacuated as had Zeebrugge and Ostend. The Belgian Army retreated westwards assisted by the French Marine Brigade and the British 7th Division (British troops had been sent over in September to assist in the defence of Antwerp). By 14 October most of Belgium was in German hands. The Belgians and their allies had reached the river Yser, the last natural border on Flemish soil, a river which cuts across the Polder plains through Diksmuide and Nieuwpoort before flowing into the North Sea at Nieuwpoort-Bains.

For several days the Belgian Army, still supported by the Brigade of French Marines, fought heroically using the Yser's embankment and the embankment of the Nieuwpoort to Diksmuide railway as their line of defence. The Yser had been canalized many years earlier and for the canal's last 65 kilometres it was embanked with earthworks. The Germans attacked Nieuwpoort and Diksmuide and on the night of 21 October 1914, after failing to break either Nieuwpoort or Diksmuide, the German Army attacked the centre of the line around Tervaete. After several setbacks, the Belgians showed tremendous resilience and the line was still held on 23 October 1914.

On 25 October 1914, the line held firm but the situation was becoming desperate and at this point the Belgians made the brave decision to open the sluices and effectively flood the area. Belgium chose "the application of one of the most ancient of military stratagems: inundation-defence by flooding" Nieuwpoort was where the complex control of the river, the tides and the levels of nearby canals and effectively the drainage of the Polder Plain was controlled. Many were involved in the operation of opening the sluice gates to effect this inundation but it was Lieutenant-Colonel Nuyten of the Belgian Army and the civilian Hendrik Geereart, a retired waterman, who were to play the major roles. They soon enlisted the help of Karel Cogge, an old-lock keeper. The operation to effect the maximum possible flooding commenced on 25 October 1914.

Whilst fighting continued the water levels gradually rose and by 31 October the German Army, finding themselves being swallowed up by a huge swamp, abandoned the idea of crossing the Yser north of Diksmuide, and, still having Calais as their objective, they moved to the Diksmuide-Ypres area and threw everything at Diksmuide which was eventually taken . However the German Army had still not crossed the Yser and now the German High Command looked at the area around Ypres and the idea of breaking through to Calais and the Channel Ports from there. "For the next four years the great man-made sea, 13 kilometers long and 6 kilometres wide (8 miles long and 3 wide), was kept in place, and never again were the Germans to set foot west of the railway."

For the whole period of the war the Belgian Army held the flooded plain and dunes area and Nieuwpoort were held by the French until June 1917 when Rawlinson’s British 4th Army attacked along the coast supported by fire from British warships. For the final part of the war the Belgians took responsibility for the entire Yser sector.

On 28 September 1918, the so called "Liberty" Offensive in Flanders began and by 15 October 1918 the Belgians had crossed the Yser and pursuing the retreating Germans they were in Ostende by 17 October 1918. The Germans debunked from Bruges and the Belgians retook Zebrugge. The Armistice on 11 November 1918 ended the fighting along the entire Western Front.

"Inundation, therefore, proved to be the key to the coastal sector. By a combination of this most ancient of strategies, local knowledge, and tenacious defence early in the war, the Germans had been forced to shift their attentions inland- to the dry plains and ridges of French and Belgian Flanders. And ultimately to Ypres. In a way, it was the Nieuwpoort inundations which created the Western Front".

There are many monuments and memorials in this sector which celebrate the Battle of the Yser and other events. These include-

Memorials in the Yser Area

Name	Location	Comments	Image
The Yser Memorial	Nieuwpoort Belgium	The Mémorial de l'Yser or IJzergedenkteken was the work of the Belgian sculptor Pieter-Jan Braecke who was commissioned in 1930 to carry out the sculptural work on a memorial at Nieuwpoort to mark Belgium’s resistance to the German invasion of 1914. It is a dramatic work with Braecke’s composition centered around the figure of a woman representing Belgium who defiantly clutches the Belgian crown and holds it away from the grasp of the invading Germans. This figure is positioned at the top of a column and there is a soldier at each of the four corners of the column's base. One of these soldiers has lost his sight, another is wounded, the third clearly sick whilst the fourth is fit and ready to resist the invader. The memorial was inaugurated on 26 October 1930. A photograph of one of the four soldiers is shown on the right and other photographs of the Yser Memorial appear in the gallery below.	]
The Albert Memorial	Nieuwpoort Belgium	The memorial is an elaborate one. A large circular structure representing a crown is supported by 10 columns and in the centre is a bronze equestrian figure of Albert I, the "Soldier King". The circular structure can be reached by either stairs or a lift and serves as a viewing platform which affords views of the surrounding countryside and the various sluice gates so essential to the drainage of the Polders. When looked at from above, the layout of the sluice gates looks very much like the outline of a goose's foot and the area is known as the "Goosefoot". On the interior side of the circular structure the words of two poems are inscribed, one by August van Cauwelaert and the other by Maurice Gauchez. Some of the bricks carry the names of villages and towns in the Yser area that saw fighting; Boesinghe, St Joris, Tervaete, Vidlette, Diksmuide.etc. The architect/designer was Julien de Ridder and the sculptural work was carried out by Charles Aubroeck. The inauguration and unveiling took place on 24 July 1938 in the presence of Queen Elisabeth, King Leopold III, Prince Charles, Prince Baudouin and Princess Josephine Charlotte. Apart from the equestrian figure, Aubroeck created ten relief panels on the exterior side of the upper circular structure. One of these depicts a scene in the Congo and the others depict various themes including the spiritual life, the sciences, working life in the ports, working life in the mines, leisure time and life at sea. The foundation stone was laid on 8 August 1937. The foundation stone is inscribed "Die VIII Augusti MCMXXXVII positus est hic primarius lapis”
The Nieuwpoort Memorial to the Missing.	Nieuwpoort Belgium	The Nieuwpoort Memorial consists of a pylon of Euville stone, 8 metres high, surrounded by a bronze band on which are inscribed the names of the casualties commemorated. The memorial stands on a triangular paved platform and at each corner of the triangle is a recumbent figure of a lion facing outwards. The memorial was designed by William Bryce Binnie. The sculptural work is by Charles Sargeant Jagger. The memorial bears the names of over 500 officers and men of the United Kingdom forces who died in this area and along the Belgian coast, especially those in 1917 and whose graves are unknown. A small number of those commemorated were casualties of 1914, mainly men of the Royal Naval Division, who died in the attempt to hold Antwerp in October of that year. Commonwealth forces did not return to this part of the line until June 1917, when XV Corps relieved French troops in the sector from Saint Joris to the sea. They were involved in fierce fighting at Nieuwpoort before handing the sector back to the French in November 1917 and the remainder of the men commemorated died during those months. Inscribed on the memorial are Laurence Binyon’s words. “They shall not grow 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"
A plaque at Ramskapelle acknowledging the assistance of the French	Ramskapelle Belgium	The French were involved fighting alongside the Belgians in the West Flanders area both in 1914 and after. Here we see a photograph of a plaque outside the church at Ramskapelle near Nieuwpoort in West Flanders which acknowledges the role played by the French 16th Division fighting alongside the Belgian 6th Regiment and was erected by its people as a "thank you" to the French. The plaque was inaugurated in 1938. A link to further information on this plaque is given here.
Marker (Albertina). commemorating the flooding of the Yser	Nieuwpoort. Belgium	We also find near to the Yser Memorial a small memorial commemorating the opening of the Yser floodgates. The inscription in Flemish reads "Onderwaterzetting 29th October 1914", this being the date on which the sluices were finally opened. There are many of these diamond-shaped markers throughout the region. They are known as "Albertina Memorials" and were erected by the Belgians between 1984 and 1988 to commemorate the death of King Albert I. Each bears his monogram and marks a significant site or event relating to the First World War. A link to a listing of all these Albertina Memorials is given here.
The Memorial to Admiral Pierre Alexis Ronarc'h and his Marine Fusiliers.	Diksmuide Belgium	This memorial was inaugurated in 1963 and stands in a park off Oostvesten in Diksmuide. It is dedicated to the memory of Admiral Pierre Alexis Ronarc'h and those of his Marine Fuseliers who gave their lives in defending Diksmuide. It comprises a long low wall with a slight curve and a plaque at one end reading "A LA MEMOIRE DE L'AMIRAL RONARC'H ET DES FUSELIERS MARINS GLORIEUSEMENT TOMBES A DIXMUDE 16 OCT-10 NOV 1914" At the other end an anchor is set into an opening in the wall. Set into the ground in front of the plaque is another bronze plaque, this time a circular plaque, which summarised the order given to Admiral Roanrc'h by the French commander in the sector Général d'Urbal. It reads "IL VA DE NOTRE HONNEUR D'AIDER LES BELGES DANS CETTE TACHE JUSQU'A L'EXTREME LIMITE DE NOS MOYENS EN CONSEQUENCE LE PASSAGE DE DIXMUDE DEVRA ETRE TENU PAR VOUS TANT QU'IL RESTERA UN FUSELIER MARIN VIVANT"/ "24 OCT. 1914 - LE GENERAL D'URBAL - L'AMIRAL RONARC'H"
The statue of Le General Baron Jacques de Diksmuide	Diksmuide Belgium	By 20 October 1914, the 43rd and 44th German Reserve Divisions were pressing hard against Diksmuide held by just two Belgian Regiments and Ronarc'h's force of marines. The Belgian 12th Linie Regiment commanded by Colonel Jacques had all of the roads to the east to cover, whilst the Admiral was guarding the western approaches. At 09:00 hours that morning the Germans opened up with their heavy artillery in a bombardment which was eventually to reduce Diksmuide to rubble and both Colonel Jacques and Amiral Ronarc'h had to withdraw.
The Zeebrugge Memorial- A memorial to the Missing.	Zeebrugge Belgium	The Zeebrugge Memorial is a small stone panel set in the wall of the churchyard, and commemorates three officers and one mechanic of the Royal Navy who lost their lives at Zeebrugge on St George's Day 1918 and have no known grave. The port of Zeebrugge had been used by the British Expeditionary Force in October 1914, and bombed by Commonwealth and French aeroplanes frequently thereafter once occupied by the Germans. On 23 April 1918, British sailors and marines, in a collection of monitors, destroyers, motorboats, launches, old cruisers, old submarines and Mersey ferry-boats attacked the mole at Zeebrugge and attempted to block the canal leading to Bruges.
Ijzertoren	Diksmuide Begium	The Ijzertoren (Yser Tower) is a memorial by the Yser at Diksmuide. The first tower was built after the 1914-18 war by an association of Flemish veterans but this was dynamited in 1946. The authorities never caught those who committed this action and it is thought to have been carried out by French-speaking radicalists. The Ijzertoren has always been a rallying point for Flemish nationalism. A new and indeed higher tower was built and the remains of the old tower now form the "Paxpoort" or "Gate of Peace". The words "Nooit meer Oorlog"(Never again War)is written on the tower in Flemish, French, English and German. The rebuilt tower is 84 metres high. The tower also has the abbreviation "AVV-VVK" written on it. This stands for "Alles Voor Vlaanderen-Vlaanderen voor Kristus" which translates as "All for Flanders-Flanders for Christ". The Ijzertoren has a lift to take you to the top of the tower where there are splendid views of the countryside and a small museum. The peace gate has hugh high reliefs by Charles Aubroeck at each corner. One of these reliefs is a depiction of the painter Joe English English's remains and those of other Flemish heroes are buried in the Ijzertoren crypt. Edward and Frans Van Raemdonck, Lode De Boninge and Frans Van der Linden and Renaat De Rudder are others whose remains are buried in the crypt and were the subjects of Charles Aubroek's reliefs on the "Paxpoort".
"Dodengang"	Diksmuide Begium	Near to the Ijzertoren is the "Dodengang" or "Trench of Death", a 300 yards section of preserved trench. A demarcation stone was unveiled here in 1922 by King Albert. This particular trench played a key role in preserving the front line in this area and stopping further German incursions.

