1. society
2. unrest and war

29TH
MARCH
2015
HOTSPOTS
THE YSER CITIES & BACHTEN DE KUPE
KM
32
HOOGLEDE
KM
81
KM
GERMAN
CEMETERY
47
COORDINATES
FURNES
DIKSMUIDE
50.9791
3.0931
START
KORTEMARK
TIELT
DEINZE
KM
ROESBRUGGE-HARINGE
39
LANGE MAX
KOEKELARE
KM
POPERINGE
211
WAREGEM
YPRES
KM
ZONNEBEKE
238
In October 1914 German troops occupied
the municipality of Hooglede. Many services
and facilities were appointed here, including a
number of cemeteries. The current cemetery
has its origins in the cemetery ‘Hooglede Ost’,
built in 1917. After the war, German graves from
the area were brought together. Now approximately 8,200 German soldiers rest here.
At the back of the cemetery you can find the
‘Ehrenhalle’, decorated with a large colourful
mosaic.
The German cannon ‘Long Max’ was stationed
in Koekelare during WWI. It was 17 meters long
and weighed 75,500 kg. This made Long Max
the largest gun used in war fighting. The giant
cannon was put into action in 1917 and one of its
targets was the French city of Dunkirk.
COORDINATES
51.1169
2.9838
COURTRAI
WEVELGEM
HEUVELLAND
MENIN
BATTLE OF THE YSER
MESSINES COMINES-WARNETON
KM
KM
123
170
The map describes a limited number of hotspots. West-Flanders has 1,388 war remnants. This means that you can discover many
other relics along the track, such as Locre No. 10 Cemetery, La Clytte Military Cemetery, Wulverghem-Lindenhoek Road Military
Cemetery … the latter two provide a final resting place for more than 1,000 soldiers each.
The ‘km’ marker indicates the distance to each hotspot from the starting position.
- If the hotspot is located on the track (marked with – if only on the men’s trail:
then the kilometre marker indicates the track distance.
– if only on the ladies’ trail: ),
- If the hotspot described is not located along the track, then the distance indicated will denote the distance from the starting point
to the nearest kilometer marker on the track. These hotspots are located no further than 6.5 km from the track as the crow flies
(men’s and ladies’ track combined).
- For example, the Pool of Peace is not labelled with and is therefore a hotspot not on the track but nearby. This means that the
hotspot is situated within a range of 6.5 km from the track. Specifically: the Pool of Peace is 1.75 km from the trail, on the road
from Kemmel to Messines, at 164 km into the race.
LIBERATION OFFENSIVE AT THE RIVER LYS
0
FRENCH
CEMETERY
COORDINATES
50.9582
3.4898
0
WAREGEM
FLANDERS FIELDS
CEMETERY
COORDINATES
50.8737
3.4528
KM
43
HOUTHULST
PLOEGSTEERT
KM
DEINZE /
MACHELEN
KM
ARRIVAL
The French military cemetery in Machelen is
the second largest French military cemetery
in Belgium. 1,325 soldiers are commemorated
here. It is the collective burial place for nearly
all the French soldiers that died during the liberation offensive from 28th September to 11th
November 1918. The graves of soldiers from the
former North and West African colonies stand
out by their Muslim gravestones. Buried here as
well is one Chinese soldier.
The American soldiers only arrived in Europe
in 1917, but were mostly deployed in Belgium
during the final offensive in 1918. The American
military cemetery in Waregem is the only cemetery in Belgium to provide a final resting place
for approximately 370 American soldiers from
WWI. In 1927, Charles Lindbergh paid tribute to the fallen soldiers by scattering poppies
across the cemetery.
BATTLE OF THE YSER
CASSEL
KM
COORDINATES
50.9665
2.9477
47
DIKSMUIDE
KM
GERMAN
CEMETERY
VLADSLO
COORDINATES
51.0706
2.9290
49
DIKSMUIDE
KM
BELGIAN
CEMETERY
BELGIAN
CEMETERY
KEIEM
COORDINATES
51.0861
2.8844
51
YSER TOWER
COORDINATES
51.0322
2.8536
This military cemetery on the outskirts of the
forest of Houthulst was built after the First
World War. The 1,723 Belgian graves came
from field graves and smaller cemeteries from
the area. Most of the soldiers died on 28th or 29th
September 1918, during the first two days of
the final offensive. This cemetery also contains
81 Italian graves. These Italian soldiers were
German prisoners of war. This is the second
largest Belgian military cemetery and has a sixpointed star as a floor plan.
As early as the Battle of the Yser in October
1914 fallen German soldiers were buried in the
nearby Praetbos. In the 1950s several German
cemeteries were merged at the current cemetery in Vladslo. Now, more than 25,000 soldiers lie buried here. Peter Kollwitz also has
his final resting place here. He died in 1914. His
mother, artist Käthe Kollwitz, honoured her son
with the sculpture ‘The Grieving Parents’.
