The Great War Centenary

FLANDERS FIELDS

www.greatwarcentenary.be OTHER INTERESTING WW I WEBSITES: www.greatwar.be I about the war in Flanders Fields www.inflandersfields.be I about the museum in Ypres www.talbothouse.be I about Talbot House in Poperinge www.lijssenthoek.be I about the hospital cemetery Lijssenthoek in Poperinge www.aandeijzer.be I about the IJzer Tower in Diksmuide www.passchendaele.be I about the museum in Zonnebeke www.cwgc.org I about British military cemeteries www.volksbund.de I about German military cemeteries www.awm.gov.au I about Australia in the war www.collectionscanada.ca I about Canada in the war www.abmc.gov I about America in the war www.memoiredeshommes.sga.defense.gouv.fr I about French soldiers in the war www.greatwar1418.eu I about the Interreg project “Great War”

VISITORS CENTRE FOR YPRES AND THE WESTHOEK Grote Markt 34 - 8900 Ieper

LO-RENINGE Markt 17a - Lauka - 8647 Lo-Reninge T. +32 (0)58 28 91 66

T. +32 (0)57 23 92 20

toerisme@ieper.be - www.visit-ypres.com

info@lauka.be www.lauka.be

ALVERINGEM Sint-Rijkersstraat 19 - 8690 Alveringem

MESEN Markt 22 - 8957 Mesen

T. +32 (0)58 28 88 81 - F. +32 (0)58 28 88 83

T. +32 (0)57 22 17 14 - F. +32 (0)57 48 65 63

DIKSMUIDE Grote Markt 6 - 8600 Diksmuide

POPERINGE Grote Markt 1 - 8970 Poperinge

toerisme@alveringem.be www.alveringem.be

T. +32 (0)51 79 30 50 - F. +32 (0)51 50 47 68

toerisme@stad.diksmuide.be toerisme.diksmuide.be HEUVELLAND Polenlaan 1 - 8950 Kemmel T. +32 (0)57 45 04 55

toerisme@heuvelland.be www.heuvelland.be HOOGLEDE Marktplaats 1 - 8830 Hooglede T. +32 (0)51 20 30 30

toerisme@hooglede.be www.hooglede.be HOUTHULST Markt 17 - 8650 Houthulst T. +32 (0)51 46 08 94 - F. +32 (0)51 46 07 36

toerisme@houthulst.be www.houthulst.be

KOEKELARE Sint-Maartensplein 15B - 8680 Koekelare T. +32 (0)51 61 04 94 - F. +32 (0)51 58 32 64

diensttoerisme@koekelare.be www.koekelare.be

KORTEMARK Torhoutstraat 9 - 8610 Kortemark T. +32 (0)51 56 61 08 M. + 32 (0) 476 21 44 36

toerisme@kortemark.be www.kortemark.be LANGEMARK-POELKAPELLE Kasteelstraat 1 - 8920 Langemark T. +32 (0)57 49 09 41 - F. +32 (0)57 48 55 89

toerisme@langemark-poelkapelle.be www.langemark-poelkapelle.be

WESTHOEK INFO Koning Albert I-laan 120 - 8200 Brugge T. +32(0)50 30 55 00 toerismewesthoek@westtoer.be www.greatwarcentenary.be

The Flanders Fields Country &

THE GREAT WAR

toerisme@mesen.be www.mesen.be

T. +32 (0)57 34 66 76-77 F. +32 (0)57 33 57 03

toerisme@poperinge.be www.toerismepoperinge.be

STADEN Marktplaats 2 - 8840 Staden T. +32 (0)51 70 82 00 - F. +32 (0)51 70 42 86

toerisme@staden.be www.staden.be

VEURNE Grote Markt 29 - 8630 Veurne T. +32 (0)58 33 55 31

infotoerisme@veurne.be www.toerisme-veurne.be VLETEREN Veurnestraat 4 - 8640 Vleteren T. +32 (0)57 40 09 01 - F. +32 (0)57 40 13 71

toerisme@vleteren.be www.toerismevleteren.be

WERVIK Koestraat 63 - 8940 Wervik T. +32 (0)56 95 24 25 - F. +32 (0)56 95 24 35

toerisme@wervik.be www.wervik.be/toerisme

ZONNEBEKE Berten Pilstraat 5A - 8980 Zonnebeke T. +32 (0)51 77 04 41 - F. +32 (0)51 78 07 50

toerisme@zonnebeke.be www.zonnebeke.be

NIEUWPOORT Marktplein 7 - 8620 Nieuwpoort T. 058 22 44 44 - F. 058 22 44 28

info@nieuwpoort.be www.nieuwpoort.be

THE GREAT WAR

CENTENARY

www.greatwarcentenary.be

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Special thanks to Mr. Leo Van Bergen and Mr. Menno Wielinga. We also thank the In Flanders Fields Museum Ypres and the Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917 Zonnebeke for the pictures.

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Chief editors: Johan Martin, Valérie Heyman, Stephen Lodewyck, Evelien Decoster – Westtoer Text editors: Johan Martin, Frederik Demeyere (p. 42-43), Piet Chielens (p.

71-79) Translation: Ian Connerty – Ieper Photoghraphy: Westtoer, tourist offices Westhoek, Daniël de Kievith, B.ad, David Samyn, Bart Heirweg, Tom Pieters (p.32), Tijl Capoen (p.74), Johan Vandewalle (p.57) en Toon Grobet (p.86)

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THE FLANDERS FIELDS COUNTRY - INTRODUCTION 1 DISCOVER THE FLANDERS FIELDS COUNTRY 4 MAP OF MUNICIPALITIES IN THE WESTHOEK 8 THE MUNICIPALITIES 10 THE WEST COAST 26 BEERS AND BREWERIES 29 TOURIST ROUTES 36 EVENTS 40 WAR AND PEACE IN THE WESTHOEK - INTRODUCTION 42 THE BEGINNING 44 FOUR YEARS OF WAR 49 NEW IN 2015 58 THE FRONT 61 BEHIND THE FRONT: UNOCCUPIED BELGIUM 92 BEHIND THE FRONT: THE OCCUPIED TERRITORY 101 BELGIAN MILITARY CEMETERIES 108 COMMONWEALTH MILITARY CEMETERIES 112 FRENCH MILITARY CEMETERIES 119 GERMAN MILITARY CEMETERIES 120 MEMORIES 122 TOURIST ROUTES 124 EVENTS 132

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NOORDZEE

CONTENT

BRUGGE

Konterdam

Flanders Fields

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THE FLANDERS FIELDS COUNTRY AND THE GREAT WAR First and foremost, you are coming to our region to remember, to honour the memory of those who died. For this reason, this brochure devotes considerable attention to the First World War. But the Flanders Fields Country - also known locally as the Westhoek - has more to offer than that. It is a warm and welcoming region, full of beautiful scenery and friendly people.

And as you will discover, the Westhoek is a great place for visitors and holiday-makers of all kinds.

The last veteran of the Great War, Harry Patch (+2009), once said during a visit to the old front: �Always remember both sides of the line�. He was referring to the war, of course, but you can apply his comment to our region as a whole!

THE FLANDERS FIELDS COUNTRY

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MORE THAN JUST WAR

A green and pleasant land The Westhoek district of the Flanders Fields Country is more than just an old battlefield. Nowadays, it offers a pleasing landscape, stretching from the flat polders of the coastal plain to the green hills along the French border. Nature is all around, making the region an ideal place to walk or cycle. Signposted routes and networks make it easy to find your way around. Authentic villages and delightful towns will charm anyone with a sense of history or a love of peace and quiet.

Hundreds of cafĂŠs, restaurants and summer terraces will pleasantly surprise visitors. And the region is famous for its delicious, locally brewed beers! Gastronomy in the Westhoek can range from a tasty local speciality, right through to star-quality cooking in a top restaurant.

Wherever you go you will be pampered and spoilt, by a people famous for their warm hospitality. And there is no problem about where to stay: the region has a wide range of hotels, bed and breakfasts, holiday homes and camping sites.

English spoken As you probably know‌ almost everyone here speaks your language. True, some speak it better than others, but everybody is prepared to give it a try!

In Flanders the native tongue is Flemish - also referred to as Dutch.

There are some minor differences between Flemish and Dutch, a bit like the difference between the English spoken in Britain and the English spoken in America. And you will be amazed how many other common ties our region has with your country. Hopefully, you will discover them all during your stay

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in the Flanders Fields Country. You are certainly more than welcome.

This brochure will therefore offer you a first brief introduction to the many different aspects of the Flanders Fields Country.

The Great War Sadly, it is undeniable that the region was badly scarred by the First World War. The reminders are everywhere to be seen. Hundreds of thousands of soldiers were killed and many more wounded. The local people were forced to flee to the safety of neighbouring France or the United Kingdom. Many returned after the war, but the population never again reached pre-1914 levels. Even so, the ruined towns and villages were all rebuilt, and Ypres (now known as Ieper) rose like a phoenix from its ashes: an almost perfect copy of the medieval city which had been destroyed during the fighting. Some people think that the new city is a lie: visitors who know nothing of the war can scarcely believe that this elegant ’old’ city is less than 100 years old! Fake or not, it took almost half a century - not to mention untold quantities of blood, sweat and tears - to restore Ypres to its former glory.

However, there is no denying the reality of the hundreds of military cemeteries, monuments and war relics which dot the countryside around the city: terrible reminders which will guarantee that the memory of this tragic moment in human history can never be erased. This memory must be kept alive and cherished, not only to ensure that it never happens again, but also in honour of the sacrifice of so many young lives, lost in what some people now call a senseless war.

The 100 year commemoration period has led to a wave of activity in the Westhoek during recent years. Several museums and First World War sites underwent major renovation works to ensure that you can enjoy the very best facilities and an optimal visitor experience.

The second part of the brochure is devoted to this subject.

(See page 42)

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DISCOVER THE FLANDERS FIELDS COUNTRY There are many different ways to explore the Westhoek. You can make a day of it with the kids, go messing about with your friends or turn it into a romantic interlude with your ’significant other’. Whichever way you choose, we can offer you a series of tourist tips for along the way, guaranteed to satisfy bon-vivants, nature-lovers, sports fans and culture-vultures alike. Here are eight different ways to get the very best out of the Westhoek!

By scooter Various accommodation outlets (guest rooms and hotels) have Vespas for hire, so that you can discover our region in style! These Italian scooters are currently very ’trendy’ - for people of all ages! For details of the accommodation outlets where scooters are available, please consult: www.greatwarcentenary.be In addition, you can also hire a scooter (one-seater or two-seater) in the town of Veurne or Diksmuide. The crash-helmets allow two-way communication between the different riders. You can follow a pre-programmed route with the GPS provided or you can just go off wandering on your own. There are several themed First World War routes that will allow you to explore the wartime past of the region. Or you can explore the battlefields from Houthulst with a motorbike.

I More info: www.scootertoerisme.be -T.+32 (0)58 31 14 46 www.scooterzone.be - T.+32 (0)51 50 57 29 www.enfieldtobattlefield.be - T. +32 (0)495 28 86 69

By pedal-power You can either bring your own bike or hire a quality two-wheeler from one of the many rental outlets in the region. For those who like the challenge of teamwork, tandems are also available! So too are bike trailers for your smallest kids. You can explore the cycling network to a route of your own choosing or else you can follow one of the many pre-programmed cycling circuits.