Cemeteries in West Flanders

Name	Comments	Image
Belgian Military Cemeteries	The main Belgian Military Cemeteries are at Hoogstade near Alveringen, Oeren near Alveringen, Adinkerke near De Panne, De Panne, Keiem near Diksmuide, Houtholst, Ramskapelle near Nieuwpoort, Steenkerke near Veurne, and Westvleteren. The Belgian headstone is of a uniform and distinct shape and colour and the cemeteries are well maintained. See photograph on the right.	Typical Belgian Headstone
British Cemeteries	The website "The Great War in Flanders Fields" lists 173 British Military Cemeteries in West Flanders. Here we see graves at one of the cemeteries at Passchendaele.
French Cemeteries	17 French Military Cemeteries are listed by "The Great War in Flanders Fields". In the photograph here we see graves at Roeselare French Military Cemetery.
German Military Cemeteries	There are First World War German cemeteries in Flanders at Vladslo, Menen, Hooglede and Langemark. At Vladslo we can see the sculpture by Käthe Kollwitz called "The Grieving Parents" a memorial to Kollwitz' son Peter who was killed fighting in the area. A photograph is shown in the gallery below. The photograph shown right shows some of the crosses at Vladslo and the flat headstones seen in many German cemeteries. Vladslo contains 25.644 graves. Started in 1917, it held the bodies of 3,233 soldiers by the end of the war and in 1954 it was agreed that graves be moved to Vladslo, Langemark, Menen and Hooglede from the many smaller burial sites in the area and as a consequence the number of soldiers buried at Vadslo reached the present figure. Menen now holds the remains of 47,864 soldiers, Langemark 44,324 soldiers and Hooglede 8,247. At Langemark there is a distinctive sculpture by Emil Krieger- see photograph in gallery.

Belgian War Memorials- civil and parochial

Most villages and towns in West Flanders have their own war memorials either civil or parochial. These can be traced in this website

Demarcation Stones/Borne du Front/Demarcatiepalen

Name	Demarcation Stones/Borne du Front/Demarcatiepalen	Image
Demarcation Stones/Borne du Front/Demarcatiepalen	It was the French sculptor Paul Moreau-Vauthier who had the idea in 1920 of putting down a series of stone markers all along the front line as it was after the victory at the Second Battle of the Marne on 18 July 1918, this front line running from the North Sea to the Swiss border. The markers are carved from pink granite and are no more than one metre high. On the top of the demarcation stone is a laurel wreath surmounted by the helmet of whichever Army stopped the Germans at the point marked. Thus we see a British "tin-helmet" or a Belgian or French helmet. There are depictions of grenades and palms at each corner and a water bottle hanging from a strap on one side and on the other, again hanging from a strap, a gas mask case. The demarcation stones are inscribed "Ici fut arrete L'Envahisseur", "Here the invader was brought to a standstill" and "Hier werd de overweldiger tot staangebracht". Moreau-Vauthier's idea was endorsed by Henri Defert, president of the Touring Club of France who invited the Belgian Touring Club to join the project. A total of 240 markers were planned (28 in Belgium, 212 in France), of which 118 were erected (22 in Belgium, 96 in France) in the years between 1921–1927. In France these demarcation stones are known as "Borne du Front" and in Belgium as "Demarcatiepalen" . Some stones have been destroyed over the intervening years but many still exist. Moreau-Vauthier died in 1936 in a car accident at Ruffigny near Niort in Deux-Sèvres, and is buried in Père Lachaise Cemetery in Paris. He had served in the French Army and seen action at Verdun The planned number of demarcation stones was never achieved as funds seem to have run dry and enthusiasm for the project had waned.	Demarcation stone No.12 at Stuivekenskerke