This burial place in Keiem was only built after
World War I. Here you will find the graves of
nearly 590 Belgian soldiers, who died in the
area around Diksmuide. Many of these soldiers
died during battles for Keyem on 18th and 19th
of October 1914. Approximately 60% of the
graves in this Belgian military cemetery commemorate an unknown soldier.
To honour the fallen Flemish soldiers the Yser
Tower was solemnly inaugurated in 1930.
During WWII the Yser Tower became a symbol for the collaboration of part of the Flemish
Movement. An attack in 1946 razed the tower to
the ground. The Paxpoort rose from the rubble
and a new Yser Tower was built. Since its reopening on 1st March you can visit the “Museum
at the Yser” in the current tower, which tells
the story of the Belgian front zone and emancipation.
52
DODENGANG
DIKSMUIDE
COORDINATES
51.0461
2.8424
DE FRONTZATE
Along the Yser in Diksmuide are some reconstructed Belgian trenches from the First
World War. The “Trench of Death” is a section
of trench where the Belgian troops held out
against the enemy for four years. The trench
was quickly named the “Trench of Death”
because of the large number of casualties in
these trenches. This was due to the proximity
of the German troops, both on the side of the
Yser and opposite the ‘head’ of the Dodengang
in the Yser dyke.
The bicycle path “De Frontzate” is on the former railway track from route 74. This railroad
connected Diksmuide to Nieuwpoort and played
a strategic role during WWI. Here lay the first
line of defence of the Belgian army against
the enemy. Behind the line the area was deliberately flooded, with a few defensive outposts.
COORDINATES
51.0372
2.8377
KM
52
BATTLE OF THE YSER
MERKEM
KM
DE DRIE
GRACHTEN
COORDINATES
50.9594
2.9477
54
O.L.V. HOEKJE
DIKSMUIDE
KM
The church of the hamlet of Oud-Stuivekenskerke stood here during World War I. The
Franciscan brother Edouard Lekeux installed
an observatory in the tower that he manned by
himself for 16 months.
COORDINATES
51.0584
2.8536
61
NIEUWPOORT
KM
A name stone in Merkem marks the site of the
‘Three Canals’. There are no permanent remains
of WWI present, but in 1914-1918 it held an
important outpost. In November 1914 French
Zouaves and German soldiers fought for this
location.
BELGIAN MILITARY
CEMETERY
RAMSKAPELLE
COORDINATES
51.1139
2.7643
62
LOCK COMPLEX
GANZEPOOT
COORDINATES
51.1349
2.7561
Located close to the bicycle path the Frontzate
is the Belgian military cemetery of Ramskapelle.
This cemetery was created after the war. War
graves from the flooded area and graves
from communal cemeteries in the area were
brought together here. In 1952 the body of a
Belgian soldier was brought to the surface during ploughing. He received a final resting place
at this cemetery. To this day, his grave remains
without a headstone.
‘De Ganzepoot’: the name, meaning ‘goose leg’,
refers to the shape of the entire complex. This
location played a crucial role during the First
World War. In October 1914 the locks were
opened to flood the Yser Plain. This ended the
advance of the German troops. The Belgian
army ensured the area remained flooded
throughout the war.
KM
62
NIEUWPOORT
WAR BEHIND THE BATTLEFRONT
KM
KM
COORDINATES
51.1359
2.7558
65
BELGIAN
CEMETERY
STEENKERKE
COORDINATES
51.0759
2.6903
66
ALVERINGEM
KM
At the locks is the memorial for the Belgian front
soldiers and their captain King Albert I. This
monument was erected by the national union of
(ex-) servicemen in 1938. It is built of clay, mined
along the Yser. The rust-coloured stains in the
yellow brick were caused by ammunitions remnants from the First World War. On top of the
monument you can enjoy the view of the Yser
Plain and the city of Nieuwpoort. In October
2014 the new visitor centre The Ganzepoot will
open here.
BACHTEN DE KUPE
FURNES
KM
KING ALBERT I
MONUMENT
BELGIAN
CEMETERY
OEREN
In Steenkerke, near Furnes, you can find a
Belgian military cemetery. 508 Belgian soldiers
lie buried here. During WWI there was an aid
station in the vicinity of Steenkerke. Soldiers
that died here were buried in this cemetery.
Corporal Joe English had his last resting
place here until 1932. Now the grave of Joe
English can be found in the crypt of the
Yser Tower. At the Steenkerke cemetery you
can also find 9 heroic memorial gravestones,
designed by Joe English.
Around the church of the Alveringem district
of Oeren a military cemetery was built during
WWI. 508 Belgian soldiers are buried here.
Once there were many heroic memorial gravestones here, marked by the letters AVV-VVK.
COORDINATES
51.024
2.7043
68
FURNES
VRIJ VADERLAND
EXPERIENCE
CENTRE
COORDINATES
510.725
2.6617
FURNES
TOWN HALL
COORDINATES
51.0725
2.6617
FRENCH
OSSUARY
COORDINATES
51.0750
2.6650
‘Free Fatherland’ does not focus on the battlefield, but on the last little bit of free Belgium
that remained, the so-called Belgian sector.