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I For more bike tips, maps and details of the rental outlets: www.greatwarcentenary.be

By covered wagon A ride in a traditional covered wagon is always a memorable experience. It is the perfect way to enjoy the pleasures of the countryside, with its winding roads and tinkling streams. And there are plenty of stops along the way, perhaps for a refreshing drink or a bite to eat, or else to visit a museum or play a traditional folk-game. You can’t beat it!

I More info: www.volkssportroute.be -T. +32 (0)57 34 66 76

By boat Do you fancy steering a sun-boat, or maybe just going along for the ride? ’De Boot’ (The Boat) offers you a wide range of options, for hours of fun both on the water and along the riverbank.

I More info: www.deboot.be - T. +32 (0)475 21 43 20 A river cruise on the ’IJzerstar’ will allow you to discover the charming countryside between Diksmuide and Nieuwpoort in an original and relaxing manner.

I More info: www.seastar.be -T. +32 (0)58 23 24 25 For nature-lovers, the highlight of their stay is often an early morning spin on the calm waters of the Blankaert nature reserve in one of the electrically-driven ’whisper boats’ of Natuurpunt (a local nature group). Listen to the dawn-chorus and just enjoy all that pure nature!

I More info: www.otter.be T. +32 (0)51 54 59 48 The Westhoek Marina in Nieuwpoort offers boating enthusiasts an excellent base for exploring the inland waterways of the Westhoek. The marina is also a great place for pleasure sailors to hire a pleasure boat at the start of their boating holiday.

I More info:www.westhoekmarina.be T. +32 (0)474 46 27 98 At Diksmuide, the Portus Dixmuda yachting harbour welcomes river bound tourists in the middle of the former frontline nearby the Yser Tower Museum.

I More info: www.deijzervaarders.be T. +32 (0)495 79 54 45

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By minibus In the Westhoek, every village, every hamlet and every field has its own story to tell.

Sadly, you will not always be aware of these fascinating stories, so that you might pass by these places without recognizing their historic value. This is why a tour with a guide is so much more interesting. A guide can immerse you in the ‘local colour’ of the Westhoek, telling you lots of juicy tales that you might not otherwise hear. What’s more, in his minibus he will often take you to the places where other tourists seldom go - or sometimes are not even allowed!

I For more info: www.greatwarcentenary.be

Best foot forward!

The Westhoek can offer a number of excellent walking routes through pleasing but varied countryside: across fields, up hill, down dale, along the water… If you prefer to follow your own route, the walking network - with its system of interconnected junction points - is just the thing for you. And remember to take a look at the various walking packages on www.greatwarcentenary.be.

By helicopter Everything looks different from the air - and the Westhoek is no exception! Take a trip in a helicopter and enjoy a bird’s-eye view of the region. Helipromotions offers flights over the Flemish hills or along the battlefields and monuments of the First World War. I More info: www.helipromotions.be and www.battlefields.be T. +32 (0)51 50 56 56

By pedal-car If your exploration of the Westhoek finally brings you to the seaside, why not take a spin along the promenade in a pedal-car? Most of the resorts on the West Coast have a wide variety of different types for hire.

And if you prefer to stay in the Westhoek proper, you can always try your luck in Diksmuide. ’Buitenbeentje’ hires pedal-cars which you can use to make various interesting visits (a horse milk dairy, the Oerbier brewery, etc.).

I More info: www.buitenbeentje.be - T. +32 (0)495 57 62 47

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The Westhoek The West Coast

Š map IPS creation, Poperinge

THE MUNICIPALITIES OF THE WESTHOEK

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THE WESTHOEK ALVERINGEM. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 I 92 I 108 I 122 DIKSMUIDE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10 I 61 I 109 I 121 I 123 HEUVELLAND . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11 I 65 I 119 HOOGLEDE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 I 101 I 121 HOUTHULST . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 I 68 I 110 IEPER (YPRES) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13 I 71 I 115 I 119 KOEKELARE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 I 101 KORTEMARK. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16 LANGEMARK-POELKAPELLE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17 I 80 I 120 LO-RENINGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18 I 93 MESEN (MESSINES) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 I 82 POPERINGE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19 I 94 I 114 STADEN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20 I 104 VEURNE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21 I 97 I 111 I 119 VLETEREN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22 I 100 I 111 I 116 WERVIK . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 I 105 ZONNEBEKE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23 I 88 I 112

THE COAST DE PANNE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 I 93 I 109 MIDDELKERKE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 I 103 NIEUWPOORT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27 I 85 I 111 OOSTENDE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104

FLANDERS LYS VALLEY MENEN . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 103 I 121 WAREGEM . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 56 PLUGSTREET . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 116 Every care has been taken to ensure the utmost accuracy of all the information published in this guide at the time of going to press. The publisher hereby expressly declines all liability for any errors that may be included in this information, such as addresses, phone numbers, opening hours, and any consequences issuing therefrom. Š 2015 All rights reserved. Nothing contained in this publication may be reproduced, stored in automated data files, or made public in any way, shape or form, be it electronically, mechanically, by way of photocopies, recordings or any other manner, without prior written consent from the publisher. All texts and photographs remain the exclusive property of the publisher.

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THE MUNICIPALITIES OF THE WESTHOEK Each municipality consists of a central town or large village, surrounded by a number of smaller, satellite villages.

ALVERINGEM Under the protective wing of ’mother’ Alveringem, nestle 8 charming villages, each prettier than the last. The River IJzer meanders gently through the now peaceful landscape. Nowhere is the meaninglessness of man-made boundaries more evident than here in Alveringem: if you are not careful, before you know it you will be across the border into neighbouring France!

Alveringem is rightly proud of Brewery ’de Snoek’. This old brewery was already providing ’refreshments’ to thirsty troops during the First World War. The restored malting house still contains the original copper vats which - thankfully - the invading Germans were unable to ’liberate’!

Museum of Thirst: Malt and Brewing House ’de Snoek’ www.desnoek.be infomuseum@desnoek.be - bezoek@desnoek.be T. +32 (0)58 28 96 74 Fortem 40 - 8690 Alveringem See under WWI on page 92

DIKSMUIDE Diksmuide owes its name and fame to the medieval cloth industry and its delicious butter. The town was reduced to rubble during the First World War. It was the scene of a famous battle in 1914 - the Battle of the IJzer - when French and Belgian troops finally stopped the German advance, but at a dreadful price. The old town centre was rebuilt completely after the Armistice. The famous IJzer Tower (with its museum) and the equally well-known Trench of Death (a preserved stretch of the old Belgian front line) are now the principal reminders of those terrible days.

But there is more! Did you know... that a 16thcentury chronicle records that Archbishop Thomas Beckett (died 1170) once stayed in Diksmuide, during his period in exile from the wrath of King Henry II of England?

Tradition says that in gratitude he donated a chalice and a chasuble to the parish, and he was believed to have lodged in the corner house of the beguinage, where the Kleine Dijk (Small Dyke) now meets the present-day Begijnhofstraat. Did it really happen? Or is it just another

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historical myth? Whatever the truth of the matter, the corner house is still known by the name ’Thomas of Canterbury’ and a small statue of the saint graces a niche in the façade of No.17!

Beguinage The only beguinage in the Westhoek which dates from the 13th century, although it was extensively rebuilt after the war.

Brewery ‘De Dolle Brouwers’ in Esen See under ’Beers and Breweries’ on page 31 The Yserstar Boat trips on the River IJzer, starting from Nieuwpoort and also running on from Diksmuide to Ypres.

T. +32 (0)58 23 24 25 Helipromotions Battlefield tours by helicopter www.helipromotions.be - www.battlefields.be T. +32 (0)51 50 56 00 Kleine Dries 17 - 8600 Diksmuide Museum on the Yser See under WWI on page 61 The Trench of Death See under WWI on page 63 German Military Cemetery in Vladslo See under WWI on page 121

HEUVELLAND Did you know that... during the 16th century the cloth trade - on which the region’s prosperity was based - went into serious decline?

Poverty and unemployment increased, offering a fertile breeding ground for the new religion of Protestantism. The Catholic pope in Rome branded the ’new-believers’ as heretics. Many people from Heuvelland fled the country to escape persecution and some eventually found their way to Sandwich and Norwich in England.

Did you also know that one of the first-ever scouts was killed near Kemmel during the First World War and now lies buried in the village

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churchyard? His name? Second Lieutenant Musgrave Cazenove Wroughton. Wroughton was one of the 20 young boys who BadenPowell took on the first-ever scouts camp to Bronwsea Island in 1907.

But Heuvelland (land of hills), as the name in Dutch suggests, is most well-known for its green and hilly landscape. These hills are known locally as ’mountains’, even though the highest of them - the Kemmelberg or Mount Kemmel - is just 156 metres above sea level. Some traditions claim that this is the hill where the ’Grand Old Duke of York’ marched his 10,000 men up and down, as immortalised in a well-known British nursery rhyme.

Heuvelland Tourist Office See under WWI on page 65

Dranouter Folk Experience in Dranouter An interactive museum about folk music in Flanders and the world. www.dranoutercentrum.be T. +32 (0)57 44 69 33 Dikkebusstraat 234 - 8951 Dranouter Aerial cable-car ’Cordoba’ in Westouter Every day during the summer holidays and during weekend (weather permitting). johan.gheysens@skynet.be T. 32 (0)57 44 60 35 Rodebergstraat 75 - 8954 Westouter Command Bunker Kemmelberg A silent witness from the Cold War era.

Information: Heuvelland Tourist Office in Kemmel. toerisme@heuvelland.be T. +32 (0)57 45 04 55 Bayernwald in Wijtschate German trenches, see WWI on page 66

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HOOGLEDE Hooglede and Gits did not emerge unscathed from the First World War. For both villages, the German occupation was a period of relative calm. Even so, they were still in the ’Etappengebiet’ (Reserve Zone) and therefore close to the front. Many wounded soldiers were brought here for medical care. Some of them never recovered and are now buried in the ’Soldatenfriedhof’ (military cemetery). During the Liberation Offensive in September 1918, both villages were badly damaged.

HOUTHULST Houthulst once had a large forest of more than 4,000 hectares.

Today, there are just 350 hectares left. During the First World War, the Germans transformed the forest into an impregnable fortress. During the final Liberation Offensive in September 1918, this bastion was stormed by the Belgian Army. By then, all that was left of the once-proud forest was a few shattered tree trunks. The Belgian military cemetery at Houthulst contains the graves of almost 2,000 soldiers who died in the liberation of the Vrijbos (as the wood is known locally). Amongst other reminders of the war years are the Drie Grachten (Three Canals) Post in Merkem and the Peace Windmill in Klerken. This mill served as a German lookout post between 1914 and 1918. On the canal at the Drie Grachten, there is an ecological visitors’ centre on board the longboat ’de BOOT’.

Vrijbos (forest open to the public) For a healthy, invigorating walk. Open from sunrise to sunset.