The Ypres Area

Name	Comments
First Ypres	The Salient was formed during the First Battle of Ypres in October and November 1914, when the British Expeditionary Force succeeded in securing the town before the onset of winter, pushing the German forces back as far as the Passchendaele Ridge. Ypres had already seen action when, during the so-called "Race to the Sea", three German cavalry divisions had entered Ypres, Voormezeele and Wytschaete on 3 October 1914. Ypres was looted but the units then moved south. They, and the German infantry were soon headed back to Ypres and both sides prepared their plans of attack not an easy task when one considers that every road in West Flanders at the time was choked with refugees moving south towards the Franco-Belgian border The Germans mounted furious attacks and 21 to 23 October 1914 saw the First Battle of Langemarck, and the so-called "Massacre of the Innocents", when, in a desperate attempt to make a breakthrough, the Germans had thrown their Reserve Corps into the front line. This Reserve Corps was inexperienced and included many young students, some unarmed and lacking basic equipment, who were no match for the professional British and French soldiers. The young reservists died in their hundreds and the Germans failed to take Langemarck. "On 23rd October 1914 they (the reservists) were practically annihilated in the fields in front of Langemarck and Bixschoote by Haig's cool and skilled fifteen-rounds-per-minute professionals, This was the First Battle of Langemarck, 21–23 October 1914." The next phase was the Battle of Gheluvelt, which ran from 29 to 31 October 1914. Now the Germans were to take Zandvoorde and Hollebeke and on 30 October 1914, Gheluvelt fell to the Germans, was retaken and then fell back into German hands along with Mesen and Wytschaete. St Eloi was the next village to fall and between 10 and 11 November 1914 the 2nd Battle of Langemarck was fought although again the Germans failed to take Langemarck. The Germans stepped up their attacks on 31 October 1914 and German cavalry drove the British cavalry from the Messines Ridge and on 11 November, two premier German divisions (The Prussian Guards Division) attempted to break the British lines at Nun’s Wood just north of the Menin Road. The German attacks were held but at a great loss of life! Fighting was to continue until 22 November 1914, when the onset of winter halted fighting. The heavy winter rains began to fall and "the rifle was substituted by the spade". Ypres was to become a name embodied in the English psyche! Thus the first phase of fighting ended, this being known as "First Ypres", and many historians have concluded that this period saw the death of the old British Expeditionary Force (BEF). The fighting had been fierce and the BEF's numbers decimated. Now Britain needed to rebuild her army.	A typical scene of devastation. Location Chateau Wood. 1917- Third Ypres
Second Ypres- Gas!	During the winter 1914/1915 the French held the Salient from Steenstraat in the north to Hooghe in the south and in the early months of 1915 Canadian and British troops started to take over part of the Salient's front line. By April 1915, the Salient front line was manned by troops from Belgium, from France, from the French Colonies, from Canada and Great Britain. From Steenstrate to the North Sea coast the line was held by the Belgian 6th Division, from Steenstrate to north of Langemarck it was held by the French 87th Territorial Division, and from there to the Ypres to Bruges road south of Poelkapelle it was held by the 45th Algerian Division. From the 45th Algerian up to the "Berlin Wood" near Gravenstafel the line was held by the Canadian 1st Division and from Berlin Wood the line was held by three British Divisions, the 5th, 27th and 28th. On 22 April 1915, the Germans launched another offensive and after a brief preliminary artillery bombardment they used Chlorine gas against the French and Algerian troops defending the line north of the town of Langemarck (the French 87th Territorial and 45th Algerian divisions); the Germans used 168 tons of Chlorine Gas and some 5,000 men were to die of asphyxiation. The troops fled in terror leaving a 7 kilometre gap in the line and the Germans advanced through this gap and captured Langemarck . They then halted and dug in and the allies, in particular the Canadians, were able to close and reinforce the gap. However whilst the German advance was checked they had gained possession of the high ground north of Ypres and in the Salient, as along most of the Western front, it was always a tremendous advantage to hold the high ground. Heavy fighting and further gas attacks continued until 25 May. The Allies held their line but the German 4th Army was now able to use the newly acquired high ground to bomb Ypres with heavy artillery. This period was known as "Second Ypres" and saw very heavy Allied losses and in the subsequent German artillery fire the town of Ypres was practically demolished. British losses were estimated at 59,000, the French lost 10,000 and the Germans 35,000 men. When referring to the Second Battle of Ypres, we include the Battle of Gravenstafel fought from 22 to 23 April, the Battle of St.Julian fought from 22 April to 4 May, the Battle of Frenzenburg fought from 8 to 13 May and the Battle of Bellewaarde fought on 24 and 25 May. The Second Battle of Ypres had then seen the use of gas for the first time, had resulted in an enormous loss of life and had allowed the German Army access to higher ground which their artillery were to use to devastating effect. In Peter Barton's book he writes "The British were left in the uncomfortable position of looking up towards their enemy almost everywhere in the Salient". There was much bravery exhibited but it was the Canadians, and the Canadian Scottish Regiment 16th Battalion, Canadian Expeditionary Force in particular, who saved the day in the Battle of St.Julian at Kitchener’s Wood. After May 1915 Ypres was not to see a major battle until 1917. In the meantime there were to be some major distractions in 1916, at Arras. on the Somme and at Verdun. During this time both sides were to concentrate their efforts in the Salient carrying out improvements to their trench systems and defences. Until 1917 what the Salient was to experience was "the war of the guns": the constant use of artillery. The constant sound of the guns was of course terrifying but at least for the time-being the Ypres death-toll was reduced.
Third Ypres	In 1917 the Allied High Command needed to decide where to mount their next offensive. The British favoured a major assault in the Salient but put these plans to one side and it was in the area of the Aisne and the "Chemin des Dames" that the major effort was to be made! and by the French. General Mangin's campaign was to be a disaster and huge French losses resulted in mutinies amongst the soldiers. The French Army was almost broken and would not be relied upon again for some time. The focus returned to the Salient and in the Third Battle of Ypres an offensive was mounted by Commonwealth forces to divert German attention from the weakened French front further south. The campaign started on a positive note and the attempt in June to dislodge the Germans from the Messines Ridge was a complete success. The ridge, which commanded splendid visibility of the surrounding countryside, was taken. The attack had been preceded by the exploding of 19 mines along the ridge from Hill 60 to Ploegsteert and an artillery bombardment from 2,250 guns. However, the main assault north-eastward, which began at the end of July, quickly became a dogged struggle against determined opposition and the rapidly deteriorating weather. The campaign finally came to a close in November with the capture of Passchendaele. "Third Ypres" then raged from 31 July to 10 November 1917, and was prefaced by the Battle of Messines which raged from 7 to 14 June 1917. Third Ypres encompasses the Battle of Pilkem Ridge 31 July to 2 August 1917, the Battle of Langemark from 16 to 18 August 1917, the Battle of Menin Road from 20 August to 25 September 1917, the Battle of Polygon Wood from 26 September to 3 October 1917, the Battle of Broodseinde on 4 October 1917, the Battle of Poelkapelle on 9 October 1917, and the two Battles of Passchendaele, the first on 12 October 1917 and the second from 26 October to 10 November 1917. Dreadful weather had dogged the campaign; the period from August to November 1917 was the wettest on record for the area and after 270,000 casualties and little gain of territory, the battle petered out by 10 November. The name of Passchendaele had been added to our "lexicon of horror".	The morning after the first battle of Passchendaele [Paschendale], Australian Infantry wounded around a blockhouse near the site of Zonnebeke Railway Station,12 October 1917
Fourth Ypres	The German Spring Offensive of March 1918 met with some initial success, but was eventually checked and repulsed in a combined effort by the Allies in September. The Fourth Battle of Ypres, or "Fourth Ypres", the so-called "Kaiserschlacht" ran from 9 to 29 April 1918. The encounter is also known as the Battle of Lys and encompasses the Battle of Estaires from 9 to 11 April, of Messines from 10 to 11 April, of Hazebrouck from 12 to 15 April, of Baillleul from 13 to 15 April, of Kemmel from 17 to 19 April, of Bethune on 18 April, Second Kemmel from 25 to 26 April and of Scherpenberg on 29 April. The Germans were now able to use troops released from fighting in the east, following the end of the war on the Eastern Front. The Germans aimed to crush the Allies before the Americans, who had now entered the war, could swing the numerical superiority back to the Allies. The action started in the Somme area and then moved to the Ypres sector. Ypres was almost lost but the Allies were able to regroup after the Germans called a temporary halt in their advance. During this battle the British conceded the ground they had conquered in the 3rd Battle of Ypres, including the Passchendaele salient.	British 55th (West Lancashire) Division troops blinded by tear gas await treatment at an Advanced Dressing Station near Bethune during the Battle of Estaires, 10 April 1918, part of the German offensive in Flanders.
The Final Push-Fifth Ypres	By the summer of 1918 the tide had turned at last and British troops took Loker, Kemmel, Dranouter, Nieuwkerke, Ploegsteert and Nieppe. The final Battle in the Salient ran from 28 September to 2 October 1918 and the Battle of Kortrijk from 14 to 19 October 1918. A breakthrough was achieved and by 11 November 1918, when peace was declared, the Allies were 51 miles east of the salient. In a short time the whole salient was reconquered. Langemarck and Poelkapelle were taken by the Belgian 9th Infantry Division, Passchendaele taken by Belgian Karabiniers and Grenadiers (6th and 12th Infantry Division), Zonnebeke and Broodseinde taken by the 17th Belgian Linie, Beselare by Scots from the British 29th Division and Geluveldt by troops of the Worcestershire Regiment, also part of the British 29th Division. By 11 November the Allied line stretched from Terneuzen over Ghent to Mons and further on towards Mezieres and Sedan! At last the war was over but at a terrible cost and no more so than in the Ypres sector. After the war there was talk of keeping the ruins of Ypres as they were to serve as a permanent war memorial. Winston Churchill in particular was a strong advocate of this. In files WO 32/5569 and WO 32/5853 held at The National Archives we can follow the discussions concerning this proposal. As it was perhaps never a really practical idea it was eventually dropped but it does show how emotional people were about the Ypres area in the immediate years after the war had ended. So many lives had been lost there and our soldiers had fought in conditions so awful that no words can describe them.	The war is over!

Memorials to the Missing

In the Ypres Salient battlefields there are approximately 90,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers whose remains could not be identified for burial in a grave marked with their name. Similarly, there are also believed to be about 90,000 German soldiers whose remains were never identified as was the case with the remains of many French soldiers found on the battlefields. For the 90,000 missing British Forces there are four memorials in the Ypres Salient which cover the whole period of the First World War, except the months of August and September 1914:

• The Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing.
• The Tyne Cot Memorial to the Missing.
• The New Zealand Memorial (Tyne Cot Cemetery).
• The Messines Ridge (New Zealand) Memorial.

The Ploegsteert Memorial to the Missing south of Messines is technically outside the sector known as the Ypres Salient, and commemorates the missing of the Lys battlefield sector. Its proximity to Ypres means that many visitors to the Ypres Salient include this in their visit to the area. Names of missing German soldiers are inscribed on oak panels and bronze tablets at Langemark German cemetery and French soldiers are commemorated in several ossuaries in the area.

The Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing at Ypres

Menin Gate

The Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing at Ypres

The Menin Gate memorial was designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield with sculpture by Sir William Reid Dick and was unveiled by Field Marshal Lord Plumer on 24 July 1927. The site of the Menin Gate was chosen because it was from this location that hundreds of thousands of men set out for the Front Line: It was the start of one of the main roads leading from Ypres : the infamous "Menin Road". The Menin Gate combines a classical victory arch and mausoleum and inside and outside are carved the names of 54,896 officers and men of the forces of Australia, Canada, India, South Africa and the United Kingdom who died in the Ypres salient and who have no known grave. Just to underline the scale of the loss of life on the Salient it was soon realised that the Menin Gate was not big enough to record all the names involved so the decision was made to limit the names to those who had died from the outbreak of war to 15 August 1917. The names of the further 34,888 men who died from 16 August 1917 to the end of the war and again have no known grave are recorded on the Tyne Cot Memorial- see later entry. New Zealand casualties that died prior to 16 August 1917 are commemorated on memorials at Buttes New British Cemetery and Messines Ridge British Cemetery.

Tyne Cot Memorial to the Missing, New Zealand Memorial (Tyne Cot Cemetery) and Tyne Cot Cemetery

The inscription on the cross built upon the largest of the three pillboxes reads

"THIS WAS THE TYNE COT BLOCKHOUSE CAPTURED BY THE 3RD AUSTRALIAN DIVISION 4TH OCTOBER 1917"

Tyne Cot Memorial to the Missing, New Zealand Memorial (Tyne Cot Cemetery) and Tyne Cot Cemetery

Tyne Cot was the name given by the Northumberland Fusiliers to a barn which stood on the Passchendaele to Broodseinde road. This barn became the centre of several German blockhouses which were captured by 2nd Australian Division on 4 October 1917 during the advance on Passchendaele. One such pill box, being unusually large, was used as an advance dressing station. This pill box remains and serves as an Australian War Memorial and the Cross of Sacrifice has been placed on top of it. Tyne Cot is an enormous cemetery with 11,953 burials of which 8366 are unknown and the Tyne Cot Memorial lists those men whose names could not be fitted on the Menin Gate Memorial, some 34,888 names. The cemetery was designed by Sir Herbert Baker. The Tyne Cot Memorial dedicated to New Zealanders who have no known grave forms the north-eastern boundary of the Cemetery. The sculptural work on this memorial was carried out by Frederick Victor Blundstone. The circular apse in the centre of the Memorial records the names of 1,176 New Zealanders killed in the Passchendaele area but who have no known grave. The names are recorded on eight panels.