From here King Albert I successfully defended
against the German occupiers. Through the
exhibition, we experience the story behind the
front, the everyday life in this bit of unoccupied
area and see a true melting pot of people -multiculturalism before the term even existed. ‘Free
Fatherland’ tells this story in an atmospheric
setting.
The town hall played an important role, especially at the beginning of the war. In October
2014, the General Staff of the Belgian Army
took up residence in the town hall, with the
upstairs hall functioning as a working cabinet
for King Albert. In the town hall the meetings
that would lead to the flooding of the Yser Plan
were held. He also received numerous important international figures, such as the French
General Foch, French President Poincaré, the
British King George V …
At the town cemetery in the centre of Furnes
is a French mass gravesite. Some 80 French
soldiers are buried here. This cemetery also
contains a French honorary section with
about 150 separate graves. Between the French
crosses are also eight Arabic tombstones. Here
you can also find the grave of Charles Cogge.
He played a crucial role in the flooding of the
Yser Plain in 1914.
72
WAR BEHIND THE BATTLEFRONT
DE PANNE
KM
COORDINATES
51.0874
2.6029
73
DE PANNE
KM
51.0874
2.6029
81
51.0121
2.6053
87
BELGIAN
CEMETERY
HOOGSTADE
COORDINATES
This Belgian military cemetery was created
during the beginning of World War I, as an
extension of the existing cemetery. In the
period 1914-18 the military hospital Cabour
was located in Adinkerke. A large number of
the soldiers that died in this hospital were
therefore buried here. Many soldiers of special services are buried here. This shows
that, during the war, the front was a long way
away from this place. You will find about 1,650
Belgian graves at this cemetery.
Behind the municipal cemetery of De Panne you
will find the largest Belgian military cemetery
in West Flanders. Approximately 3,370 Belgian
soldiers are buried here. During the First World
War, the hotel L’Ocean in De Panne served as
a hospital. Soldiers who died as a result from
their injuries found a final resting place in this
cemetery. Nearly half of the Belgian soldiers
buried here were killed during the final offensive in 1918.
In early 1915, the General Headquarters left the
Town Hall of Furnes because of the bombing,
in favour of the rectory of Houtem until 18th
October 1918. Nearby was L’Ocean II, an annex
of the hospital in De Panne. On 31st August 1918
the artist Joe English from Bruges passed away
due to untreated appendicitis. He designed the
heroic memorial gravestones for pro-Flemish
fallen soldiers in the First World War. In 1918 he
also became a painter at the front.
Soldiers who died during the war in the nearby
military hospital Clep were buried in this cemetery in Hoogstade. In 1968 this cemetery was
expanded by 117 Belgian graves brought in from
the military cemetery in Reninge when it was
shut down. Now you can find 825 graves here,
including 20 British ones.
50.4783
2.6896
POPS & FRENCH FLANDERS
90
VLETEREN
KM
RECTORY HOUTEM /
JOE ENGLISH VINKEM
COORDINATES
ALVERINGEM
KM
BELGIAN
CEMETERY
DE PANNE
COORDINATES
FURNES
KM
BELGIAN
CEMETERY
ADINKERKE
BELGIAN
CEMETERY
VLETEREN
COORDINATES
50.9259
2.7210
91
DOZINGHEM
COORDINATES
50.8923
2.7033
French soldiers started the construction of
this cemetery in the fall of 1914. Not until June
1916 did fallen Belgian soldiers also find a final
resting place here. After the war this cemetery
expanded with graves of Belgian soldiers. The
remains of French soldiers were excavated and
transferred to their home. Today you can find
1207 Belgian graves here. Since 2008 it is a
protected monument.
The British military cemetery ‘Dozinghem
Military Cemetery’ is home to 3,312 graves
from WWI. The cemetery was designed by Sir
Reginald Blomfield and has a surface area of
about 12,300 m2. The name Dozinghem – also
the name of the WWI evacuation hospital – is
derived from the English verb “to dose”: the
administering of medicine or anaesthetics in
small amounts.
KM
WAR BEHIND THE BATTLEFRONT
KM
93
YSER
Belgian-French border, the flooding of the Yser
Plain stopped the Germans, this marked the
start of the trench warfare.
ROESBRUGGEHARINGE
KM
KM
COORDINATES
50.9201
2.6229
POPS
LITTLE PARIS
SHOW FOR
THE TROOPS
COORDINATES
50.9201
2.6229
94
COORDINATES
50.9016
2.6148
50.8970
2.6419
ROLAND
GARROS
A hospital cemetery, therefore holding many
identified soldiers, incl. German prisoner of
war. The name is linked to medical jargon:
Bandaghem: to bandage, Mendinghem:
to mend, Dozinghem: to dose (morphine).
Originally, more dead were buried here. After
the war, four French plots were excavated.