E. De Grootelaan - 8650 Houthulst Belgian Military Cemetery See under WWI on page 110

IEPER (YPRES) Ypres is a city which needs no introduction in the English-speaking world. Its name will forever be associated with the sacrifice of Great Britain and her Empire during the First World War. The In Flanders Fields Museum, the Menin Gate, the Last Post, St. George’s Memorial Church: the average Englishman still knows more about Ieper than the average Belgian. Ieper is the Flemish name for the city. The more widely-known name of Ypres is the French spelling - and this is the spelling which was generally used on the military maps of the region at the beginning of the 20th century.

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But did you know… that during the Middle Ages Ypres was also a famous centre of the international cloth trade? It was the third most important city in Flanders (after Ghent and Bruges) and during the 14th century had a population larger than London! Its wealth was reflected in the construction of the magnificent Gothic Cloth Hall, with its sturdy belfry.

The people of Ypres were on good terms with the English crown, since England was the main source of the wool which was so vital to the city’s cloth trade. This sometimes led to political problems, because Ypres was nominally under the control of the Count of Flanders, and the count was a vassal of the French king - who was the sworn enemy of the English!

Ypres still possesses large parts of its original ramparts, built in the 17th century by Sébastien Vauban, master-fortress builder to King Louis XIV of France - the Sun King.

Nowadays, Ypres is a fun city - as testified, for example, by its colourful Cats Festival (next scheduled for 10 May 2015).

Absolutely not to be missed!

Belle Almshouse Museum A fine collection of paintings and furniture, dating from the 14th-16th centuries. Open from 10.00 to 12.30 and from 14.00 to 18.00.

Closed on Mondays and from 1 November until 31 March.

Education Museum An overview of educational history in Ieper and Flanders.

Open daily from 10.00 to 12.30 and from 14.00 to 17.00 (18.00 from 1 April to 31 October). Closed on Mondays.

Municipal Museum The history of Ypres as told through paintings, prints and engravings.

Also with an overview of the city’s military fortifications.

Same hours of opening as the Education Museum.

The medieval glory of a peace town This 5.3 km heritage walking route is signposted by metal signs set in the pavement. Brochure available.

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Tour of the Ramparts on foot A 2.6 km long cultural and historic circuit, complete with information panels.

Merghelynck Museum Marvel at the lifestyle of the aristocracy at the end of the 18th century.

Closed in 2015 for a full renovation.

Palingbeek Provincial Domain With its visitors’ centre and the Astro-lab Iris.

T. +32 (0)57 23 08 40 Golf and Country Club De Palingbeek 18 hole course www.golfpalingbeek.com golfpalingbeek@skynet.be T. +32 (0)57 20 04 36 Eekhofstraat 14 - 8902 Hollebeke Bellewaerde A theme park for children (and adults!) www.bellewaerde.be - T. +32 (0)57 46 86 86 In Flanders Fields Museum See WWI on page 72 St. George’s Memorial Church See WWI on page 75 Menin Gate See WWI on page 73 Last Post See WWI on page 74

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KOEKELARE Koekelare is a forward-thinking village, but with a strong sense of tradition. The ’Fransmans’ (Frenchies) Museum recalls the seasonal labour of yesteryear, when many local people ’migrated’ annually to Northern France to do temporary work in the agricultural industry: harvesting beets, cutting hops, working in the oast-mills, etc. Next door is the Käthe Kollwitz Museum. Here you will learn about Käthe Kollwitz, her son and her work. Käthe Kollwitz is best-known in Flanders for her statue of ‘The Grieving Parents’, a masterpiece that graces the German military cemetery at Vladslo (Diksmuide).

The Old Brewery site with > the Brewery, now a tourist and cultural centre; > the ’Frenchies’ Museum, which tells the story of the seasonal labourers who trekked each year to France to work on the land; > the Käthe Kollwitz Museum, see WWI on page 101.

The Lange Max Museum See WWI on page 102

KORTEMARK Kortemark is the village of windmills. Four splendid mills dominate the landscape, serving as beacons for miles around. It is also a very old village. The archaeological museum in the neighbouring hamlet of Werken details the history of the district from the Bronze Age to the Middle Ages.

Archaeological site and museum in Werken Gives an overview of all archaeological finds in the area.

Open from Wednesday until Sunday between 1 April and 30 November, from 14.00 to 17.00.

T. +32 (0)51 56 61 08 Vladslostraat 9 - 8610 Werken The Kruisstraat Mill in Werken Open every second Sunday of the month from April until September, from 14.00 to 18.00.

Steenstraat - 8610 Werken The Kouter Mill in Kortemark No visits possible.

Koutermolenstraat - 8610 Kortemark

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The Couchez Mill and Mill Museum in Zarren Open every Sunday from April until September, from 14.00 to 18.00.

Zarrenlindestraat - 8610 Zarren The Wullepit Mill Open every first Sunday of the month from April until September, from 14.00 to 18.00. Molenstraat - 8610 Zarren

LANGEMARK-POELKAPELLE This twin village is inextricably linked with the events of the First World War. In particular, the name of Langemark recalls a dark page in the annals of German history. It was here that the so-called ’Massacre of the Innocents’ (the decimation of the student battalions of 1914) took place and it is here that the sombre but imposing German military cemetery, with its 44,000 burials, now stands. On the other side of the village, near Cement House Cemetery, a memorial was unveiled on 27 September 2007 by the late Harry Patch, the last surviving veteran of the Great War. The memorial marks the spot where he crossed the Steenbeek stream during the Battle of Passendale in 1917. A further monument in the centre of Poelkapelle commemorates the French air-ace Georges Guynemer (53 victories), who disappeared in the skies above the village on 11 September 1917. His body was never found. At the same place, you can find the Ypres Salient Tank Memorial, which commemorates the tank crews who died here during the First World War. Beeuwsaertmolen Served as an observation post in the early months of the First World War. It was completely destroyed during the first gas attack in 1915, but was rebuilt after the war with parts of two other mills. Open every first Sunday of the month, from 13.00 to 17.00.

Pilkemstraat - 8920 Bikschote German Military Cemetery See WWI on page 120 Guynemer Monument in Poelkapelle See WWI on page 80 Harry Patch Memorial Stone See WWI on page 57 The Brooding Soldier See WWI on page 80

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LO-RENINGE Lo is a small town dating from the Middle Ages, which still boasts one of its original city gates. Next to this gate stands an ancient yew tree, where - according to tradition - the Roman general Julius Caesar once tied his horse! Did you know that… the church in Lo contains the lead coffin and mortal remains of William of Lo? William is better known in history - at least, in British history - as William of Ypres, the self-styled Count of Flanders. William tried to seize power in Flanders during a failed coup in 1127. As a result, he was banished to England, where he took enthusiastic part in the civil wars of 1139-1154 between King Stephen and the Empress Matilda. William was one of Stephen’s chief lieutenants and commanded a large contingent of Flemish soldiers in his service. Finally elevated to the nobility by the grateful king, in later life Count William was responsible for the founding of the Cistercian abbey at Boxley.

Lauka Visitors’ Centre and Tourist Office Open Monday to Saturday from 09.30 to 12.00 and from 13.00 to 17.00. On Fridays until 16.00.

Also open the same hours on Sundays in July and August.

Destrooper Visitors’ Centre See WWI on page 93

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MESEN (MESSINES) Mesen - better known in English as Messines - is the smallest town in Belgium and stands on the language frontier between Dutch-speaking Flanders and French-speaking Wallonia. Mesen has a special place in the history of the Irish people. The Peace Tower is a symbol of the cooperation between two Irish divisions - the 16th Division from Catholic Eire and the 36th Division from Protestant Ulster - who fought side by side during the famous Mine Battle 7 June 1917. The tower is therefore a symbol of reconciliation for the past, the present and the future.

Mesen is also twinned with the New Zealand town of Featherstone.

Troops of the New Zealand Division - men who had literally come from the other side of the world - also fought here in 1917.

St. Nicolas Church and crypt This church, rebuilt after the First World War, is all that remains of the Royal Institute of Messines, founded by Adela of France (mother of Queen Mathilda of England, wife of William the Conqueror) in 1057.

It is believed that Adolf Hilter was treated for wounds in the crypt (which is original) in 1914. Open Monday to Friday from 09.00 to 17.00.

T. +32 (0)57 22 17 14 Ireland Peace Park See WWI on page 82

POPERINGE Poperinge is the main centre of hop cultivation in Belgium. To celebrate this fact, the town holds a colourful triennial Hop Parade. During the First World War the town was immediately behind the front lines: a place of camps and hospitals, where the soldiers came to rest or heal their wounds. Talbot House - the famous wartime soldiers’ club can still be visited. More than 9.500 Commonwealth servicemen found their last resting place in Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery, just outside the town. The interpretation centre tells the story of the cemetery and the evacuation hospital that led to its creation.

But did you know that… Sir Thopas, mentioned in Geoffrey Chaucer’s famous ’Canterbury Tales’ (1388), was actually born in Poperinge?

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And did you know that… a Kentish farmer by the name of Reynolde Scott once spied on the hops fields and oast-houses around Poperinge, in order to improve techniques back in England? In 1574 he even published a manual called ’A Perfect Hoppe Garden’, based on expertise he had acquired in Flanders.

You almost certainly didn’t know that… Princess Diana’s great-grandmother was born in Reningelst, a village just outside Poperinge. The Bulteels were a local family, who in the 16th century were forced to flee to England as religious refugees. Louisa Emily Charlotte Bulteel (1828-1897), daughter of John Crocker Bulteel of Flete and Lyneham, married Edward Baring, who was then Director of the Bank of England.

Her daughter, Margaret, married Charles Spencer, great-grandfather of Lady Diana Spencer, the late Princess of Wales.

Hop Museum Everything you ever wanted to know about hops and their history and Belgian beers.

Open from 1 March until 30 November.

Open daily (except on Mondays) from 10.00 until 18.00. www.hopmuseum.be T. +32 (0)57 33 79 22 Gasthuisstraat 71 - 8970 Poperinge Talbot House See WWI on page 94 Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery See WWI on page 114

STADEN Did you know that… the British pilot Peter James Nankivell is buried in the civil cemetery in Staden?

Born in 1920, Flight-Lieutenant Nankivell was a fighter pilot in the British Royal Air Force. On Sunday, 7 February 1943 he took off from RAF Manston in a Hawker Typhoon of 609 Squadron for a mission over occupied Europe. At 14.15 hours he was intercepted above the Kortemark-Ypres railway by a German Fokker Wulf 190. After a short dog-fight, Nankivell was shot down, his plane crashing into the meadow of the Muyssen-Courtens farmstead.

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VEURNE Veurne is an old and elegant town, with a unique market square.

The famous British war correspondent, Philip Gibbs, noted in his book ’The Soul of the War’ (1915): ’The town of Furnes, in Belgium, into which I came when dusk crept into its streets and squares, was the headquarters of King Albert and his staff and its people could hear all day long the roll of guns a few kilometres away, where the remnant of their army held the line of the Yser canal and the trenches which barred the roads to Dixmude, Pervyse and other little towns and villages on the last free patch of Belgian soil.

I drove into the Grande Place and saw the beauty of this old Flemish square, typical of a hundred others no less quaint and with no less dignity, which had been smashed to pieces by German guns. Three great buildings dominated its architecture - the Town Hall, with a fine stately façade and two ancient churches with massive brick towers, over-shadowing the narrow old houses and timber-front shops with stepped gables and wrought-iron signs...’