Messines Ridge (New Zealand) Memorial

New Zealand Memorial Messines Ridge

Messines Ridge (New Zealand) Memorial

This Memorial, shown here, is situated within Messines Ridge British Cemetery. Messines (now Mesen) was considered a strong strategic position, not only because of its height above the plain below, but also the extensive system of cellars under the convent known as the 'Institution Royale'. The memorial is dedicated to the officers and men of the New Zealand Division and their part in the battles on the Messines Ridge in June 1917.The memorial, designed by Charles Holden, is located on the south-western edge of Messines village, on the Rue des Neo-Zeelandais. It lists 827 officers and men of the New Zealand Expeditionary Force with no known grave who died in or near Messines in 1917 and 1918. The land on which the cemetery and memorial were constructed had been the site of a mill (the Moulin d'Hospice) belonging to the Institute Royal de Messines (a Belgian orphanage and school, itself formerly a Benedictine abbey). The mill dated from 1445, but was destroyed during the war, with the memorial erected where the mill once stood. Messines was taken from the 1st Cavalry Division by the German 26th Division on 31 October-1 November 1914 and it was not until the Battle of Messines on 7 June 1917 that it was retaken by the New Zealand Division. On 10–11 April 1918, the village fell into German hands once more after a stubborn defence by the South African Brigade, but was retaken for the last time on 28–29 September 1918. The inscription at the centre of the memorial reads "Here are recorded the names of officers and men of NEW ZEALAND who fell in or near Messines in 1917 and 1918 and whose graves are known only to God" The names are shown on the walls to the right and left of the central inscription.

The New Zealand Memorial in Buttes New British Cemetery and near Polygon Wood Cemetery

The New Zealand Memorial in Buttes New British Cemetery and near Polygon Wood Cemetery

Buttes New British Cemetery is situated some 8 km east of Ypres. Polygon Wood is a large wood south of the village of Zonnebeke which was completely devastated in the war. The wood was cleared by Commonwealth troops at the end of October 1914, given up on 3 May 1915, taken again at the end of September 1917 by Australian troops, evacuated in the Battles of the Lys, and finally retaken by the 9th (Scottish) Division on 28 September 1918. On the Butte itself is the Battle Memorial of the 5th Australian Division, who captured it on 26 September 1917. Polygon Wood Cemetery is an irregular front-line cemetery made between August 1917 and April 1918, and used again in September 1918. A walled avenue leads from Polygon Wood Cemetery, past the Cross of Sacrifice, to the Buttes New British Cemetery. This burial ground was made after the Armistice when a large number of graves (almost all of 1917, but in a few instances of 1914, 1916 and 1918) were brought in from the battlefields of Zonnebeke. There are now 2,108 Commonwealth servicemen of the First World War buried or commemorated in Buttes New British Cemetery. 1,677 of the burials are unidentified but special memorials are erected to 35 casualties known or believed to be buried among them. The Buttes New British Cemetery (New Zealand) Memorial, which stands in Buttes New British Cemetery, commemorates 378 officers and men of the New Zealand Division who died in the Polygon Wood sector between September 1917 and May 1918, and who have no known grave. The cemeteries and memorial were designed by Charles Holden.

The Memorial to the Missing at Ploegsteert

Ploegsteert Memorial

The Memorial to the Missing at Ploegsteert

Ploegsteert lies just inside the Belgian-French border, 13 kilometres south of Ypres and the Memorial to the Missing there commemorates 11,447 officers and men of the United Kingdom and South African Forces who died and who have no known grave. It was unveiled on 7 June 1931 by the Duke of Brabant. The memorial was the work of the architect Harold Chalton Bradshaw, with sculpture by Gilbert Ledward and comprises a circular temple with pillars guarded by two lions, one of which embodies stern defiance and the other serenity. Ledward’s lions are quite magnificent and measure 198 x 482.5 x 157.5 cm. They are mounted on bases 90 cm high. Ledward also designed two coats of arms, carved in relief and placed on the exterior wall of the memorial. The names of the missing are inscribed on panels on the interior surfaces of Bradshaw's circular double colonnade and the names of the various battles which took place in the area are inscribed on the exterior walls. On either side of the Memorial is the Berkshire Extension Cemetery, and opposite is Hyde Park Corner Cemetery. Incidentally Ploegsteert Wood is where Lieutenant Bruce Bairnsfather drew his first war cartoons and where the legendary 'Old Bill' cartoon character was born. Two photographs of Ledward's lions are shown in the gallery below.

Divisional Memorials

Name	Comments	Image
Memorial to the 49th (West Riding) Division	The 49th (West Riding) Division Memorial, which takes the form of an obelisk, is located immediately behind the Essex Road Cemetery at Boezinge where several men of the 49th are buried. The 49th (West Riding) Division had served in this sector in 1915. In the Essex Road Cemetery there is a memorial to John McCrae, a Canadian Doctor and author, as it was here that McCrae wrote the poem "In Flanders Fields". The memorial is shown to the right and there is a photograph of the McCrae Memorial in the gallery below.
Memorial to the 5th Australian Division	The 5th Division was formed in February 1916 as part of the expansion of the First Australian Imperial Force infantry brigades. In addition to the existing 8th Brigade were added the new 14th and 15th Brigades, which had been raised from the battalions of the 1st and 2nd Brigades respectively. From Egypt the division was sent to France, where they served in the trenches along the Western Front. This memorial to the 5th Australian Division stands on the site of the Butte at Polgyon Wood, overlooking the military cemetery there and just by Zonnebeke. A plaque on the memorial lists the many places where the 5th saw action.
Memorial to the 7th Division at Zonnebeke	The 7th Division Memorial comprises an obelisk bearing the legend '7' on all four sides. The lettering inscribed upon the memorial - which was erected in 1924 on the site of a pre-war chapel - is now somewhat faded. The memorial is located in the area where the first trenches in the Ypres Salient were dug by the British 7th Division in mid-October 1914. The memorial commemorates the actions of the 7th Division who were based in the area in both 1914 and 1917 when they secured the Zonnebeke Ridge. William Orpen's painting of Zonnebeke
14th Light Division Memorial	The 14th Light Division memorial is located at Hill 60 in the Ypres Salient and was moved to this location from Railway Wood, a few kilometres north of Hill 60, after some problems with subsidence. It stands just outside the perimeter of the Hill 60 Memorial Site next to the Australian Tunnelling Company memorial. File WO 32/5126 held at The National Archives gives some background information on the memorial and covers the period 1924 to 1926. We learn that this memorial was unveiled on 26 September 1926 and the unveiling was attended by a party of four buglers, two from the King’s Royal Rifle Corps and two from the Rifle Brigade and some 70 members of the Division under the supervision of Lieutenant Colonel B.C.T. Paget D.S.O., M.C., of the Oxfordshire & Buckinghamshire Light Infantry. The memorial records that the Division landed in France in May 1915, comprising King’s Royal Rifle Corps, Rifle Brigade, Oxford & Buckinghamshire Cyclist Co., Royal Engineers, Signals, Pioneers and a Mobile Veterinary Section. The battle honours of the Division are listed, and include Ypres, the Somme and Arras.
Memorial to the 16th (Irish) Division at Wytschaete	The memorial to the 16th (Irish) Division is sited next to Wytschaete cemetery in the Ypres Salient. It commemorates 16th Division's capture of Wytschaete on 7 June 1917, the opening day of the Battle of Messines. Wytschaete was lost to the Germans during the Spring advance of April 1918 and was recaptured on 28 September 1918. A second memorial to the division is located at Guillemont on the Somme. The British troops referred to Wytschaete as "whitesheet".
18th Division Memorial	Dedicated to officers and men of the 18th Division, the memorial is located on the south side of the Menenstraat (the Menin Road) N8, approximately 2 kilometres east of Hooge in an area known as "Clapham Junction"
19th Division Memorial at Wytschaete	With the opening of the Battle of Messines on 7 June 1917, the 19th Division was among the first to advance in the wake of the explosion of 19 mines which signified the start of the attack at 3.10am. The memorial is sited at the crossroads which the division successfully reached within five hours of the start of the attack, which included the taking of the village of Oosttaverne nearby. During the attack 19th Division lost 51 officers and some 1,358 other ranks but they captured 1,253 German prisoners. The 19th Division were in action again here in April 1918 during the Battle of Lys.
Memorial to the 20th (Light) Division	The memorial, to be found in the village of Langemark, commemorates the actions of 60th and 61st Brigades of the 20th Division on 16 August 1917 when they crossed the Steenbeek and engaged the Germans. During this action, Private Wilfred Edwards of the 7th KOYLI and Sergeant Edward Cooper of the 12th KRRC won Victoria Crosses.
Memorial to the Artillery and Engineers of the 34th Division	This memorial is situated near the German Cemetery at Langemark on the east bank of the Broenbeek. The 34th Division fought near this spot in October and November 1917. The main inscription on the obelisk reads "To the glory of God and in memory of The Officers, Warrant and Non Commissioned Officers and men of the Artillery and Engineers of the 34th British Division who fought near this spot October - November 1917"
50th Northumbrian Division Memorial	Dedicated to all ranks of the 50th Northumbrian Division who fell in the Great War. This memorial also commemorates the men of this division who gave their lives in the Second World War in the fight to liberate France, Belgium and Holland. The monument is located on the south side of the Wieltje road just off the N313 north-east of Ypres. It is sited near the Oxford Road cemetery where many members of the division were buried. The 50th Division was formed from territorial origins in the north-east of England and was despatched to the Western Front in April 1915 where it quickly saw action during the Second Battle of Ypres and helped to smash the Hindenburg Line in October 1918. Behind the memorial are barely visible bunkers comprising the line of the notorious Cambrai Redoubt.
66th Division Memorial Window	A memorial window in the north side of the rebuilt church at Passchendaele (Passendale) commemorates the officers and men of the 66th Division. Passchendaele's church was totally destroyed by shellfire in 1917. However, it has since been reconstructed and now dominates the village square. Within the church are memorial windows in honour of the 66th Division. There are three windows. The left states "1914" at the bottom, with the names and shields of several northern towns above, including Bury, Accrington, Bolton, Blackburn and Wigan. The larger central window states "66th Division, British Expeditionary Force, In Memoriam". Above this is a depiction of St George and above that a shield with three lions representing the Duchy of Lancaster. The shields and names of Manchester and Salford are also depicted. The right window states "1918" and bears the shields of Padiham, Bacup, Todmorden and others.
85th Canadian Infantry Brigade Memorial.	Dedicated to the officers and men of the Nova Scotia Highlanders, the 85th Canadian Infantry Brigade, who captured the ridge in November 1917. The monument is on the east side of the N303 Passendale-Broodseinde road, a little to the south of Passchendaele. A grassy path leads to the memorial situated in the centre of a field. The 85th Canadian Infantry ('Nova Scotia') Battalion - part of the 4th Canadian Division - memorial is located near to Passchendaele and to Tyne Cot cemetery. One side of the memorial lists the names of servicemen killed during the Passchendaele actions.
United States Memorial to the 27th and 30th Division	There is a memorial at Kemmel to these two divisions of the United States Army commemorating their part in the battles here in August and September 1918. The 27th and 30th Divisions in the United States Army fought near Wytschaete alongside the British Army from 18 August to 4 September 1918. The monument stands on a low platform and consists of a rectangular white stone block, in front of which is carved a soldier's helmet upon a wreath. It was designed by George Howe of Philadelphia. These two Divisions had arrived in Belgium in May 1917. At the beginning of their involvement, and to assist with acclimatisation, the American troops were usually placed alongside either French or British Divisions from whom they would receive technical assistance and instruction. In the case of the 27th and 30th Division they served with the British Army throughout the remainder of the war.