According to the current register there are
now a total of 816 soldiers buried here, including five British graves from WWII.
Landed in the vicinity of Poperinge with his
fighter plane. Was the first to fly with an aeroplane that was able to shoot through the
propeller. Today, his name lives on through the
Paris Grand Slam tennis event.
COORDINATES
50.9252
2.6008
123
CASSEL
KM
BANDAGHEM +
MENDINGHEM
Roesbrugge is now part of the municipality of
Poperinge. English speakers pronounced this
as Pops. The soldiers alternated periods at
the front with periods behind the front. This
became Little Paris, where the soldiers could
relax in bars, cabarets, etc. The nickname
refers to Paris where soldiers could go to when
they were on leave. At this logistically convenient hub there were often Forces Shows for
kings, presidents and military leaders. There
was a railway junction and an airport.
ALLIED HEAD
QUARTERS
In this grand mansion on Cassel Market Allied
Headquarters were located. Today it houses
the Musée de Flandre. First the occupants
were the French led by Gen. Foch (marshal),
later the British led by Gen. Plumer.
COORDINATES
50.7997
2.4863
139
ABBEY WALL
CATSBERG
COORDINATES
50.7864
2.6657
On the wall of the abbey, next to the road on
which the cyclists ride, there is a plaque to
commemorate the Canadians. It was on these
flanks that one of the last battles took place
before both parties went into the trenches by
Ypres. The German Prince Max von Hesen was
killed here.
144
LIJSSENTHOEK
WAR BEHIND THE BATTLEFRONT
POPERINGE
KM
COORDINATES
50.8281
2.7013
145
TALBOT HOUSE &
CONCERT HALL
POPERINGE
KM
COORDINATES
50.8859
2.7233
DEATH CELLS &
EXECUTION
POLE
COORDINATES
50.8554
2.7271
‘T ZWYNLAND
COORDINATES
50.8466
2.7160
POPERINGE
NEW MILITARY
CEMETERY
COORDINATES
50.8475
2.7331
The largest evacuation hospital (4000 beds)
was located at Remy Quaghebeur’s farm. Allied
soldiers who died of their injuries as well as
prisoners of war were buried there. A line-up
of 1,392 posts shows how many deaths
occurred on each day. Here, 30 nationalities
found their last resting place far from their
native soil. This is why that the Commonwealth
cemeteries are British territory. Nurse Nellie
Spindler is the only woman buried there.
Soldiers’ Home, founded by chaplain ‘Tubby’
Clayton and named after his colleague Neville
Talbot, who died at the front. An ‘Everyman’s
Club’, where everybody is equal in rank and
position. The first of its kind in the world. The
former hop store at the back of the garden
was used as a Concert Hall. The top floor
served as an Anglican chapel. Soldiers could
borrow books and gave their cap as deposit.
Since then, barely anything has changed in the
interior and you can stay in the same rooms as
during the war.
In Great Poperinge 17 deserters were executed
“shot at dawn” during the war. This happened
in the courtyard of City Hall, amongst other
places. Today, many of these soldiers are considered to have been victims of shell shock
(psychological trauma that affected soldiers,
now well-known as military post traumatic
stress disorder).
This former brewery was the ‘first stop after
hell’ for soldiers, where they could bathe and
be deloused in the yeast and brewing kettles.
The next day beer was brewed again because
in Pops they were singing their songs, playing their cheap comedy sketches and seeking
restless solace in drink, hopeless love or divine
grace. The Belgian gendarmerie stayed there,
as well as the British military administration
headed by the Town Major. There was also a
YMCA (Young Men’s Christians Association).
British-French Cemetery, New Poperinge
Military Cemetery holds the sad record of having the highest number of executed soldiers in
the same cemetery: 17. Two religious Belgian
women are laid to rest here: Euphrasia Vanneste
– sister Juliana – died at 51 years of age, on 14th
July 1917. She worked as a nurse in the Elisabeth
Hospital and was fatally hit by a German projectile. The second grave is that of Sister Martha
Declercq, probably also a nurse. She also died on
14th July 1917.
HEUVELLAND
159
THE BATTLE OF
KEMMEL HILL
(LOKER/
KEMMEL)
OSSUARY
COORDINATES
50.7790
2.8077
The obelisk was placed on 4 mass graves,
which were built here between 1920 and 1925,
and which were probably expanded later. It is
said there are 5,294 soldiers buried here, of
which only 57 are identified. The memorial was
placed to commemorate the presence of the
French forces and the heavy losses they suffered in Belgium throughout the entire war.
KM
159
THE BATTLE OF
KEMMEL HILL
(LOKER/
KEMMEL)
WAR BEHIND THE BATTLEFRONT
KM
KM
COORDINATES
50.7780
2.8102
LETTENBERG
BUNKERS
COORDINATES
50.7829
2.8162
166
MINE BATTLE
ZERO HOUR
WIJTSCHATE
KM
VICTORIA
MONUMENT
“THE ANGEL”
POOL OF PEACE
COORDINATES
50.7759
2.8618
KM
In the spring of 1917, the ‘175th Tunnelling
Company’ built ‘deep-dugouts’ for headquarters and underground accommodation for a
platoon. These departed from four concrete
structures against the flank of the Lettenberg.