In contrast to many other front towns, Veurne was little damaged during the war and still possesses a magnificent architectural heritage. It is also well-known for its Penitents’ Procession, which takes place on the last Sunday in July. ’The Free Fatherland, Living Behind the Front’ Experience Centre in the Town Hall and former Court of Justice See WWI on page 97 Bakery Museum Open from Monday to Thursday, from 10.00 to 17.00; and on Saturday and Sunday and public holidays from 14.00 to 17.00.

Closed on Fridays and in December and January Also open on Fridays in July and August. www.bakkerijmuseum.be - T. +32 (0)58 31 38 97 Albert I-laan 2 - 8630 Veurne Beauvoorde Castle A castle dating from the 19th century, with a fine collection of neo-Gothic furniture. Open from 1 April to 31 October, Wednesday: 2 - 5 p.m., Satur-, Sundays and public holidays: 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.. Easter and Autumn holidays: Wednesday to Sunday 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.. From 1 July to 31 August, Wednesday to Sunday 10 a.m. - 5 p.m.. www.kasteelbeauvoorde.be

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VLETEREN Vleteren is a beer village par excellence. Westvleteren is home to the famous Abbey of St. Sixtus, which brews a series of ’trappist’ ales (6°, 8° and 12°!) which in their time have been voted as the best beer in the world. The ’Struise Brouwers’ in neighbouring Oostvleteren have also been honoured as being amongst the world’s best brewers.

Their real imperial stouts, such as ’Black Albert’, are highly prized by beer aficionados.

But did you know… that during the retreat to Dunkirk in May 1940, the British General (later Field Marshall) Sir Bernard Montgomery entrusted his travelling trunk to the monks at the abbey of St. Sixtus? The monks even buried the trunk when a German officer later became suspicious.

After the liberation of Belgium in 1944, ’Monty’ had his trunk sent for.

Claustrum and abbey The abbey of Sint-Sixtus does not allow visits. Across the road from the abbey stands ’In de Vrede’, where you can sample (and, if you are lucky, sometimes buy) the famous ’trappist’ beer.

The adjoining Claustrum is a small museum which tells something about the life and work of the monks. ’In de Vrede’ and the ’Claustrum’ are open from 10.00. Closed on Thursdays and Fridays. Open on Thursdays in July and August. www.sintsixtus.be T. +32 (0)57 40 18 84 www.indevrede.be T. +32 (0)57 40 03 77 Donkerstraat 13 - 8640 Westvleteren Brewery ’De Struise Brouwers’ See Beers and Breweries on page 29 I National Tobacco Museum.

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WERVIK Wervik is one of the oldest towns in Belgium and was known to the Romans, who called it Viroviacum. It was a staging post on the great Roman road from Bavay to Cassel. During the First World War, the town was occupied by the German Army for four years. Wervik was for the Germans what Poperinge was for the British: a place to rest, close behind the lines. However, the town’s greatest claim to fame lies in a very different direction: tobacco! Wervik tobacco was once famed for its strength, although there are only a very few tobacco fields now remaining. Happily, the story of the industry’s past has been preserved in the Tobacco Museum, which also charts the history of smoking.

National Tobacco Museum See WWI on page 106

ZONNEBEKE The name Zonnebeke probably rings very few bells in British ears, but almost everyone has heard of its neighbouring village: Passendale or Passchendaele (old spelling). The château of Zonnebeke now houses the impressive ‘Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917’. Not far away, cresting the ridge which separates the two villages, stands Tyne Cot Cemetery - the largest Commonwealth military cemetery in the world.

It was here in 1917 that the British Army fought for 4 long months in a desperate bid to break the German line. They advanced just 8 kilometres at a cost of almost 400,000 killed, wounded and missing. Little wonder that the village was known to the troops as ’Passion Dale’ - the Valley of Suffering. Like most villages in the region, Passendale was rebuilt after the armistice and is now well-known for its cheese. A Cheese Museum highlights the development of this new industry. The neighbouring village of Beselare is more concerned with witchcraft than with cheese, and every two years organises a ’spine-chilling’ Witches’ Pageant.

The Old Cheese Factory Everything you need to know about cheese and cheese making. Cheese products are on sale in the adjoining cafeteria. Open daily from 1 March to 11 November, from 10.00 to 17.00.

Closed on Mondays. From May to September open daily from 10.00 to 17.00. On Mondays open from 14.00 to 17.00. From November to February open during weekends from 10.00 to 17.00. The museum is always open for groups with a prior reservation (min. 15 persons). www.deoudekaasmakerij.be info@deoudekaasmakerij.be - T. +32(0)51 77 70 05 ’s Graventafelstraat 48a - 8980 Passendale

1

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Memorial Museum ’Passchendaele 1917’ See WWI on page 88 Cryer Farm See WWI on page 89 Crest Farm Canadian Memorial See WWI on page 89 Polygon Wood See WWI on page 90 German command post bunker See WWI on page 89 Tyne Cot Cemetery See WWI on page 112

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SPENDING THE NIGHT IN FLANDERS FIELDS COUNTRY Most hotels are located in the region’s historic towns and cities, and make a great base for a weekend away. The accommodation meets the high standards expected by today’s visitors and sometimes offers surprising extras, such as wellness facilities, a gastronomic restaurant, bike hire, etc. But the region also has a large number of guest houses and B&B’s. They offer a warm welcome and a personal approach in a wide variety of different settings: from trendy contemporary to romantic-classic, and from urban chic to rustic charm. The choice is yours! Families with children or larger groups may prefer to hire a holiday home, relaxing in comfort and doing their own thing, surrounded by the greenery of the Westhoek’s spectacular countryside.

And for the more adventurous souls there are plenty of camping sites and trekker’s huts. In short, the Westhoek is an ideal holiday destination for residential tourists. It really does have something for everyone!

Westhoek esthoek Discount Pass If you stay for a minimum of two nights in one of 100 selected accommodation options in the Westhoek, you will be eligible for a free Westhoek Bonus Pass.

This Bonus Pass offers you personal discounts of more than € 65. mostly in the shape of reduced admission to many of the region’s top museums and attractions. This free pass is valid from the date of your arrival until the following January.

For your choice of overnight accommodation: please see www.greatwarcentenary.be

Westhoekvoordeelpas 2015

Carte avantage - Discoun t Pass - Gästekarte

jouw voordeel

€65

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THE WEST COAST: FROM DE PANNE TO MIDDELKERKE The Westhoek is within easy cycling distance of the North Sea coast. The section of shoreline between De Panne in the west and Middelkerke in the east is known as the (Belgian) West Coast - a succession of pleasant seaside towns and coastal villages.

Each of these resorts has its own ’speciality’, but they all offer sand, sea and sun. The West Coast is a perfect base from which to explore the Westhoek - and the reverse is also true! Whether you prefer De Panne, Nieuwpoort, Westende or Middelkerke... the North Sea coast is a great place to stay at any time of year!

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DE PANNE De Panne boasts the widest beach on the Belgian coast - ideal for sand-yachting and beach surfing. The houses in the Dumont quarter (many of which are listed buildings) were built in the cottage style typical of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. De Panne also has a large stretch of sand dunes, which includes the Houtsaegher dunes, the Oosthoek domain and the Westhoek nature reserve.

The renovated Leopold I Esplanade commemorates the arrival of Belgium’s first king on Belgian soil in 1831.

NIEUWPOORT Nieuwpoort is the Monte Carlo of the Belgian coast. Its yachting marina is the largest in Northern Europe, with more than 2,000 berths. The port also has its own small fishing fleet and fish market. The River IJzer reaches the sea at Nieuwpoort, via a complex of locks known as the ’Ganzenpoot’ (The Goose’s Foot). In 1914 these locks were opened to flood the IJzer plain, thereby preventing any further German advance. Nearby stands a monument to King Albert I, who commanded the Belgian Army during the First World War.

MIDDELKERKE-WESTENDE This twin coastal resort offers a good mix of everything that families need for a really great seaside holiday. The casino in Middelkerke, built in the Normandy style, is one of the top nightspots on the Belgian North Sea shoreline. At Villa ’Les Zephyrs’ you can discover how families spent their holidays back in the 1930s. The ’Dronkenput’ (literally, the Drunkard’s Pit) was a cistern constructed at the end of the 19th century to collect drinking water.

The 213 ton tank was pushed upwards by rising ground water.

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WEST COAST: EVENTS 2015 APRIL 31/03-02/04 Three-day international cycle race...................... De Panne 25-26/04 ’Festival Aan Zee’ musical festival ...................... De Panne

MAY 23-25/05

Fish weekend .................................................... Nieuwpoort

JUNE 13-14/06 20-21/06

Fish weekend ................................................... Middelkerke Beer weekend .................................................. Middelkerke

JULY 16/07

Leopold Festival ................................................... De Panne

AUGUST 3/08

Animal Festival ..................................................... De Panne

SEPTEMBER 18-20/09 19-20/09

Belle Epoque Weekend .................................... Nieuwpoort Agricultural weekend ....................................... Middelkerke

NOVEMBER 6-8/11 29/11

Champagne weekend ..................................... Middelkerke ’Beach Endurance’ mountainbike event ............. De Panne

Weekly Market Days Thursday: Middelkerke Friday: Nieuwpoort Saterday: De Panne, Middelkerke (farmers market)

West Coast: Tourist information DE PANNE Zeelaan 21 8660 De Panne T. +32 (0)58 42 18 18 toerisme@depanne.be www.depanne.be

High-season office - Westende H. Jasparlaan 173 8434 Westende T. +32 (0)59 31 91 28 info.westende@middelkerke.be www.middelkerke.be

MIDDELKERKE/WESTENDE J. Casselaan 4 8430 Middelkerke T. +32 (0)59 30 03 68 toerisme@middelkerke.be www.middelkerke.be

NIEUWPOORT Marktplein 7, 8620 Nieuwpoort T. +32 (0)58 22 44 44 Hendrikaplein 11, 8620 Nieuwpoort T. +32 (0)58 23 39 23 info@nieuwpoort.be www.nieuwpoort.be

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BEERS AND BREWERIES The Westhoek is a veritable paradise for beer-lovers, offering a wide variety of different local ales, many brewed in the traditional manner. The delicious ’trappist’ beers from Westvleteren are perhaps the best-known, but there are plenty of others to choose from - and all of them are worth a try!

Traditionally-Brewed Beers in the Westhoek Trappist from Westvleteren The abbey at Westvleteren has been brewing its famous ales for as long as anyone can remember. In 2014 the abbey’s ’trappist’ beer was chosen as ’the best beer in the world’ (a claim that those who have tasted it would not dispute!).

The sale of the abbey’s beer is big business, but the available supply is quickly exhausted.

Why? Because the monks brew to live: they do not live to brew! Production is deliberately limited to around 5,000 hectolitres each year, and there are no plans to increase this figure. This means that the beer is always in short supply.

If you want to try it, you can only order it by telephone via the abbey’s ’beer-line’.

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Demand is so great that it can often take half an hour or more before you finally get through. But keep on trying: it’s well worth the wait in the end! Usually, you have to accept whatever type of beer is available at the time, and you collect it by appointment at the abbey gates.

If this is all too much trouble, you can always try a ’trappist’ at the ’In de Vrede’ meeting centre, which stands just across the road from the main abbey buildings. This meeting centre - which in reality is little more than a large café - also houses the Claustrum, a small but modern museum about the abbey’s history and the life of the monks.