Regimental Memorials

Name	Comments
Tank Memorial Ypres Salient	The Tank Memorial Ypres Salient was unveiled as recently as 10 October 2009 in memory of the first tank victims of the First World War and stands in Guynemer Square in Poelkapelle. It was at Poelkapelle that a tank battle took place in 1917 and many British tanks either got stuck in the mud of the Salient or were destroyed by the Germans. A Damon II was one such tank that got bogged down in the mud and remained there after the war and in 1923 the tank was moved to the Poelkapelle market square but was removed by the Germans in 1941. It was finally decided to erect this memorial to honour the efforts of British tank crews in the Salient. The commemoration book contains a list of the 242 tank crew lost in the region.
South Wales Borderers Memorial	The memorial commemorates the part played by the South Wales Borderers in the fight to hold Gheluvelt village during the First Battle of Ypres in October and November 1914. It is located at the site of the 1914 windmill in the eastern part of Gheluvelt village.
Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry Memorial	The memorial is located on the Frezenberg Ridge where the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry fought and suffered very heavy losses in May 1915 during the Second Battle of Ypres.
The Gloucestershire Regiment Memorial on the Menin Road	The memorial takes the form of an obelisk and commemorates all ranks of the Gloucestershire Regiment who fought and fell in the campaigns of 1914-1918. The memorial is located on the north side of the Menenstraat (the Menin Road) N8, approximately 2 kilometres east of Hooge.
The London Scottish Memorial at Wytschaete	The 1st Battalion was mobilised as soon as war broke out and at Messines on Hallowe’en 31 October 1914 it was the first Territorial infantry battalion in action against the Germans. The Battalion continued to serve in France and Flanders throughout the war and took part in all the major offenses, including the last advance through Belgium, to become part of the Army of Occupation on the Rhine at Cologne. The London Scottish Memorial stands on a spot near to where this 31 October 1914 action took place. In 1914 the Territorials had expected to work to the rear of the line whilst the regular soldiers did the fighting, but this was not to be and the sheer numbers of Germans being thrown into the battle and the fact that so many regular soldiers were being killed meant that the Territorials were thrown into the thick of the fighting. They acquitted themselves in a glorious fashion. Some photographs of the memorial which takes the form of a Celtic Cross are shown in the gallery below. London Scottish Memorial
Memorial to Household Cavalry at Zandvoorde	On 30 October 1914, the village of Zantvoorde (now Zandvoorde) was held by the 1st and 2nd Life Guards, numbering between 300 and 400 men. It was bombarded for over an hour with heavy guns and then taken by the 39th German Division and three attached battalions. The whole front of the 3rd Cavalry Division was driven back to the Klein-Zillebeke ridge. The village could not be retaken and remained in German hands until 28 September 1918. The Household Cavalry Memorial, unveiled by Lord Haig in May 1924, stands on the South side of the village at the place where part of the Brigade was annihilated in 1914. Zantvoorde British Cemetery was made after the Armistice when remains were brought in from the battlefields and nearby German cemeteries. Many were those of soldiers who died in the desperate fighting round Zantvoorde, Zillebeke and Gheluvelt in the latter part of October 1914. There are now 1,583 servicemen of the First World War buried or commemorated in the cemetery. 1,135 of the burials are unidentified. The cemetery was designed by Charles Holden. Zantvoorde British Cemetery
Memorial to the King's Royal Rifle Corps at Hooge	This memorial is dedicated to the officers and men of the KRRC, Kings Royal Rifle Corps and is located near the Chateau Hooge Crater Cemetery which was begun by the 7th Division Burial Officer early in October, 1917. It originally contained 76 graves but was greatly increased after the Armistice by the concentration of graves from smaller cemeteries and from the battlefields of Zillebeke, Zantvoorde and Gheluvelt.
1st Monmouthshire Regiment Memorial	This memorial is dedicated to Second-Lieutenant Anthony Birrell-Anthony and all officers and men of the 1st Monmouthshire Regiment who fell in the Second Battle of Ypres in May 1915. Birrell-Anthony was one of 7 officers and 176 other ranks who died on 8 May 1915. An eighth officer died in German captivity at Roeslare a little later from his wounds. Birrell-Anthony's remains have not been found and he and many of his comrades are commemorated on Panel 50 of the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing in Ypres. The Monmouthshire Regiment monument is located on the south side of Roeselarestraat north-east of Ypres.
2nd Battalion Worcestershire Regiment Memorial	The monument commemorates the part played by the 2nd Battalion the Worcesters in the successful counter-attack on 31 October 1914 to retake the village of Gheluvelt. This action blocked the advance of the German Army towards Ypres at a crucial time during the First Battle of Ypres. The monument is situated on the site of the former 1914 windmill at Gheluvelt. There is a public park in Barbourne in Worcester called Gheluvelt Park. It was opened in 1922 to commemorate the heroism of the Worcester Regiment at the 1914 Battle of Gheluvelt in Belgium. The row of houses inside the park just beyond the gates were built to house war veterans.
The Canadian Hill 62 Memorial	The Canadian Hill 62 memorial - known as Mount Sorrel - is sited next to the Sanctuary Wood museum in the Ypres Salient. The name 'Hill 62' referred to the area's height above sea level in metres. Although referred to as Mount Sorrel the Canadian memorial is actually located some 800 yards north of Mount Sorrel itself. The memorial comprises a block of white Quebec granite weighing almost 15 tons and bears the inscription "Here at Mount Sorrel on the line from Hooge to St. Eloi, the Canadian Corps fought in the defence of Ypres April–August 1916" . Canadian Memorial Hill 62
The Passchendaele Memorial-Crest Farm	Following the victory at Vimy, the Canadians had continued operations in the Arras area to divert attention from the French front and to conceal from the Germans the planned offensive in Flanders. In the Battle of Hill 70 which ran from 15 to 25 August 1917, Canadian forces captured this strategic position on the northern approach to the city of Lens and secured the western part of the city. The fighting here cost the Canadian Corps 9,198 casualties. However, considerable ground was gained and the battle hampered enemy plans to send fresh troops to Flanders. To the south the French offensive in Lorraine under General Nivelle was proving to be an unmitigated disaster and with losses in the neighbourhood of 200,000 men, it precipitated a wave of mutinies that paralyzed the French army for months. In July, the British commander Sir Douglas Haig launched his drive in Flanders designed to break through the front and capture the German submarine bases on the Belgian coast. The offensive had had a successful prelude at Messines in June, but this local success was followed by weeks of delay. The second and main stage of the attack got under way with a tremendous artillery barrage that not only forewarned the Germans, but also ground the battlefield into potholes and dust. Summer rains poured down on the very night that the offensive began and in no time the area became an impassable swamp. As the British soldiers struggled in the morass, the Germans inflicted frightful casualties from lines fortified with machine guns placed in concrete pill boxes. In the next four months at Ypres only negligible advances were made. Early in October, although the main objectives were still in German hands and the British forces were reaching the point of exhaustion, Haig determined on one more drive. The Canadian Corps was ordered to relieve the decimated Anzac forces in the Ypres sector and prepare for the capture of Passchendaele. General Currie inspected the muddy battlefield and protested that the operation was impossible without heavy cost. He was overruled and so began careful and painstaking preparations for the assault. In a series of attacks beginning on 26 October, 20,000 men under heavy fire inched their way from shell-crater to shell-crater. Then on 30 October, with two British divisions, the Canadians began the assault on Passchendale itself. They gained the ruined outskirts of the village during a violent rainstorm and for five days they held on grimly, often waist-deep in mud and exposed to a hail of jagged iron from German shelling. On 6 November, when reinforcements arrived, four-fifths of the attackers were dead. Currie's estimate of 16,000 casualties proved frighteningly accurate. Passchendaele had become a Canadian Calvary. The award of no fewer than nine Victoria Crosses testified to the heroic determination and skill with which Canadian soldiers played their part in the bitter struggle for Passchendaele. This memorial stands where Canadian soldiers encountered some of the fiercest resistance they were to meet during the war. A large block of Canadian granite set in a grove of maple trees and encircled with a low hedge of holly carries the inscription “The Canadian Corps in Oct-Nov. 1917 advanced across this valley-then a treacherous morass-captured and held the Passchendaele Ridge" Crest Farm Memorial