In April 1918, during the Spring Offensive, the
site fell into the hands of the Germans, who
made good use of the property. One of the constructions was used as a medical post: they
painted a red cross on the facade, which is still
visible.
7th June 1917, 04.10 a.m.: FIRE! 19 landmines
tear the silence and cause a giant conflagration.
The ridge of Wijtschate-Messines (“Messines
Ridge”) is shaking … 2,266 guns simultaneously open fire. 80,000 British troops begin the
attack. The apocalypse is audible in London. 5
days later, preparations begin for the battle at
Passchendaele. The craters in the landscape are
the silent witnesses of all this violence. The Pool
of Peace is 12m deep with a circumference of
129m.
MESSINES
170
MESSINES RIDGE
MESSINES
KM
‘The Angel’ and about 200m further (and
below), against the western flank of Kemmel
Hill, lies the French ‘ossuary’ with an obelisk in
the centre for the unidentified French soldiers.
This memorial column, the Roman goddess
Victoria in fact, is there especially to commemorate the many French who fell here in April
1918 fighting at the Battle of the
COORDINATES
50.7647
2.8909
171
NEW ZEALAND
MEMORIAL
PARK
COORDINATES
50.7602
2.8926
170
PEACE CARILLON
COORDINATES
50.7641
2.8992
The ridge of Messines, ‘Messines Ridge’ had
become strategically very important during
WWI. There were therefore fierce battles for
the ridge during WWI, which was strengthened
with numerous tunnels and concrete structures. Messines was occupied by the British,
the Germans, the New Zealanders (in the
Mine Battle), the South Africans, the Germans
and eventually the city fell into British hands
again. The ‘Messines Ridge Memorial to the
Missing’ commemorates some 840 missing
New Zealanders.
During the Mine Battle of June 1917 the
‘Messines Ridge’ was recaptured by troops of
the New Zealand division. Messines therefore
has two memorials, dedicated to the soldiers of
the New Zealand Division, that commemorate
the bloody ‘Battle of Messines’ (Mine Battle).
The memorial for the New Zealand division is
located in the ‘New Zealand Memorial Park’. In
this park there are also 2 German bunkers.
The first peace bell (141 kg) was blessed on 17th
May 1985 by Pope John Paul II. On 1st June 1986
the peace carillon was inaugurated. The carillon
currently contains about 50 clocks, donated by
associations and countries worldwide. Every fifteen minutes it plays hymns and folk music from
the countries that were involved in the war.
171
MESSINES
IRISH
PEACE TOWER
COORDINATES
50.7597
2.8950
BETHLEEM FARM &
ADOLF HITLER
COORDINATES
50.7589
2.9066
CHRISTMAS TRUCE
‘The Island of Ireland Peace Park’ or the ‘Irish
Peace Park’ is a bi-national memorial, which
commemorates all Irishmen killed during
the First World War, regardless of their background, religion or military unit. This peace park
refers to the Mine Battle of 7th-14th June 1917,
when the two main Irish units, the Catholic ‘16th
(Irish) Division’ and the Protestant ‘36th (Ulster)
Division’ fought side by side in the vicinity of
Wijtschate.
At the ‘Bethleem Farm East Cemetery’, a small
cemetery, 44 soldiers are buried, including
43 Australians. At the ‘Bethleem Farm West
Cemetery’ 165 dead from WWI are buried,
including 24 soldiers from the United Kingdom,
114 Australians and 27 New Zealanders. Adolf
Hitler stayed at the nearby ‘Bethleem Farm’
between December 1914 and February 1915.
He made, amongst other things, a watercolour
painting of the ruins of the Saint Nicholas Church
of Messines.
Around Christmas 1914, the weather had
made war negotiations impossible and both
armies were facing each other in the trenches.
An atmosphere of “live and let live” arose. At
Christmas soldiers even visited the enemy to
celebrate Christmas in the trench around a
Christmas tree, and gifts were exchanged.
The next day a few scattered football
matches took place in the no man’s land. It
is one of the most remarkable phenomena in
military history.
PLOEGSTEERT
YPRES SALIENT
KM
174
PLOEGSTEERT
KM
BERKS CEMETERY;
MEMORIAL TO
THE MISSING
COORDINATES
50.7378
2.8815
PLUGSTREET
COORDINATES
50.7378
2.8815
Ploegsteert ‘Memorial to the Missing’, erected
in 1931, is an impressive circular pavilion. The
names of 11,447 British soldiers and South
African officers, with no known grave, who fell
to the south of the Ypres Salient, are engraved.
They lost their lives at smaller attacks that supported larger offensives. They fought near the
frontline from the Catsberg, over Heuvelland
and Ploegsteert, up to and including the ‘Quiet
Front’ in North France.