The real abbey beer from Westvleteren has no label on the bottle. The different types are distinguished by the different colours of the bottle tops - and by the taste! Cheers!

I www.indevrede.be - www.sintsixtus.be Beer-line T. +32 (0)70 21 00 45 In days gone by, the Sint-Bernardus Brewery in Watou brewed beer for the monks in Westvleteren under license, but this arrangement has long since ceased. Nowadays, they brew their own selection of fine ales: Sint-Bernardus Triple, Sint-Bernardus Abt, Sint-Bernardus Prior, etc. The brewery has been expanding over the last few years. A hop field right next to the brewery, a new warehouse, new offices and a tasting room have been added to the brewery site. Tours are possible during the week or in the weekend, individually or in a group. The brewery is located at Trappistenweg 23 in 8978 Watou (near Poperinge) I T. +32 (0)57 38 80 21 - www.sintbernardus.be The Van Eecke-Leroy Brewery brews the famous Poperinge Hommelbier (hop beer), Watou white beer and Kapittel. The brewery can be visited on appointment only (min. 10 persons) on Tuesdays, Wednedsay afternoons and Saturday mornings.

The brewery is located at Douvieweg 2 in 8978 Watou (near Poperinge) I T. +32 (0)57 38 80 30 www.brouwerijvaneecke.be

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The ’Dolle Brouwers’ Brewery (the name literally means ’Barmy Brewers’) is located in the village of Esen (Roeselarestraat 12b), near Diksmuide. Master-brewer Chris Herteleer has created some excellent beers, including Oerbier, Arabier, Stille Nacht (a Christmas ale), Boskeun, etc. The brewery in Esen can be visited on appointment by groups of minimum 30 people (also during the week). Smaller groups or individuals are welcome on Sunday afternoon at 2 p.m. The guided tour takes one hour, without the tasting in the bar and costs € 4.50 ,including an Oerbier.

I T. +32 (0)51 50 27 81 www.dedollebrouwers.be The brewery of ’De Struise Brouwers’ is in Oostvleteren (Vleteren).

These amateur experts - this time the name means the ’Beefy Brewers’ - were voted in 2008 as ’the best brewers in the world’ by an American internet poll in which no fewer than 6,000 other brewers took part. Their most well-known brews are the legendary Black Albert (a dark stout), Pannepot and Kloeke Blonde. ’De Struise Brouwers’ is a relatively small-scale operation and 90% of their production is exported, mainly to America and Scandinavia. Happily, the remaining 10% is available for domestic consumption. Guided tours, beer tastings and beer seminars can all be arranged by appointment. The address is Kasteelstraat 50 in Oostvleteren.

I T. +32 (0)495 28 86 23 - struisesales@gmail.com www.struisebrouwers.be The Plukker is a brewery that only uses hops from Poperinge in their organic beer. This blond beer is called Keikop, has high fermentation and is brewed with three varieties of hop. A ‘keikop’ (pig-headed person) is the nickname given to the people of Poperinge. This nickname was coined in the Middle Ages and refers to the stubbornness shown by the city in its ‘cloth war’ with neighbouring Ieper. The brewery is open on Saturday afternoon from 14.00 until 17.00 for direct sales. Guided tours are also possible.

I Elverdingseweg 16 - 8970 Poperinge www.plukker.be

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Since September 2013 the brewery ‘De Kazematten’ is installed in the bastion of the city wall at the Houten Paard. The new beers Wipers Times 14 and Wipers Times 18 are being brewed here. One can visit the brewery as a group, by reservation only, and of course taste the beers afterwards. Individually, you can join a guided visit on Saturday afternoon between 3 and 5 pm.

I Info and reservation: info@kazematten.be - +32 (57) 38 80 21 The seasonal brewery ‘Vandewalle’ in Lo-Reninge is a young company that can build on its strong family tradition from back in the 18th century; 1756 to be more specific. After being out of business for a while, the seasonal brewery with its brewer Chris Vandewalle continues its long tradition. The remarkable regional materials, the exquisite expertise and skilled labour, nature’s influence, time and an extensive historical past give shape to the creation of the beers in the well-known Westhoek region. Production, typical thinning (‘Oud Bruin’) and creation of high fermented cherry-infused beer all take place in this small peculiar brewery. Exquisite regional materials, such as the hop from Poperinge, are used. Visits are possible by reservation.

I Zwartestraat 43 - 8647 Lo-Reninge (Reninge) Info and reservation: info@seizoensbrouwerij.be www.seizoensbrouwerij.be Beer and Hop Festival September 2017 The triennial hop & beer festival takes place every 3rd weekend of September (2011, 2014....). Among the guests invited are delegations from our twinned towns; there are live performances and beer galore in a huge marquee (one would think himself in the Munich beer fest), a new hop queen is elected and a whirling, colourful parade winds through the city centre on Sunday.

Don’t miss the next edition 16 - 17 September 2017.

The Poperinge Beer Festival 24-25 October 2015 A chance to sample the wares of the region’s breweries.

Beers of character, brewed with skill and passion.

T. +32 (0)57 34 66 76

Many towns and villages in the Westhoek have their own local beers: Alveringem has Snoekbier, Ypres has Ypra and Yperman, Koekelare has Couckelaerschen Doedel, Poperinge has Hommelbier and Nunnebier, Veurne has Sporkinbier, Boeteling and Slapersbier, Wervik has Moriaenbier, Mesen has Mesenaere, Beselare (Zonnebeke) has

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Heksenbier Lo-Reninge has Renige Bitter Blond and Reninge Oud Bruin and (last, but not least) Diksmuide has Papegaei.

Why not give them a try?

Every cafe in the Westhoek - big or small, with sun terrace or without serves a good range of Belgian beers. Ordinary ’pils’ (a light, lager-like beer of low fermentation) can be found just about everywhere, but the beer card is usually supplemented with a selection of traditional ales (usually of much higher fermentation). Many of these traditional beers are also local beers, brewed in the region. But be warned: they are probably stronger than what you are used to!

Most British visitors stick to ordinary ’pils’, which they like to drink in large, half-litre glasses. Local beer drinkers prefer the smaller 25 cl. glass. This has the advantage of keeping the beer cooler and the taste fresher. During the warm summer months, beer in a larger glass has more time to become warm, weak and wishy-washy. And who wants to drink wishy-washy beer?

Vineyards and wines And just so our oenophile friends do not feel left out, it is also worth mentioning that the Westhoek produces some very fine wines.

In particular, the vineyards in Heuvelland are highly regarded by connoisseurs.

Monteberg Vineyard Guided tours for groups of 20 persons or more are possible. Reservation required. The tour will tell you everything you want to know about growing vines and making wine. After tasting two different types of wine, you can watch a short film that explains the production process.

I Smijtersstraat 4A - 8951 Dranouter T. +32 (0)479 64 72 30 - info@monteberg.be Open from Monday to Saturday 10.00 to 12.00 and 14.00 to 17.00.

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Entre-Deux-Monts Vineyard Guided tours for groups of 15 persons or more. Different types of tours are possible. Reservation required. After a short walk through the vines, you will be given a presentation about the techniques of wine-making.

The visit ends with a tasting of two of the vineyard’s fine wines.

I Rodebergstraat 69A - 8954 Dranouter T. +32 (0)496 99 18 29 - info@entre-deux-monts.be

Vidaigne Vineyard This vineyard specialises in organic and dynamic winegrowing, without the use of insecticide, pesticide, herbicide or chemicals.

There are only healthy grapes in the Vidaigne.

Guided tours through the garden and the vines, including two tastings, are possible. Reservation required.

I Soldatenstraat 1 - 8954 Westouter T. +32 (0)57 20 41 72 - herman.schotte@telenet.be Find out many more on: www.greatwarcentenary.be/experience/vineyards Discover the wines from Heuvelland on the annual Wine Festival on 15th August in Kemmel (Heuvelland).

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Something tasty

No matter where you go in the Westhoek, you will always be able to eat and drink in style.

Gastronomic cooking in Flanders is largely based on French cuisine, yet always with a unique Flemish twist. Flanders can boast a number of Michelin-star restaurants, but there are literally hundreds of other places to eat - bistros, taverns, pizzerias - and all of excellent quality. Of course, there are also plenty of delicious regional and seasonal specialities to try, such as potjesvlees (jellied veal, chicken and rabbit) in Veurne, hop shoots in Poperinge (March-April) or mussels and chips in any month with an ’r’ in it. Chips are also a great Belgian speciality - something which our British visitors should appreciate but we eat them with mayonnaise or pickles, and NOT with vinegar!

Visitors with a sweet-tooth should already start planning their next diet now. Flanders is renowned for its confectionary: pancakes, waffles (with or without cream and chocolate), Mazarin tart, almond cakes, gingerbread, farmyard ice-cream, babelutten (a kind of butterscotch sweet, guaranteed to rip out all your fillings)... and this is before we even mention the world-famous Belgian chocolates! In most villages, the local baker will make chocolates of his own, but there are also larger specialist shops in the bigger towns. The market square in Ieper, for example, is full of them: talk about being spoilt for choice!

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TOURIST ROUTES

de westhoek

W A N D E L N E T W E R K

Heuvelland

Walking networks

de westhoek

W A N D E L N E T W E R K

Hoppeland

Walkers can devise their own day or week itineraries and can decide for themselves just how many kilometres they want to do. The signposting and routing of the netIeperboog works is based on a series of numbered junction points.

You simply walk from junction to junction or from number to number. At each junction two or more sections IJzervallei of the network cross each other. All you need to do is keep an eye on the junction numbers. The walking networks are signposted in both directions, so that the different sections/junctions can be easily combined to make hundreds of different walks. The junction numbers are shown on rectangular boards, fixed to four-sided posts.

Additional signboards have also been placed between the junctions, so that you can check that you are still going the right way! de westhoek

W A N D E L N E T W E R K

de westhoek

W A N D E L N E T W E R K

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There are four different networks in the region:

The Heuvelland (hill country) walking network This network covers the West Flemish hills and an area of FrenchFlanders just across the border. With its 270 kilometres of low-traffic, unhardened paths is the ideal (and healthy!) way to explore the rolling landscape, the dense woodlands, the magnificent views, the picturesque villages, and the widely praised ‘local charm’ of the delightful Westhoek region.

The Ieper Salient walking network Once you have sampled the cultural, historical and ecological richness of the wooded countryside to the south of Ieper you will never be able to get enough. The Palingbeek provincial park, the Water Meadows and Zillebeke Lake form the heart of this network. Discover the rolling landscape and charming villages of the Westhoek at its finest!

Hoppeland (hop country) walking network This network is centred on the town of Poperinge, surrounded by its unique landscape of hop fields. You will pass through villages where time seems to have stood still: Watou, the border village of Abele and its French counterpart of Houtkerque. The network not only takes you over the border into French-Flanders, but also allows you to connect easily with the IJzer Valley network. Along the way you can enjoy a tasty Hommel beer, a St. Bernardus trappist ale or the world-famous abbey beer of Westvleteren.