Memorials linked to Hill 60

Name	Location	Comments	Image
Hill 60. Battlefield Memorial Site		This area was 60 metres above sea level, hence its name Hill 60. This high ground was in fact man-made in the 1850s, having been created by the spoil from the cutting for the railway line between Ypres and Comines which was opened in March 1854. The hill was the scene of much fighting during the 1914-18 war and a "Memorial Site" was established here which is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. Hill 60 saw fighting in April and May 1915 between the British and German armies. The launch of a British attack on 17 April 1915 began with the explosion of three mines which literally blew the top off the hill and hundreds of soldiers lost their lives at that time and many bodies were never recovered and are still buried there. The Memorial Site also has the remains of several concrete bunkers and craters from the 1915/16 and 1917 battles. One large bunker in the centre of the site is preserved almost as it was found at the end of the war. There are three memorials on Hill 60, that to the Australian Tunnelling Companies, that to Queen Victoria’s Rifles and that to the 14th (Light) Division. Also on Hill 60 is a stone plaque which gives the following summary “HILL 60 THE SCENE OF BITTER FIGHTING WAS HELD BY GERMAN TROOPS FROM THE 16TH DECEMBER 1914 TO THE 17TH APRIL 1915 WHEN IT WAS CAPTURED AFTER THE EXPLOSION OF FIVE MINES BY THE BRITISH 5TH DIVISION. ON THE FOLLOWING 5TH MAY IT WAS RECAPTURED BY THE GERMAN XV CORPS. IT REMAINED IN GERMAN HANDS UNTIL THE BATTLE OF MESSINES 7TH JUNE 1917 WHEN AFTER MANY MONTHS OF UNDERGROUND FIGHTING TWO MINES WERE EXPLODED HERE AND AT THE END OF APRIL 1918 AFTER THE BATTLES OF THE LYS IT PASSED INTO GERMAN HANDS AGAIN. IT WAS FINALLY RETAKEN BY BRITISH TROOPS UNDER THE COMMAND OF H.M.KING OF THE BELGIANS ON THE 28TH SEPTEMBER 1918. IN THE BROKEN TUNNELS BENEATH THIS ENCLOSURE MANY BRITISH AND GERMAN DEAD WERE BURIED AND THE HILL IS THEREFORE PRESERVED SO FAR AS NATURE WILL PERMIT IN THE STATE IN WHICH IT WAS LEFT AFTER THE GREAT WAR"
1st Australian Tunnelling Company Memorial		This memorial commemorates the men of the 1st Australian Tunnelling Company who gave their lives in the tunneling and defensive operations in this area from 1915-1918. The memorial is located next to the entrance gate of the Hill 60 Battlefield Memorial Site in Zillebeke. The inscription reads as follows "In Memoriam of Officers and Men of the 1st Australian Tunnelling Coy who gave their lives in the mining and defensive operations of Hill 60 1915-1918. This monument replaces that originally erected in April 1919 by their comrades in arms. 1923”
The Queen Victoria Rifles Memorial at Hill 60.		The memorial to the Queen Victoria Rifles (9th Battalion The London Regiment) was replaced after the original was damaged during the Second World War. On the night of 20–21 April, Second Lieutenant Geoffrey H Woolley and a handful of men were the only defenders on the hill and continually repelled attacks on their position. He encouraged the men to hold the line against heavy enemy machine gun fire and shellfire. For a time he was the only officer on the hill. When he and his men were relieved on the morning of 21 April only 14 out of a company of 150 had survived. For his gallantry he was awarded the Victoria Cross - the first time this medal was awarded to a Territorial Officer The Queen Victoria Rifles (QVR) had arrived in Le Havre on 5 November 1914, one of the first Territorial battalions to serve in France; they were attached to the 5th Division. On 17 April 1915, an attack was mounted on Hill 60 by the 13th Infantry Brigade which included the 2nd King’s Own Scottish Borderers, the 2nd Duke of Wellington’s West Riding Regiment, the 1st Queen’s Own Royal West Kent Regiment, the 2nd King’s Own Yorkshire Light Infantry and the Queen Victoria’s Rifles (9th London Regiment). The Hill was a small promontory on the edge of the Ypres Salient that afforded good views for the Germans across the British lines and into Ypres itself. It was therefore of great tactical significance to both sides. Prior to the attack, the hill had been undermined for days with five galleries being driven under the German positions. The plan was to detonate large mines under the hill to destroy the enemy and their positions after which the 13th Infantry Brigade would occupy the area. The Hill was captured on 17 April and on 20 April, two and a half companies of the QVRs were ordered up to the front line as the enemy made a counter-attack. At dawn on 21 April, the Germans began bombarding the QVRs with hand grenades. Casualties were heavy, including two officers, Major Lees and Lieutenant Summerhays who were killed. It was then that Lieutenant Geoffrey Harold Woolley left a position of safety to take command of the soldiers on the Hill. The QVRs remained in France for the rest of the war. Their losses are remembered at Hill 60 by the QVR memorial and at the nearby QVR café and museum.

Other Memorials- Those linked to the French Army

Name	Comments
The Ypres Memorial to Fallen French Heroes 1914-1918	The memorial is a plaque fixed to the south façade of the Cloth Hall to the right of the Donkerpoort gateway and under the belfry and commemorates those members of the French military forces who fell fighting in the defence of the Ypres region. The memorial is dedicated from their "brothers in arms" and the "people of Ypres".
Cross of Reconciliation at Lizerne.	This is a memorial to French troops gassed by the Germans when they used chlorine on 22 April 1915 at Second Ypres. The Cross of Reconciliation is an aluminium cross on the west side of the Ypres-Yser canal at Lizerne. The original memorial was destroyed during the German occupation of the area in the Second World War.
Breton Memorial to the French 87th and 45th Division near Pilkem	This memorial commemorates French troops killed and wounded in the German gas attack on 22 April 1915 and those who fought in the Second Battle of Ypres. The memorial comprises an original 16th century calvaire (crucifix) in the traditional Breton style from Brittany. The monument is located behind that part of the French front line which had been held by the 87th Territorial Division and 45th Algerian Division in April 1915. It is situated at the Carrefour de la Rose (known as Rose Crossroads on British Army trench maps) on the Langemarck-Boezinge road, about 1 kilometre west of Pilkem. The 87th Territorial Division hailed from Brittany and was composed of reservists rather than younger conscripts. They were known fondly as Les pépères, or grandads. Many of those who had fallen were repatriated to their village cemeteries and it was thought fitting that a place of memory should be created where the unit had fought.
Calvaire Breton Monument at St Charles de Potyze Cemetery	This Calvary by Jean Fréour depicts grieving French women who have lost loved-ones in battle. It is in the style of those calvaries unique to the Breton region of North-West France. St Charles de Potyze Cemetery was created during the First World War and redeveloped in 1920, 1922 and from 1925-1929, when French soldiers were exhumed and brought here as a final resting place from the Flanders Front, the Yser river region and the Belgian coast. There are 3,547 named military dead and the remains of 609 soldiers in the cemetery ossuary. After the Great War many of the unidentified French soldiers were exhumed and reinterred in the ossuary at Mont Kemmel. Jean Fréour (1919-2010), was a member of the Breton art movement Seiz Breur. In his long working life he created many religious calvary monuments and fine statues in Brittany and other parts of France. Breton calvaire monuments were typified by having three-dimensional figures on and around the cross. See photograph on the right and further photographs in the gallery below. Calvaire Breton Monument at St Charles de Potyze Cemetery
Memorial aux Soldats Français 1914-1918-The French Monument at Mont Kemmel	The Mémorial aux Soldats Français 1914-1918 commemorates those French units engaged in the Battles for Mont Kemmel between 15 and 30 April 1918. This 16 metre high French monument shows Nike, the goddess of victory, looking out towards the area where the French fought. It was unveiled in 1932 by Pétain. On 25 April 1918 a single French Division, which had only taken over the position a week beforehand, found itself opposed by three and a half German Divisions. An hour of furious bombardment was considered sufficient by the Germans and at 06:00 hours they launched their infantry into the attack. By 07:10 hours Mont Kemmel was theirs and by 10:30 hours it was all over. The hill which had remained in Allied hands for four years had been taken by a spectacular display of brute force. Even the German airforce had joined in with 96 aircraft dropping 700 bombs and machine gunning the French positions as the Leib Regiment of the élite Alpine Corps stormed forward. Mont Kemmel in 1918. One can see the marks of constant artillery bombardment The sculpture on the Memorial aux soldats français known as the "Angel"
The French Memorial and Ossuary at Mount Kemmel	The Mount Kemmel Cemetery and Ossuary were created in the 1920s for 5,237 unknown French soldiers gradually moved from Saint Charles de Potyze French Military Cemetery. The obelisk marking the ossuary records the names of 57 identified men who were killed on the western slope of Mont Kemmel and whose remains lie in the ossuary. The remaining bodies were not identified.