Experience centre. Close to the Memorial an
interpretation centre will be opened. This centre,
in the extension of the forest of Ploegsteert, will
tell the life of both the soldiers and ordinary
people during the War of 14-18. Afterwards, visitors will be invited to discover the history and
memorial locations in our region.
HEUVELLAND
189
REDMOND
LOKER
COORDINATES
50.7790
2.7797
More than 170 cemeteries of the Commonwealth mark the landscape. 1 of them holds an
individual grave: William Redmond. He was
an Irish freedom fighter, who inspired many
Catholic Irish to join the British Army in order
to win favour for the independence of Ireland.
He was killed during the Mine Battle on 7th June
1917.
KM
209
KEMMEL
AMERICAN
MONUMENT
COORDINATES
50.7975
2.8491
KM
210
WIJTSCHATE
YPRES & YPRES SALIENT
KM
KM
COORDINATES
50.7974
2.8680
BAYERNWALD
TRENCH
COMPLEX
COORDINATES
50.8014
2.8769
KM
Three ponds around the farm the ‘Dutch Shed’.
The 3 craters that resulted after the detonation of the charge on 7th June 1917 had,
respectively, a diameter of 55.8 m (8.8 m deep),
32 m (4.3 m deep) and 43 m (7.6 m deep). After
the war, the Dutch Shed was rebuilt between
the three craters. Their respective depths
today, however, are only 7.2 and 3 m.
Bayernwald (‘Croonaert Wood’) is located at
a height of approx. 40m, and was a strategically important position. The trenches and bunkers that are now visible only amount to 10% of
what the German defence system had been.
The Germans feared that the British wanted to
undermine their positions underground. They
therefore attempted to dig out listening shafts
meters deep into ground, through which they
could keep better track of the British activities
and react ‘appropriately’ if necessary.
YPRES
211
YPRES
KM
DUTCH SHED
MINE CRATER
PARK
This memorial was erected in 1929. It commemorates the 27th and 30th American divisions that
were deployed in the region of Ypres and the
Lys between 18th August and 4th September
1918. During these salvation battles there were
approximately 1,300 casualties at the 27th division and 800 victims in the 30th division. Many of
them are buried in the American cemetery near
Waregem. WWI was the first foreign war in the
history of the United States of America.
MINE CRATER
SINT-ELOOI
The hamlet of Sint-Elooi, south of Ypres, was
the most forward point of the German frontline around Ypres and was therefore bitterly
fought over. Both the British and the Germans
detonated many mines here during the war.
COORDINATES
50.8091
2.8918
212
PETER PAN
At ‘Voormezeele Enclosure No. 3’, the boy who
modelled for ‘Peter Pan’ was buried. The character ‘Peter Pan’, developed by J. M. Barrie, was
inspired by his adopted son George Llewelyn
Davies, belonging to the ‘6th Bn King’s Royal
Rifle Corps’ and slain on 15th March 1915 near
Sint-Elooi, a hamlet of Voormezele.
COORDINATES
50.8188
2.8741
213
BEDFORD HOUSE
CEMETERY
COORDINATES
50.8279
2.8884
The Bedford House Cemetery is a British
military cemetery with graves mostly from
the First World War. It has a surface area of
25,765 m2 and is one of the larger British
cemeteries around Ypres. 5,144 casualties
lie buried here, of which 3,011 are unidentified.
Built on the destroyed castle domain Rosendael,
the grounds have an irregular shape and various
plateaus and are a prime example of landscape
gardening.
215
YPRES
CENTRE
RAMPARTS
CEMETERY
LILLE GATE
COORDINATES
50.8442
2.8892
YPRES & YPRES SALIENT
KM
KM
KM
216
GROTE MARKT
50.8520
2.8882
MENIN GATE
217
219
MENIN ROAD
SOUTH MILITARY
CEMETERY
HILL 60
COORDINATES
50.8242
2.9296
220
HOOGE CRATER
YPRES
SALIENT
COORDINATES
50.8457
2.9432
KM
220
YPRES
SALIENT
After the war, the British government campaigned for the preservation of (a part of) the
ruins of Ypres, as a symbol of the perseverance of the British defence of a city that was
ruined, but never occupied by the enemy. This
idea was not favoured by the Belgian population. Ultimately, the plan for a ‘memorial to the
missing’ was combined with a national British
monument: the Menin Gate. A memorial with
dual character, whereby the outer side can be
seen as a triumphal arch.
The Menin Road was an important road, along
which the troops travelled to the front.
According to the current register, there are
1,658 soldiers buried here, 120 of which could
not be identified.
Hill 60 is an authentic preserved area from
the First World War. The artificial hill from 1850
was about 60 meters high, which explains
the name: Hill 60. In the period 1914-18 heavy
fighting took place here between the Germans
and the Allies. From 1915, both parties dug tunnels under the hill in order to detonate mines.