IJzer Valley walking network The IJzer Valley walking network guarantees 125 kilometres of walking pleasure, with the River IJzer and its enchanting wetlands as the central focus. You will pass through ancient villages and towns, such as Haringe, Roesbrugge, Beveren, Krombeke, Westvleteren, Oostvleteren, Pollinkhove, Gijverinkhove, Stavele, Elzendamme, Fintele, Lo and Reninge. The network also provides easy connections with the Hoppeland network and other walking networks across the French border.

A map of a walking network costs €6 and can be purchased at the local tourist offices in the Westhoek or ordered from shop.westtoer.be.

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de westhoek de westhoek F I E T S N E T W E R K F I E T S N E T W E R K

Westhoek

Westhoek Noord

Zuid

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1

Cycling network WESTHOEK More than 1,000 kilometres of biking pleasure is within easy reach of cycling fans.

This network can be ridden in both directions and the signposting is based on the junction system, which has already been such a success in other parts of Flanders. Cyclists can plan their preferred route in advance, using the two available network maps (one for the north of the Westhoek and another for the south). All you need to do is note the numbers of the junctions you wish to pass. The map also shows the distance in kilometres between junctions. The junction numbers are indicated on rectangular green boards and are supplemented at major crossroads, etc. by a series of ’destination’ signposts. In this way you are guaranteed not to miss any of the sights! Equally important, there will be no shortage of cafes and pubs on your chosen route! Or perhaps you prefer to stop for a deliciously refreshing ice-cream down on the farm...?

The existing cycle circuits, with their familiar hexagonal (six-sided) signboards, will continue to operate. You can find a summary of these circuits elsewhere in this booklet. The network also uses some limited sections of these older circuits. When this happens, you will find rectangular junction boards and hexagonal signboards along the same route.

The Westhoek cycling network offers good connections with the West Coast cycle route and the Brugse Ommeland network. Two detailed maps of the Westhoek routes (North and South) are available at a price of € 6 each. The maps can be purchased from all local tourist offices in the Westhoek. Alternatively, they can be ordered via the website shop. westtoer.be. To mark the 100th anniversary of the Great War, a number of new tourist cycle routes have been developped. See more at p. 126.

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Car See WW1 on page 124

Flanders Fields boating route See WW1 on page 130

WEEKLY MARKET DAYS Flanders has a long tradition of public markets, stretching back to the days of the Middle Ages. Many towns still hold this tradition in honour.

Almost everything is available at these weekly markets: clothing, fish, meat, vegetables, cheese, cd’s, flower and plants, tools and equipment, cakes and sweets‌ They are usually held all year round between 08.00 and 13.00 on the Market Square (where else?) or at some other suitable location near the town centre. Their frequency may sometimes be reduced during the winter months.

Monday: Diksmuide, Tuesday: Koekelare, Wednesday: Langemark, Veurne, Thursday: Lo, Houthulst, Kortemark, Friday: Heuvelland, Poperinge, Wervik, Saturday: Ieper

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EVENTS APRIL 10-12/04

Street theatre festival.................................................... Ieper

MAY 10/05 25/05 25/05 25/05 31/05

Cats parade.................................................................. Ieper Butter and cheese festival .................................. Diksmuide Annual flower market ................................................ Veurne Zoetemarkt ....................................... Kemmel (Heuvelland) (cakes and sweets festival) Local products market ..................................................... Lo

JUNE 7/06 25-27/06

Windmill festival ................................................... Kortemark Geko Ypres Rally .......................................................... Ieper

JULY 11-15/09 26/07 26/07 04/07-30/08

Arts festival ........................................................ Lo-Reninge Penitents’ procession ................................................ Veurne Witches parade ...................................................... Beselare Arts festival ............................................ Watou (Poperinge)

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AUGUST 7-9/08 15/08 30/08

Dranouter festival ............................................... Heuvelland Wine fair ............................................. Kemmel (Heuvelland) Mill procession ........................................................ Vleteren

SEPTEMBER 6/09 19-21/09

The Westhoek’s largest flea market .. Kemmel (Heuvelland) Local products and beer market ........................ Poperinge

OCTOBER 3-4/10 24-25/10

Gallo-Roman weekend.............................................. Wervik ’Beers of Distinction’ weekend ........................... Poperinge

DECEMBER 1/12-4/01

Christmas Market & Ice Rink ................... Ieper / Poperinge

For WW1 events see page 130

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WAR AND PEACE IN THE WESTHOEK The First World War left an indelible imprint on the Westhoek.

In fact, it transformed the region into one of the most thoughtprovoking and inspirational war landscapes in the whole world.

For generations, local farmers have lived and worked in the shadow of the ‘Great War’. In 1914 they watched as their fields were turned into a battleground for one of the most terrible conflicts in human history. And the military cemeteries that still dot these same fields are a sad reminder of the tragic cost of this ‘war to end all wars’. It started exactly 100 years ago, but it still speaks to our imagination and its memory is still fresh.

The Westhoek contains literally hundreds of cemeteries, monuments and war-related sites that have great historical and symbolic significance for many different nations. As a result, each year the Westhoek welcomes hundreds of thousands of visitors from all around the world, many of whom are searching for the relics and mementoes of the First World War. In this way, the story of the war is both local and universal. It belongs to the past and the present.

Our modern society requires ever greater insight into the mechanisms of war and peace. It is essential that today’s generation and the generations of the future should learn from the bitter lessons of the past. The many traces of the First World War in the Westhoek are at the core of a message of peace. Insights into war always lead people along the paths of reconciliation and co-operation. And this is what our world needs.

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The provincial administration of West Flanders has devoted considerable time and effort to the commemoration of the First World War. In 2002 a coordinating body was set up under the name ‘War and Peace in the Westhoek’. The objective was to structure and harmonize the remembrance initiatives that were being developed by many different organizations. This was a provincial initiative, but it was supported and strengthened by local partners in the Westhoek.

In 2009, this provincial network provided the impetus for the creation, in collaboration with Westtoer, of the Programme Secretariat for 100 Years of the Great War. The task of this new body was to organize, facilitate and structure all the various initiatives that were designed to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Great War during the period 2014 to 2018.

The 100 year commemoration period has led to a wave of activity in the Westhoek during recent years. Several museums and First World War sites underwent major renovation work. Some of these sites will open in 2015 ensuring that future visitors can enjoy the very best facilities and an optimal experience.

In addition to this investment in museums and war-related sites, the Province of West Flanders has also opted to invest in the cultural remembrance of the war. Under the name ‘Gone West’, an extensive cultural-artistic programme has been developed. This involves a wide range of projects (music, dance, literature, visual arts, etc.), each of which seeks to remember the events of 100 years ago through its own unique perspective. You can find more information on www.gonewest.be.

The recreational aspects of remembrance have likewise been given careful attention. In 2013-2014 six new car routes were developed.

Between 2014-2017 12 new cycling routes will also follow. This has been done in accordance with the principles of ‘tourism+’, which seeks to unite correct historical information with the concept of respectful remembrance.

Westtoer is fully aware of the importance of our historical heritage. This guide is proof of that fact. It is a guide to the First World War in the Westhoek and, as such it contributes to making the relics of the war more accessible to a wider public and increasing that public’s basic knowledge about the events that gave rise to those relics. This can only be a good thing - for all our futures.

Links: www.greatwarcentenary.be www.gonewest.be

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1914 THE BEGINNING Why war?

100 years after the events, it is still difficult to give a clear and definite answer to this question.

Was it simply a terrible combination of circumstances? How significant was France’s desire for revenge following her defeat and the loss of Alsace-Lorraine during the Franco-Prussian War of 1870? To what extent was the expansion of the German fleet a real thorn in the side of the British? Did the possibility of a British blockade of German ports play a crucial role? Was the spiralling arms race a major factor? What role did colonial rivalry play? And what of the complex arrangement of secret alliances and treaties? Was the all-consuming nationalist sentiment of the age the key influence? Perhaps, in the final analysis, the people of all lands simply thought that ‘it will all sort itself out in the end’…

Sarajevo On 28 June 1914 the heir to the throne of Austria-Hungary, Archduke FranzFerdinand, visited the province of BosniaHerzegovina. His arrival in Sarajevo was awaited by a young Bosnian student named Princip - who, together with a number of nationalist friends, was planning to kill him. A first attempt failed, but a strange twist of fate gave Princip a second chance.

This time the bullets from his Belgian FN pistol killed both the archduke and his wife. This assassination lit a powder keg. Austria-Hungary issued an ultimatum to Serbia, since this country was believed to have supported the Bosnian action. Serbia agreed to all of Vienna’s demands but one. They refused to allow an Austrian commission of enquiry on their territory. Nevertheless, Austria-Hungary used this as a pretext to declare war, but not without first securing the support of Germany. This was quickly followed by other declarations, as the system of mutual alliances and counter-alliances was set in motion. Nobody seemed willing or able to stop the inexorable slide into a European War. The so-called Central Powers were Germany, Austria-Hungary, the

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Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria. They were opposed by the Allies, which included the British Empire, France and Russia, joined later by Italy (1915) and the United States of America (1917). Belgium was originally neutral.

By the end of 1918 thirty-three countries were formally at war with each other, with a combined population of 1.5 billion people. This represents 80% of the total world population at that time. Just twelve countries remained neutral, including the Netherlands.

The ’Schlieffen’ Plan On 4 August 1914, the German army invaded Belgium. They demanded that King Albert grant them free passage through the country, so that they could attack the French from the rear and defeat them first.

Afterwards, they would turn their attention on Russia. The king refused and the famous Schlieffen plan was launched to impose Germany’s military will by force. It was a battle of David against Goliath. Great Britain guaranteed the neutrality of Belgium and declared war on Germany.

The battle of Halen On 12 August 1914 at Halen (in the province of Limburg) the German cavalry attempted to charge a strong Belgian position with naked swords. They were stopped in their tracks by the heavy fire of the defending Belgian infantry. The Germans repeated their attack no fewer than eight times, but always with the same terrible result. Afterwards, more than 400 dead horses were counted on the battlefield. It was proof, if any were needed, that dragoons, hussars, lancers, Uhlans and cuirassiers with all their gaily coloured uniformsnow belonged to the past.

I Belgian soldiers

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The forts of Liege The city of Liege fell quickly into German hands. It was followed on 15 August by the surrender of the last of the 12 forts which guarded the city’s perimeter. The heavy German howitzers (42 cm-calibre, high-trajectory guns, known as ’Big Bertha’s) had done their terrible destructive work.

Louvain… ’Die zivilisten haben geschossen’ Even so, the German advance was now moving more slowly than they had hoped. At several places, the Germans believed that they were shot at by ’civilians’. In Belgium, the armed Civil Guard was an official para-military organisation. It had a strength of some 45,000 men and they had to provide their own uniforms. These often incomplete uniforms sometimes made them hard to recognise as soldiers. Is this why the Germans confused them with civilians?

The Germans were becoming increasingly nervous: they had not expected such strong Belgian resistance. As a result, they sometimes shot at each other by mistake - but put the blame on the local Belgian population.

In Dinant, Aarschot and Louvain large numbers of civilians were executed in retaliation. In Louvain (Leuven) 1,200 houses were also burnt to the ground, together with its fabulous university library. Its unique collection of incunabula, manuscripts and ancient books was lost forever.

During the first months of the war almost 6,000 civilians were killed.

The Germans were now portrayed by the Allies as barbarians.