Other Memorials

Name	Comments
Ypres War Victims Monument	The Ypres War Victims Monument in Jules Coomansstraat by the Cloth Hall (Lakenhalle) was designed by Jules Homère Martin Coomans (1871-1937) who commissioned the Ghent sculptor Aloïs De Beule to carry out the significant sculptural work involved. The monument was unveiled on Sunday 27 June 1926. The monument is known by the local people as The Ieper Fury. This name comes from the fact that there was a riot on the day of the unveiling involving the police and members of the Flemish Veterans Association ("FVA"), a Flemish Nationalist pressure group. The Flemish Veterans Association (FVA) was very unhappy that they were placed at the back of the procession marching to the memorial for the unveiling ceremony. Added to this, they were upset that the official flags hanging on the Town Hall for this special event, at that time located in the reconstructed building of the "Hotel de la Chatellenie" or "Kasselrij" on the north side of the Grote Markt (market square), did not include the Flemish national flag. The procession was formed up in the Boterstraat and before it marched off a fight broke out. The police on horseback charged at the members of the FVA, resulting in some people being injured. During the ceremony at the memorial the FVA laid a wreath of flowers to the victims of the war and again there was trouble as the police rushed the crowd, even drawing their swords. There were more injuries to the people in the crowd and members of the FVA and some people were also arrested by the police. It was the Flemish press who covered the story and who coined the phrase "The Ieper Fury" as they described the events that had happened. In 2010 a plaque was added remembering the civilian victims of both the 1914-1918 and 1939-1945 wars. This reads "IN MEMORIAM. ALLE BURGERS VAN OF IN IEPER SLACHTOFFERS VAN DE OORLOOGEN 1914-1918 EN 1939-1945" inscription . Ypres War Victims Memorial
St George's Memorial Church at Ypres	St George's Church was built as a memorial to British and Commonwealth troops who had lost their lives in the Great War. It is a "living" church, serving the needs of a local congregation and the many thousands of pilgrims who have been visiting the battlefields of Flanders each year since 1918. Immediately after the war there was discussion about the idea of having an Anglican church in Ypres. The intention was to build it not only as a memorial but also as somewhere for the relatives of the fallen to visit and find a peaceful place for reflection. However there was opposition from those who were unhappy that the church would be of one particular faith. In 1924 Field Marshal Sir John French, President of the Ypres League, made a request for donations to be put towards the construction of a church in Ypres and the architect Sir Reginald Blomfield was given the task of designing the church. In addition to the church, it was decided to open a school which was to be funded from donations by Old Etonians. There were over 300 students from Eton who had lost their lives in the Ypres Salient in 1914-1918. The foundation stone of St. George's Memorial Church was laid by Field Marshal Lord Plumer in 1927 and on 24 March 1929 the Bishop of Fulham dedicated the completed church and opened it for worship. Initially the school was made up of a staff room and one classroom only and this opened a couple of weeks later on 9 April 1929. After the Second World War the church received funds towards covering its running costs from the British Legion with part of the chaplain's stipend coming from the Imperial War Graves Commission. The British community had dwindled in size by the end of the war so there was a much smaller number of people to attend the church on a regular basis, and there were hardly any British children who would attend the school if it was to re-open. The chaplaincy and the Pilgrim's Hall were eventually sold. St George's Memorial Church
Memorial to Hedd Wyn	Also in Pilkem is the memorial to Hedd Wyn, the Welsh poet, who was born in the parish of Trawsfynydd and fell on Pilkem Ridge on 31 July 1917, at the age of 30. Ellis Humphrey Evans (bardic name Hedd Wyn) served as a private in the 15th Battalion of the Royal Welsh Fusiliers. The memorial plaque records that he was mortally wounded near-by on 31 July 1917. Hedd Wyn Plaque
New Zealand Memorial at 's Graventafel	This memorial commemorates the New Zealand Division’s participation in the Battle of Broodseinde on 4 October 1917. This attack by ANZAC forces successfully pushed forward the allied trench line in the early part of the Passchendaele offensive but was followed by the inadequately prepared attack of 12 October 1917. The memorial was unveiled on 2 August 1924 by the New Zealand High Commissioner in London, Sir James Allen, who had been Minister of Defence in New Zealand during the war. New Zealand Memorial at 's Graventafel
The Munster War Memorial	The Munster War Memorial is located in a grassed area on the east side of St. Martin's Cathedral in Ypres, on the street named St. Maartensplein. It is dedicated to all those men from Munster in Ireland who died in the Great War of 1914-1918. The inscription on the memorial reads "IN MEMORY OF THOSE MEN OF MUNSTER WHO DIED FIGHTING FOR FREEDOM. A TRIBUTE ERECTED BY THE PEOPLE OF THE PROVINCE AND CORK ITS CAPITAL CITY"
The Georges Guynemer Memorial	This memorial is dedicated to the French ace pilot Georges Guynemer. Guynemer was killed in combat on 11 September 1917. His plane crashed over the German lines in the Passchendaele sector. The Germans reported that they recovered his body but it and his aircraft were very soon after destroyed by artillery shelling. The stork was an emblem for French aviation squadrons, with its wings shown in different positions for each particular squadron. This memorial shows Guynemer's stork emblem flying towards the German positions, believed to be the direction he was last seen flying in by his comrades. The Georges Guynemer Memorial
The Irish Peace Park (Páirc Síochána d'Oileán na h'Éireann)	This is a memorial to the soldiers of Ireland who died, were wounded or were missing whilst fighting in World War I. The tower memorial is close to the site of the June 1917 battle for the Messines Ridge and was chosen because that battle was one of those where Irishmen, regardless of religion, fought side by side against a common enemy. The 110-foot (34 m) tower is in the traditional design of an Irish round tower and is partially built with stone from a former British Army barracks in Tipperary, the remainder of the stone came from a work-house outside Mullingar, County Westmeath.The tower was unveiled after an 11 am service on 11 November 1998 by President Mary McAleese of Ireland, HM Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom and King Albert II of Belgium. A bronze tablet on a granite pillar positioned in the centre circle of the park bears the following inscription, entitled:Peace Pledge “ From the crest of this ridge, which was the scene of terrific carnage in the First World War on which we have built a peace park and Round Tower to commemorate the thousands of young men from all parts of Ireland who fought a common enemy, defended democracy and the rights of all nations, whose graves are in shockingly uncountable numbers and those who have no graves, we condemn war and the futility of war. We repudiate and denounce violence, aggression, intimidation, threats and unfriendly behaviour. As Protestants and Catholics, we apologise for the terrible deeds we have done to each other and ask forgiveness. From this sacred shrine of remembrance, where soldiers of all nationalities, creeds and political allegiances were united in death, we appeal to all people in Ireland to help build a peaceful and tolerant society. Let us remember the solidarity and trust that developed between Protestant and Catholic soldiers when they served together in these trenches. As we jointly thank the armistice of 11 November 1918 – when the guns fell silent along this western front - we affirm that a fitting tribute to the principles for which men and women from the Island of Ireland died in both World Wars would be permanent peace. ” Inside the entrance gate on the left are four granite pillars with plaques in four languages, Irish, English, Flemish and French, commemorating the dedication and opening of the park on 11 November 1998. The park surrounding the round tower contains thirteen smaller stone structures. There are three pillars giving the killed, wounded and missing of each division *36th (Ulster) Division – 32,186 *10th (Irish) Division – 9,363 *16th (Irish) Division – 28,398 There is also an upright tablet listing the counties of Ireland, the names flowing together to suggest the unity of death, a bronze tablet depicting a plan of the battle area and nine stone tablets with prose, poems and letters from Irish servicemen “ Spent all night trying to console, aid and remove the wounded. It was ghastly to see them lying there in the cold, cheerless outhouses, on bare stretchers with no blankets to cover their freezing limbs. ” —Chaplain Francis Gleeson, Royal Munster Fusiliers “ As it was, the Ypres battleground just represented one gigantic slough of despond into which floundered battalions, brigades and divisions of infantry without end to be shot to pieces or drowned, until at last and with immeasurable slaughter we had gained a few miles of liquid mud. ” —Charles Miller, 2nd Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers “ So here, while the mad guns curse overhead, and tired men sigh, with mud for couch and floor, know that we fools, now with the foolish dead, died not for Flag, nor King, nor Emperor, but for a dream born in a herdsman’s shed, and for the sacred scripture of the poor. ” —Tom Kettle, 9th Royal Dublin Fusiliers “ In a matter of seconds, a hissing and shrieking pandemonium broke loose. The sky was splashed with light. Rockets, green, yellow and red, darted in all directions; and simultaneously, a cyclone of bursting shells enveloped us. ” —JFB O’Sullivan, 6th Connaught Rangers “ It is too late now to retrieve a fallen dream, too late to grieve a name unmade, but not too late to thank the Gods for what is great. A keen edged sword, a soldier’s heart is greater than a poet’s art. And greater than a poet’s fame a little grave that has no name. ” —Francis Ledwidge, 5th Inniskilling Fusiliers “ I wish the sea were not so wide that parts me from my love, I wish that things men do below were known to God above. I wish that I were back again in the Glens of Donegal; they’ll call me coward if I return, but a hero if I fall. ” —Patrick MacGill, London Irish Rifles “ Hostilities will cease at 11.00am on the 11th day of the 11th month. After that time all firing will cease. This was joyous news. Approaching eleven o'clock in our sector you could have heard a pin drop. When eleven o'clock came there were loud cheers. The war was over as far as we were concerned. ” —Terence Poulter, 7th Royal Dublin Fusiliers “ So the curtain fell, over that tortured country of unmarked graves and unburied fragments of men: Murder and massacre: The innocent slaughtered for the guilty: The poor man for the sake of the rich: The man of no authority made the victim of the man who had gathered importance and wished to keep it. ” —David Starret, 9th Royal Irish Rifles “ I mean the simple soldier man, who when the Great War first began, just died, stone dead from lumps of lead, in mire. ” —William Orpen, Official War Artist The Irish Peace Park (Páirc Síochána d'Oileán na h'Éireann)
Memorial to Francis Ledwidge	The Irish poet Francis Edward Ledwidge was killed aged 29 on the battlefield at Boesinghe on 31 July 1917, the first day of the Third Battle of Ypres (Battle of Passchendaele). Ledwidge was serving with the 1st Battalion of the Irish Regiment, the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. The memorial, erected in his memory, is placed on the spot where he was killed. Memorial to Francis Ledwidge
The Canadian Memorial near Langemarck	The memorial, also known as "The Brooding Soldier", commemorates the Canadian 1st Division's actions from 22 to 24 April 1915. The Canadian division was positioned on the left flank of the British Army after the German Army launched the first ever large-scale gas attack against two French divisions on the left of the Canadians. From the start of the battle at 17.00 hours on 22 April and for the next few days the Canadians were involved in heavy fighting, incurring some 2,000 casualties - killed, wounded or missing . This striking piece of sculpture was the work of Frederick Chapman Clemesha, an architect from Regina. Clemesha himself had served in the Canadian Corps during the Great War and had been wounded. In 1920 the Canadian Battlefields Memorials Committee had organised a competition for a single design to be used on the eight Canadian battlefield memorial sites granted to Canada by France and Belgium. Five of these sites were in France and three in Belgium. 17 submissions to this committee were shortlisted. The winner of the competition was Walter Seymour Allward. His design was for a stone memorial of epic proportions, with twin towers or pylons and 20 sculpted figures. It was decided that Allward's design would be constructed as a national monument on the Vimy Ridge battlefield memorial site. Clemesha's design comprised a single tower of stone with the head and shoulders of a soldier at the top of the tower. The soldier had his head bowed and stood with "reversed arms", that is, he was resting his hands on the rifle butt and the rifle was pointing with its barrel to the ground. Frederick Chapman Clemesha's design was the runner-up in the competition, and his design was chosen to be sited at the battlefield site of St. Julien in memory of the Canadians who fought at the Second Battle of Ypres. The memorial is 11 metres high and constructed from a single shaft of granite. The stone was quarried in the Vosges mountains, the scene of bitter fighting in the mountains between the French and the Germans during the early months of the 1914-1918 war. The granite stone block for the shaft was transported directly to St. Julien in Belgium. The stone block for the head and shoulders bust of the soldier was taken to Brussels where it was carved. The memorial is inscribed with the words "THIS COLUMN MARKS THE BATTLEFIELD WHERE 18,000 CANADIANS ON THE BRITISH LEFT WITHSTOOD THE FIRST GERMAN GAS ATTACKS THE 22ND-24TH OF APRIL 1915. 2,000 FELL AND HERE LIE BURIED" . The memorial is located at Vancouver Corner near St Juliaan about a mile south-east of Langemarck on the road towards Zonnebeke. The memorial has become known as "the brooding Canadian". It is under floodlights at night and very dramatic to see. On 22 April 1915 the Germans had launched an attack with Chlorine Gas. Some 5,735 cylinders were used. It was the first time gas was used and the Commander of the German Forces wrote "I must acknowledge that the plan of poisoning the enemy with gas just as if they were rats affected me as it would any decent soldier: it disgusts me." The memorial at Vancouver Corner was unveiled on 9 July 1923 by the Duke of Connaught, with Marshal Foch, the Earl of Ypres (Sir John French) and the High Commissioner for Canada also in attendance. Lieutenant-General Sir Richard Turner VC spoke at the ceremony about the feats of the Canadians here in ensuring that the line did not break. The Canadian Memorial near Langemarck
The India Memorial by Menin Gate	This memorial was unveiled in March 2011 and is dedicated to the 130,000 troops of the Indian Forces who served in Flanders during the Great War of 1914-1918. 9,000 members of the Indian Expeditionary Force died as casualties in France and Flanders, not only due to the nature of their injuries in battle but also due to the severe winter weather conditions they were exposed to. In the First World War the British Indian Army sent 7 Indian Expeditionary Forces with over a million troops to serve with the British Army and her Allies in various theatres of war. Of the 7 Indian Expeditionary Forces, named A to G, the Indian Expeditionary Force A served on the Western Front. On the Western Front there were two Army Corps made up of four divisions- One infantry corps, the 1st Indian Corps comprising two divisions: 7th (Meerut) Division and 3rd (Lahore) Division. One cavalry corps, formed on arrival in France as the Indian Cavalry Corps: 1st Indian Cavalry Division and 2nd Indian Cavalry Division. Indian Cavalry Division and 2nd Indian Cavalry Division. The Indian Expeditionary Force A arrived in the Mediterranean French port of Marseilles between the end of September and mid October 1914 and were deployed in the Salient taking part in the First Battle of Ypres from October to November 1914. In the early spring of 1915 the Indian Force provided the lead division in the Allied offensive at the Battle of Neuve Chapelle (10–13 March 1915). They also fought at the Battle of Aubers Ridge (9 May), the Battle of Festubert (15–27 May) and the Battle of Loos (25 September - 8 October 1915). During the winter months of November and December 1915 arrangements were made to remove the two Indian infantry divisions of 1st Indian Corps from the Western Front and they were sent to the Mesopotamian theatre of war. The two Indian cavalry divisions remaining in France were renamed from March 1916 as the 4th and 5th Cavalry Divisions. They were in the order of battle for the British offensive on the Somme battlefield from 1 July 1916. Indian cavalry units were involved as mounted troops and dismounted infantry troops in battles on the Western Front from that time until their removal to Egypt in March 1918. Battle actions in France included the Battle of Bazentin (14–17 July 1916), the Battle of Flers-Courcelette (15–22 September 1916), the advance to the Hindenburg Line in the spring of 1917 and the 1917 Battle of Cambrai (20 November - 8 December 1917). 300pxThe India Memorial by Menin Gate
Canadian Memorial at Kitchener’s Wood	The Canadian Memorial at Kitchener’s Wood bears a map of the area and an inscription in Flemish and English which reads “During the night of 22nd April 1915 after the first chemical attack in history the 10th Battalion “Canadians” and the 16th Battalion “The Canadian Scottish” retook Kitchener’s Wood" File:Kitcheners wood.jpg The 10th and 16th Battalions of the 1st Canadian Division during the initial attack