The explosions of the deep mines on 7th June
1917 resulted in the current landscape of Hill
60. Many soldiers are still buried, unnamed,
under this hill.
“Hooge Crater Cemetery” is located along the
Menin Road, against the hillside of “‘t Hoge”,
directly opposite the “Hooge Crater Museum”.
Throughout the war there was heavy fighting in
the vicinity of Hooge, as its elevation was strategically interesting to both parties. On 19th July
1915 a mine charge of 2,200 kg was detonated.
During the explosion a dozen of men of the ‘4th
Middlesex’ were buried alive under the debris.
CANADIAN
MEMORIAL
COORDINATES
50.8374
2.9453
SANCTUARY WOOD
CEMETERY
Market Square, In Flanders Fields Museum,
Cloth Hall with Belfry, Saint Martin’s Cathedral,
Saint George’s Memorial Church.
COORDINATES
YPRES
KM
The Lille Gate was one of the main ‘passages’ to the front and was used more than
the Menin Gate, because this road could be better protected against enemy artillery. Only the
graves on the city walls that are now part of
‘Ramparts Cemetery’ are retained. The path to
the cemetery is dedicated to Rose Coombs. On
4th May 1991 the ashes of the author of ‘Before
Endeavour Fades’ were scattered in this cemetery. She died on 7th January 1991.
YPRES & YPRES SALIENT
KM
KM
COORDINATES
50.8374
2.9453
HILL 62 MUSEUM &
TRENCHES
The name ‘Sanctuary’ may be ironically interpreted here, as it concerns a cemetery rather
than a sanctuary. It is in the shape of a circular
segment (fan-shaped), constructed on a gently sloping site with a surface area of approximately 7,000 m2. According to the present
register there are 1,990 buried (or commemorated) here, of which 1,353 are not could be
identified. Here lies Lt. Gilbert Talbot, after
whom the ‘Talbot
The Schier family, owners of the local café,
retained a portion of the trench system after
the armistice and built a museum from it. Behind
the museum are still the (largely authentic)
trenches with concrete structures and shelters, who were part of the ‘Vince Street – Jam
Row’ – complex in 1916.
COORDINATES
50.8374
2.9453
215
YPRES
KM
This memorial was made of white granite from
Quebec and weighs nearly 15 tons. The monument at the top of the ‘Hill 62’ is a tribute to
all Canadians who fought in the area in 1916.
There were as many as 8,430 Canadian casualties. The road was built after the war on the
route of the British second line to serve the
cemetery and the Canadian memorial. On both
sides of the road Canadian maple trees were
planted.
ESSEX FARM /
JOHN MC CRAE
BUNKER
COORDINATES
50.871
2.8729
216
YORKSHIRE
TRENCH
DUG-OUTS
Along the Ypres-Yser canal, just outside Ypres,
you will find the Essex Farm Cemetery. This
place is also known as ‘Site John McCrae’. The
Canadian physician John McCrae wrote here in
May 1915 the world famous poem ‘In Flanders
Fields’. In the canal dyke a shelter was dug
where physician John McCrae assisted victims of gassing. A few days later ‘Essex Farm
Cemetery’ was created. John McCrae died in
1918 and is buried in Wimereux, France.
This section of trench from 1915 was brought
to light in the 1950 during the construction of a
new industrial area along the Ypres-Yser canal.
The ‘Yorkshire Trench’ emerged after the first
gas attack in 1915.
COORDINATES
50.8883
2.8733
NEW IRISH FARM
CEMETERY
COORDINATES
50.8735
2.8967
This large Commonwealth cemetery can be
reached via the Northern ring in Ypres. It was
created in 1917 after the area was declared safe.
Previously the front line was here. New Irish
Farm Cemetery initially consisted of 73 graves.
After World War I the cemetery expanded with
more than 4,500 fallen soldiers after the addition of graves from surrounding small cemeteries. In about 70% of the graves an unknown
soldier rests.
KM
216
YPRES
DIVISIONAL
COLLECTION
POST CEM. &
EXTENSION
COORDINATES
50.8744
2.8938
This cemetery close to the Northern ring in
Ypres was built during the Third Battle of
Ypres in 1917. It is located near the larger New
Irish Farm Cemetery. Deceased soldiers from a
nearby medical centre were buried here. The
original cemetery comprised 87 graves, including one German grave. Between 1924 and 1926
this cemetery expanded with the ‘Extension’
and 678 victims from the surrounding battlefields and smaller cemeteries were added.
KM
221
POELCAPELLE
BRITISH
CEMETERY
COORDINATES
50.9206
2.9706
This cemetery in Poelcapelle is the third
largest Commonwealth cemetery in the
Westhoek. Poelcapelle British Cemetery was
created in 1919 by bringing together field graves
and smaller cemeteries. Approximately 7,500
soldiers are buried here. In this cemetery the
gravestone of John Condon can be found. For
a long time he was, at 14 years old, known as
the youngest soldier killed. Recent research
shows that John Condon was probably older
and possibly not buried here.