Volunteers to fight against them enlisted in their thousands, especially in Great Britain. In Belgium there were 18,000 such volunteers.

The fall of Antwerp The fortress of Antwerp - which was believed to be impregnable - fell in October 1914. By now, an estimated 1.6 million Belgians had fled their homes. Almost 1 million of these refugees crossed the border into the Netherlands. They were joined by approximately 40,000 Belgian, 1,200 British and 170 German soldiers. The Netherlands was a neutral country and was therefore obliged by international law to intern these soldiers for the duration of the war. Internment camps were set up at various places, such as Zelst and Harderwijk.

Neutral Holland The Netherlands clung firmly to their neutrality - and with success. This had strategic advantages for both the British and the Germans. For the British, it was important that the Dutch harbours could not be used by the German navy (and their u-boats!). For the Germans, the same ports

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were an important source of materials and supplies for their war economy. Food was also imported into Germany via the Rhine, while Dutch neutrality also made an Allied ’attack from the rear’ impossible.

Belgian camps in the Netherlands By the end of 1914, about 900,000 Belgian refugees had returned to their homes. A further 100,000 remained in the Netherlands for the rest of the war. Of these, about 20,000 were unable to support themselves and so they were cared for in special camps, set up throughout the country (Uden, Gouda, etc.). The Dutch government and the Dutch people made great efforts to ensure that all the refugees were treated as humanely as possible - although things did not always run smoothly.

The Belgian Army behind the river IJzer After the fall of Antwerp, King Albert I wished to seek peace terms.

Queen Elisabeth and his staff were able to persuade him to change his mind. The badly weakened Belgian forces withdrew in haste to the River IJzer. Here they took up positions on the west bank, the last natural barrier in Belgium before the French border. King Albert asked his soldiers to make a final stand, in a desperate effort to keep this last small piece of Belgian territory from falling into German hands.

I Flooding the front

The power of water In October 1914, the possible flooding of the IJzer plain was discussed in Veurne town hall with Karel Cogge. Cogge was the superintendent of the Northern Waterways and knew the workings of the water system in this part of Belgium like the back of his hand. Even so, the first effort at flooding was only partially successful. However, when Hendrik Geeraert, a ship’s master from Nieuwpoort, succeeded in opening the sea locks,

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a huge mass of water flowed inland toward the low-lying plain.

This old defensive tactic was highly effective and paralysed any further German movement in the Belgian sector of the front. On 30 October their attack ground to a halt. The German High Command had no idea what the Belgians were planning. Because they were not aware of the great difference in the tides, their army maps showed a German ’zero-metre waterline’ which was 2.40 metres higher than the actual waterline! As a result of the flooding, this sector remained relatively quiet throughout the war. But quiet or not, the situation was always dangerous. The Germans managed to hold on to a few isolated ’islands’ on the west bank of the river until 1918.

Trench warfare The front gradually stabilized, first on the River Marne in France and later on the River IJzer in Belgium. Both sides started to dig in - four years of terrible trench warfare had begun. Barbed wire, artillery, machine guns, vermin, disease, cold and wet - not to mention poison gas, aeroplanes, flamethrowers and tanks - all conspired to make the front a living hell. By the end of 1914, the Western Front ran from the beach at Nieuwpoort, along the River IJzer and the IJzer Canal, past Ieper, through Heuvelland and eventually on into France, before finally stopping at the Swiss border, some 750 kilometres further. In all there was 40,000 kilometres of trenches.

The Belgian-dutch border is electrified During the summer of 1915, the Germans built a high fence along the Belgian-Dutch border. This fence was permanently electrified with a current of 2,000 volts. The Germans were particularly anxious to prevent deserters from escaping and to keep out refugees and spies.

The fence ran in a more or less straight line from the North Sea to the River Meuse - a distance of some 180 kilometres. There was a patrol path along the wire, with look-out towers every 100 metres, complete with searchlights, alarms, mines, etc. Cross-border traffic was restricted to the public roads. Many smugglers fell victim to this ’wire of death’.

So too did many innocent civilians, who were not familiar with the deadly power of this relatively new source of energy.

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FOUR YEARS OF WAR ON THE WESTERN FRONT But the Western Front is by no means the only front. There is also fighting in the east, on the Russian front, as well as in Turkey (Gallipoli and the Dardanelles) and in the Italian Dolomite mountains (near the border with Austria-Hungary). There are even campaigns in a number of African countries (Cameroon, Namibia, Kenya, Tanzania).

1914 The German advance is brought to a halt, first on the River Marne in September and then on the River IJzer in October. The war is not over ’before the leaves have fallen’ or ’by Christmas’, as many had hoped and expected.

1915 The British and the French attempt to break through the German line. The Germans use flame-throwers for the first time on the French front. Near Ypres, asphyxiating gas is also used for the first time.

I Colonial troops

1916 The Germans try to ’bleed the French dry’ at Verdun. The battle lasts for 10 months and brings France to the verge of collapse. Both sides lose tens of thousands of soldiers. The battle ends in stalemate, but the French commander, Philippe Pétain, becomes a national hero. He is later made a marshal of France.

To reduce the pressure on Verdun, a joint Anglo-French attack is launched on the Somme. Tanks are employed for the first time but the offensive is a fiasco. On the first day of the battle alone, the British lose 60,000 men; 20,000 are dead, 40,000 are wounded, missing or taken prisoner. By the end of 1916, casualties on both sides are horrendous.

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1917

To cut the Allied lines of supply and as an answer to the British naval blockade of German ports, Germany declares unrestricted submarine warfare. Even neutral shipping is torpedoed without warning.

The German minister of war Zimmermann sends a secret telegram to the Mexican government, promising German help to re-conquer the border states, including Texas, as long as Mexico agrees to attack its American neighbours. The telegram is intercepted and decoded. This eventually leads to the United States declaring war on Germany in April 1917. However, the first American troops only come into action in 1918.

The French Army suffers cruel and pointless losses during an offensive along the Chemin des Dames, also known as the Nivelle Offensive. The French troops decide to mutiny - or, rather, to go on strike. They are willing to defend their country, but not to take part in futile attacks. In order to break the mutiny, the French High Command sentences 554 soldiers to death. 49 are actually shot. Nevertheless, a number of the mutineers’ demands, including better food and leave, are granted by the new French commander-in-chief, Philippe PÊtain.

At the beginning of June, the British force a breakthrough at Messines (Mesen), following the explosion of 19 mines under the German positions. A planned British attack at Middelkerke, known as Operation Hush, is discovered by the Germans and neutralized by a pre-emptive counter-strike at Nieuwpoort. Operation Strandfest or The Battle of the Dunes is a major setback for the British.

Even so, large-scale offensive action is continued in August with the opening of the Third Battle of Ypres and the capture of the village of Passchendaele (Passendale). Losses on both sides are enormous, for a territorial gain of just 8 kilometres. At Cambrai in France, 475 tanks attack the Germans on a 10 kilometre front with great - albeit temporary - success. War weariness begins to affect both the soldiers and the civilian populations of the warring nations. There are shortages of raw materials, fuel and food, especially in Germany. Russia withdraws from the war after the October Revolution. This allows Germany to transfer almost 1 million troops from the Eastern to the Western Front.

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1918

Germany starts a great Spring Offensive in the hope of winning the war before the Americans can arrive. Ypres is evacuated by the British and the Germans capture Mount Kemmel. In July the German advance is brought to a halt. 8 August is a day of disaster for the German Army. The Allies break through at Amiens. Erich Ludendorff calls it the ‘Schwarzer Tag des deutschen Heeres.’ New Allied attacks are launched at Amiens, in the Argonne and along the Meuse, with the support of the Americans.

In September, the final Allied breakthrough takes place in Flanders and on the French front. In Germany riots break out as a result of food shortages.

The German people have had enough of the war. Mutinous sailors take over the naval base at Kiel. Civil disturbance spreads throughout the country.

Emperor William II flees to the Netherlands and seeks asylum in Amerongen. An armistice is agreed in a railway carriage near the French town of Compiègne: the guns will finally cease at 11 o’clock on 11 November.

1919

On 28 July 1919 the Treaty of Versailles is signed. It is five years to the day since the fatal shots were fired in Sarajevo. It is only now that the British naval blockade is lifted. The map of Europe is redrawn: the balance of power is now very different than in 1914. Germany is forced to give up territory and to pay massive amounts of reparations to the Allies. A certain A.H. will later conclude that Germany was never defeated in the field and that Versailles is an injustice which must be avenged. The seeds of the Second World War are already sown.

A total of more than 60 million soldiers are mobilised during the war. In all, the conflict costs the lives of 10 million people, without taking into account the many millions who are wounded or mutilated. In comparison with the Second World War, the civilian population escapes relatively lightly.

Civilian casualties amount to just 5% of the total, in comparison with 48% in World War Two. The flower of European youth is decimated. For example, of the 700,000 British casualties, more than 71% are between 16 and 29 years of age.

And in 1918-1919 Spanish flu claims more victims than the war in its entirety. This devastating epidemic is first identified in Spain, but has its origins in the United States. Estimates of the number of dead worldwide range from 20 to 100 million, depending on the source used.

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FOUR YEARS OF WAR IN THE FLANDERS FIELDS COUNTRY The Germans wanted to seize the crucial Channel ports in France. This meant that they had to capture Ypres first, since the direct route along the coast was blocked by the flooding of the IJzer valley. The high ground around the once famous cloth city and in neighbouring Heuvelland was of great strategic imI British soldiers in Flanders portance. Whoever held these heights was in a strong position: the hills overlooked the enemy, gave excellent observation for artillery and were easy to defend. As a result, the fight for these ridges and hills was bloody and hard. Early in the war the Ypres Salient was formed - a huge bulge in the British lines which jutted deep into the German-held territory. ’Remember Belgium!’ became a rallying cry which persuaded hundreds of thousands of British volunteers to fight in Flanders - in the small piece of Belgium now known as the Westhoek. The British soldiers called the city ’Wipers’ - a mispronunciation of Ypres (the French name for the city, which was used on the military maps of the time). It was a name destined to become famous throughout the English-speaking world. The Belgian Army occupied the sector from the coast at Nieuwpoort, through Diksmuide and up to the canal at Ypres. The British then took over the line between Ypres and the French border. The French then held the rest of the front between Picardy and the Swiss border.

The battle of the IJzer and the battle of Diksmuide In the middle of October 1914 the River IJzer and the canal to Ieper formed the last Belgian line of defence against the advancing invaders.

The Germans reached the IJzer on 18 October and heavy fighting immediately broke out. The villages of Keiem, Tervaete and Schoorbakke were at the centre of the storm. In a number of places, the Germans even succeeded in reaching the far bank of the river. Meanwhile,

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Belgian and French troops defended Diksmuide with great determination. Continuous bombardments quickly reduced the town to rubble.

It was finally captured by the Germans on 10 November 1914. But the Allies had achieved their goal. The German advance had been halted, first in France on the River Marne, now on the River IJzer. The Schlieffen Plan had failed.

First Battle of Ypres (Ieper) (19 October - 22 November 1914) The German advance through Northern France was halted in September on the River Marne. The centre of the fighting shifted to the Westhoek. The Belgian Army also halted the German advance by flooding the IJzer plain (27-29 October 1914). To the south, the British and the French fought with great determination to prevent a German breakthrough at Ypres. This was the First Battle of Ypres, which raged from 22 October to 22 November 1914. When the battle was over, the Germans held the ring of high ground that overlooked the city. Both armies dug in and the famous Ypres Salient was born.