Some recommended websites

• France- French Website, enables searches to be made for French soldiers killed in 1914-1918 .
• Australia-Australian Website, A website for matters concerning the Australian Imperial Force.
• Canada-Canadian website, has facilities to search for Canadian service records of the 1914-1918 war.
• Germany-German Website, details of German cemeteries

Some recommended reading

• M.Arthur. "Forgotten Voices of the Great War" ISBN 0091 88209-5
• J.Cooksey. "Images of War. Flanders-1915" ISBN 1-84415-356-8
• L.MacDonald. "1915.The Death of Innocence" ISBN 0-7472-7834-2
• N.Cave. "Hill 60 Ypres" ISBN 0-85052-559-4
• Y.Buffetaut. "Ypres 22 avril 1915" ISBN 2-84673-020-2
• G.Gliddon. "VCs of the First World War 1914" ISBN 1-84015-006-8
• R.Holmes. "Army Battlefield Guide. Belgium and Northern France" ISBN 0-11-772762-8
• "Illustrated Michelin Guides to the Battlefields (1914-1918) Ypres and The Battles of Ypres" ISBN 0 904775 24 0
• R Neillands "The Old Contemptibles. The British Expeditionary Force 1914" ISBN 0-7195-5646-5
• A.Farrar-Hockley "Death of An Army" ISBN 1-85326-698-1
• G.Royon "Massacre of the Innocents The Crofton Diaries Ypres 1914-1915" ISBN 0-7509-3739-4
• D.Lomas "First Ypres 1914 The Graveyard of the Old Contemptibles" ISBN 1-85532-573-4

See also

• List of World War 1 Memorials and Cemeteries in Lorraine
• List of World Wat 1 Memorials and Cemeteries in Verdun
• List of World War 1 Memorials and Cemeteries in Alsace
• List of World War I memorials and cemeteries in the area of the St Mihiel salient
• List of World War I memorials and cemeteries in Champagne-Ardennes
• List of World War I memorials and cemeteries in the Somme
• List of World War I memorials and cemeteries in Artois