ZONNEBEKE
219
FRENCH
CEMETERY
CHARLES
DE POTYZE
COORDINATES
50.8633
2.9268
During the First World War there was a small
school near this cemetery. The French troops
used this school as a medical post. Deceased
soldiers were buried in the vicinity. This grew into
a cemetery, but a great number of graves were
destroyed during the war. The current French
cemetery is the largest on Belgian soil. Around
4,200 French soldiers are buried here, including
616 in the mass grave. Here you will also find 69
Muslim gravestones, rounded at the top with a
horseshoe arch.
LANGEMARK-POELKAPELLE
KM
219
LANGEMARKPOELKAPELLE
CEMENT HOUSE
CEMETERY
COORDINATES
YPRES SALIENT
50.9047
2.9074
KM
BROODING
SOLDIER
COORDINATES
50.8996
2.9406
220
GUYNEMER
COORDINATES
50.9177
2.9567
GERMAN
CEMETERY
STUDENTENFRIEDHOF
COORDINATES
50.9203
2.9172
This cemetery is named after a nearby farm
that the British units called the ‘Cement House’.
Cement House Cemetery is an example of
a concentration cemetery. For a long time,
it was the only Commonwealth cemetery for
which the register was opened for new graves.
Until recently all British victims who were found
in later years, for example, in the construction
of the industrial zone in the channel, were buried here.
The Canadian Forces Memorial St. Julien, better known as the ‘Canadien’ or ‘The Brooding
Soldier’, commemorates the role of Canadian
soldiers during the Second Battle of Ypres.
2,000 soldiers lost their lives in the first gas
attack. The monument represents a Canadian
soldier who salutes the dead with a traditional military salute. The park surrounding
the memorial was built with Canadian soil and
plants. So here you stand on a piece Canadian
territory.
In the centre of Poelcapelle you find the
Guynemer monument as a tribute to the
French pilot Georges Guynemer. With 53 air
victories, he is one of the greatest aces in
the First World War. On 11th September 1917,
German troops took Guynemer down above
Poelcapelle. His body was never found. In July
1923 the memorial was unveiled. A stork adorns
the top of the monument and thus refers to
the ‘Escadrille des Cigognes’, the unit to which
Guynemer belonged.
The German military cemetery in Langemark is
one of the four German collective cemeteries
in Belgium. This cemetery is also known as the
‘Studentenfriedhof’. A number of young German
volunteer soldiers were killed here during the First
Battle of Ypres in 1914. Now more than 44,300
German soldiers lie buried here. More than half
are buried together in the comrade grave near
the entrance of the cemetery. Approximately
17,000 soldiers from the mass grave could be
identified. Their names can be found on the blocks
surrounding the comrade grave.
KM
222
ZONNEBEKE
YPRES SALIENT & MENIN
KM
KM
KM
TYNE COT
CEMETERY
COORDINATES
50.8864
3.0004
MEMORIAL
MUSEUM
PASSCHENDAELE 1917
Tyne Cot Cemetery is the largest Commonwealth cemetery on the mainland and also
the main witness to the bloody Battle of
Passchendaele. Originally Tyne Cot was a fortified position of the German Flandern I position, where Australian troops set up a first aid
station in October 1917. Approximately 12,000
soldiers are buried here. On the impressive
Tyne Cot Memorial you can find another
35,000 names of soldiers with no known
grave who died after 15th August 1917.
In this museum you will discover everything
about the Battle of Passchendaele, one of the
greatest battles of the First World War. The
dugout in the museum lets you experience just
how the soldiers 1917 lived below the ground.
COORDINATES
50.8708
2.9890
223
BUTTES
NEW BRITISH
CEMETERY
COORDINATES
50.8566
2.9911
238
ARRIVAL
EHRENFRIEDHOF
MEENEN WALD
N° 62’
COORDINATES
50.8093
3.1507
Pictures:
© Flemish Community
© CWGC
© Westtoer
Before the war, the Polygon forest was a military training ground with a ‘butte’ or ‘goal’:
an artificial hill to catch bullets. The forest
was alternately in the hands of the Allies and
the Germans. Buttes New British Cemetery
forms, architecturally speaking, a whole with
the nearby Polygon Wood Cemetery. 2,103 dead
are buried here. The New Zealand Memorial
commemorates 378 New Zealanders that went
missing in the period September 1917 - May
1918.
Menin was a German cantonment with German
military field hospitals and cemeteries. At the
end of the war, ‘Ehrenfriedhof Meenen Wald
n° 62’ held approximately 6,400 graves. After the
war, the German military graves were brought
together to 184 cemeteries. In 1952, the Belgian
and German governments decided to bring them
together at 4 locations in West Flanders: Vladslo,
Hooglede, Menin and Langemark. Nearly 48,000
German soldiers now lie buried at this cemetery.
“THE
GREATEST
RACE IN
FLANDERS
FIELDS”