Ypres Salient, Flanders & The Menin Gate Page 8

This area of Belgium is known as Flemish Flanders and Ypres (Leper) is the principal city. The Ypres Salient was formed by the Allied countries to halt and protect Germany’s advance towards the ports of Calais and Boulogne (the Race for the Sea); this resulted in the First Battle of Ypres in 1914 – 19th October to 22nd November.

The following key battles after this were:

The Second Battle of Ypres – 22nd April to 15th May 1915
Passchendaele – 31st July to 6th November 1917
Battle of the Lys (Fourth Battle of Ypres) – 9th April to 29th April 1918
The Fifth Battle of Ypres – 28th September to 2nd October 1918

It must also be noted that on top of the five main conflicts of the Salient, constant battles, offensives, exchanges and skirmishes took place in the region during the whole of the Great War. Key and infamous names and locations from this area include Messines, Wytschaete, Polygon Wood, Hill 60, Langemarck, the Lys, Sanctuary Wood, Ploegsteert Wood and Passchendaele to name but a few.

Over 1,700,000 soldiers on both sides were killed or wounded in this region of Belgium during the War years not to mention the uncounted numbers of civilians.

The City of Ypres was constantly shelled by the Germans during the whole of the war but was never taken. Nowadays it is fully restored and is resplendent with its cathedral and stunning Cloth Hall.

Flanders is now the resting place for many a soldier and is the home of numerous CWGC cemeteries and superb memorials including:

Tyne Cot Cemetery, Zonnebeke, Ypres Salient Battlefields, Belgium is the largest Commonwealth Military Cemetery in the world and the resting place for 11,956.

The Menin Gate which is dedicated to the 54,896 missing service personnel of WWI, for those who laid down their life in Ypres Salient Battlefields and whom were laid to rest in unknown graves.

"In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row" - John McCrae.

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If you need Military Bands or Assistance with Honouring Veterans - Please contact your local Royal British Legion. If sadly this is for a Military Funeral or Honouring Veterans at their Funeral, the best contact points are here.

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission has the responsibility to ensure that 1.7 million people who died in the two world wars will never be forgotten. They care for cemeteries and memorials at 23,000 locations, in 153 countries. The CWGC values and aims, laid out in 1917, are as relevant now as they were over a 100 years ago....

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We have added a number of further pages and Picture Galleries to our website for you of The National Memorial Arboretum, the Ypres Salient, Flanders & The Menin Gate, Nord Pas de Calais, Somme, Vimy Ridge, Verdun and World War 1 Main Page and seven underpinning pages.

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The images below are:

Picture 71 {0091} - Tyne Cot Cemetery. Here the one of the original German bunkhouses can be seen. It is these constructions that gave the name to the cemetery. Soldiers from Northumbria thought they reminded them of cottages on Tyneside....hence where the name Tyne Cot came about.

Picture 72 {0015} - The Menin Gate from the Menin Road. During the war there were two lions where the Menin Gate now stands, this would have been the route many a British Soldier would have wended his way to the Salient. The lions are now in Canberra Australia. It is fitting that the Menin Gate is surmounted by a lion, now at rest looking out over the Salient.

Picture 73 {0046} - The French Memorial on Mount Kemmel. 159 m high, the monument is to the French who died in Belgium and in particular on Mount Kemmel in 1918. The winged victory memorial was erected in 1932 and unveiled by General Petin.

Picture 74 {0058} - The church at Messines. It is believed that a German Corporal, one Adolf Hitler was treated in the crypt of the church after being wounded early in the war. It also figured in some of his watercolours.

Picture 75 {0061} - Poppies now grow in the churchyard at Messines.

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These images are kindly provided by Ian Humphreys, RBL, and are his Copyright. You may click on the thumb nail images for the original - these are high res images and may not be used for commercial purposes without full written consent from Mr Humphreys. Each image is 3264 x 2448 pixels or 3008 x 2000 pixels and are several MB in size...

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