Second Battle of Ypres (Ieper) (22 April - 25 May 1915) In the spring of 1915 the Germans made a new attempt to break through at Ypres. They captured Hill 60 and on 22 April 1915, between Steenstrate and Langemark, they used chlorine gas for the first time in modern warfare. 150 tons of gas were released from 6,000 cylinders directed against the French lines. The result was death, panic... and total surprise.

The Allies were forced to withdraw for several kilometres, but there was no breakthrough. In September it was the turn of the Germans to be surprised, when the British used gas in their attack at Loos. Until the I The first gasmasks

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end of the war in November 1918, both sides bombarded each other with millions of gas shells. From 1917 onwards, the Belgian Army also used gas. However, as a proportion of the total number of casualties, gas claimed relatively ’few’ victims. It was, above all, a weapon of fear.

The soldiers in their gas masks looked like faceless killing machines.

Some even referred to the masks as ‘pig’s snouts’.

Third Battle of Ypres (Ieper) (31 July - 10 November 1917)

The Mine Battle at Messines (Mesen)-Wijtschate Summer 1917. The great Mine Battle of 7 June to the south of Ypres - in the sector known to the British as Messines Ridge and to the Germans as the ”Wijtschate Bogen” - quite literally made the world shake. 19 mines were detonated under the German lines, causing explosions which could be heard as far away as London. In the beginning, this British offensive was a success. This was the prelude to the ill-fated Third Battle of Ypres.

The Battle of Passchendaele The success at Messines was followed up in August with a new offensive: the Battle of Passendale. This battle was a complete disaster.

The shells and the rain reduced the battlefield to a muddy swamp, through which neither attackers nor defenders could move. In four months the British lost 400,000 killed, wounded and missing for the gain of just 8 kilometres of territory. The Germans had built strong concrete bunkers, defended with nests of machine guns that were almost impregnable. Passendale was a hell of mud, blood and superhuman endurance. Little wonder that British called the village ’Passiondale ’ - the valley of suffering. The year 1917 also saw the first use by the Germans of mustard gas or ’ieperiet’. As an ’improvement’ on chlorine and phosgene, mustard gas not only attacked the victim’s airways, but also caused the skin to erupt in hideously painful blisters.

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German Spring Offensive (April 1918) In the spring of 1918, the Germans were strengthened by the arrival of fresh divisions from the Eastern Front, where the October Revolution of 1917 had led to Russia’s withdrawal from the war. The German offensive began in March, in the sector between Arras and Laon. In April new attacks were launched near Ypres, where the Allied line was almost broken. In just a week all the ground taken during the Passendale offensive was lost.

During the Battle of Merkem (near Houthulst) on 17 April 1918, the Belgian Army had to withstand a severe attack by the Germans. ’De Kippe’, a locality in Merkem, and a number of bunkers were initially lost. However, following fierce hand-to-hand fighting with bayonets and knives, the Germans were forced back by the Belgians to their original positions by nightfall. Losses on both sides were high: the Belgians suffered 155 dead and 354 wounded, against a German total of 254 dead and 1,211 wounded. 780 Germans were also taken prisoner. It was the first major Belgian victory since Halen in 1914. During the Battle of Mount Kemmel the French in particular were very hard pressed. On 25 April this strategically important hill was lost to the Germans and Ypres was almost captured.

The Final Offensive (28 September - 11 November 1918) By now, German reserves had been exhausted and the Americans were starting to arrive on the Western Front in huge numbers. In Germany itself, the home front began to disintegrate. From 28 September until the Armistice on 11 November, a series of Allied offensives pushed the Germans back to the River Scheldt.

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The Battle of Houthulst Forest Houthulst Forest was a key defensive position for the Germans throughout the war. The woods had been transformed into a veritable fortress, with its own narrow-gauge railway system, linked to the main railway network behind the lines. On Saturday, 28 September 1918 the Belgian Army attacked this formidable obstacle. Almost every Belgian unit was involved in the attack, which was supported by the British Second Army and a number of French divisions. The forest had been reduced to little more than a mass of shell-torn tree trunks, but by the end of the first day the Belgians had succeeded in capturing the German lines on a front that was 18 kilometres wide and 6 kilometres deep.

THE AMERICANS At the end of the war, American troops played an important role in the final offensive. The 91st and 37th United States Divisions were involved in the reconquest of the region between the Scheldt and the Lys rivers in OctoberNovember 1918.

Waregem (Flanders Lys Valley) The Flanders Fields American Cemetery is located near the town of Waregem, some 40 kilometres from Ypres. It is the smallest American cemetery on the European mainland and is also the only American cemetery from the First World War in Belgium. The central chapel contains the remains of 43 American soldiers in an unnamed collective grave. The cemetery itself has a total of 368 individual graves, of which 21 are ’unknowns’.

On 30 May 1927, just 9 days after his famous transatlantic flight, Charles Lindbergh flew over the cemetery in his plane, the ’Spirit of Saint Louis’, and dropped poppies in honour of his fallen countrymen.

Kemmel Along the road from Ieper to Kemmel (near Vierstraat), there is an American memorial in the form of a stone altar, which commemorates the 27th and 30th American Divisions, who fought in this sector during August and September 1918. There is a similar American monument in Oudenaarde.

The Armistice of 11 November 1918 At the beginning of November an armistice was signed in a railway carriage near the French town of Compiègne. The First World War finally came to an end at 11 o’clock on the morning of 11 November 1918.

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THE RECONSTRUCTION (1919 - 1967) After the war, the vast majority of the refugees returned home.

A smaller number - particular Flemish farmers who had fled to France - remained in their adopted countries to build new lives there. In the area around the old front line, Ypres, Nieuwpoort, Diksmuide and numerous villages had been completely destroyed. These ’Verwoeste Gewesten’ (Devastated Lands) were given a special status by the post-war government. The first emergency homes were gradually replaced by wooden barracks. Ruins were cleared away and the battlefields were ’cleaned up’. Trenches, shell-holes and craters were filled in. Ammunition was collected and made safe. The old houses and monuments were gradually rebuilt, one by one. The Nieuwerck - an annex to the Cloth Hall in Ieper (Ypres), now used as part of the town hall - was only completed in 1967. This marked the final end of the so-called Period of Reconstruction. In 2007 a farmer was killed by the explosion of a 90 year-old shell. The war may have only lasted a single generation, but it will still be many generations before its fatal legacy is finally erased.

HARRY PATCH Harry Patch (1899-2009) fought in Passendale when he was just 19 years of age. He was a member of a Lewisgun team in the Duke of Cornwall’s Light Infantry. On 22 September 1917 three of his best friends were killed by the explosion of a single shell. He was severely wounded by the same blast and spent 12 months in hospital. It was only after his 100th birthday that he began to speak about his war experiences. Harry was the last surviving veteran of the trenches. He died on 25 July 2009 at Wells in Somerset. ”Always remember the other side of the line,” he said during the Last Post Ceremony at the Menin Gate in 2008.

A monument was inaugurated on 27 September 2008 in the Melkweg in Langemark, along the bank of the Steenbeek. This monument - an initiative taken by Harry Patch - was intended to commemorate all casualties of war.

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NEW IN 2015 Cycle routes 14-18

In 2015 seven new cycling routes will be opened, which each take the Great War as their theme.

• POP, Poperinge, 7 March • Ypres Salient, Ieper, 4 April • Poison gas, Langemark-Poelkapelle, 10 April • ‘Aller/Retour’, Alveringem, Diksmuide and Lo-Reninge, summer • Niemandswater, Alveringem, Lo-Reninge and Vleteren, summer • Käthe Kollwitz, Koekelare, beginning of September • IJzer 14-18, Diksmuide, autumn

Westfront Nieuwpoort This hypermodern visitors’ centre tells the story of the deliberate flooding of the IJzer plain during the Great War. Westfront Nieuwpoort is located under the Albert I Monument and has a circular polyvalent area and three exhibition wings. An interactive computer game allows visitors to open the sea locks for themselves, while actually looking out over the present-day lock complex. Enjoy this in an open and light structure, which also offers a fine panoramic view over the battlefields of yesteryear.

See page 86.

National Tobacco Museum, Wervik For the next five years the recently reopened and renewed National Tobacco Museum in Wervik will be largely devoted to the theme of tobacco and smoking during the First World War. An extensive collection of artefacts has been brought together to highlight the fascinating and often underestimated role that tobacco played during the war years.

See page 106.

Lange Max Museum, Koekelare The Lange Max Museum focuses almost exclusively on the German side of the First World War and the Lange Max. This gives it a unique position among the war-related museums in the Westhoek region.

See page 102.

The Chaplain’s House, Alveringem Opens this summer The old vicarage in Alveringem is being given a new lease of life as a contemporary museum. In and around this house, where the controversial poet-priest Cyriel Verschaeve lived from 1911 to 1939, the unique story of Alveringem in the Great War will be told.

See page 92.

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Exploring the Ieper Salient on foot or by bike From 15 April On 15 April 2015 three unmanned visitors’ points will be opened in the Ieper Salient. These brand-new visitors’ facilities will sketch the most important historical facts associated with their localities, which were all important strategic positions on the front line during the First World War. Each point also marks the start of a short walking route and connects with the Ieper Salient cycle route. A new digital application with historical and contemporary images provides an evocative framework for the factual background.

See page 79.

Memorial Gardens and walking paths, Memorial Museum ‘Passchendaele 1917’, Zonnebeke The Memorial Gardens are part of the park surrounding Zonnebeke Chateau, which has recently been extended from 10 to 30 hectares.

The concept is based around a number of poppy-shaped garden plots, which each reflect and commemorate one of the nations that fought in Flanders during the First World War. From this year, it will also be possible to follow a safe, traffic-free path that leads from the museum to Polygon Wood Cemetery, Buttes New British cemetery and Tyne Cot Cemetery.

See page 88.

A network of sites between the Frontzate and the IJzer Dyke in Diksmuide As part of the activities to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the First World War, the Town of Diksmuide has improved access and facilities in the area of the old front line between the left bank of the River IJzer and the Frontzate (the old railway embankment between Diksmuide and Nieuwpoort). The last part of this new network - connecting the IJzer Tower with the Trench of Death - will be completed by the end of 2015.

See page 62.

CW/RM CW/RM is an art project that aims to make - with the help of the public no fewer than 600,000 clay statuettes. Each statuette represents one of the 600,000 people who died in Belgium during the Great War. During the period 2014-2018 it is hoped that thousands of people will take part in this project. In the spring of 2018 all the statuettes will be part of an open-air display at one of the most bitterly disputed places on the Western Front: no-man’s-land around Ieper.

You can visit the permanent workshops of CW/RM in Schore, Ieper (Kazematten-Casements) and Nieuwpoort (Bommenvrij-Bomb-free Shelter).

I See www.gonewest.be and www.comingworldrememberme.be

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THE FRONT IN THE ’WESTHOEK’ ”THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF SOLDIERS...”

During the four years of war in the Westhoek, more than half a million soldiers were killed or went missing. Above all, it was the British, the Germans, the French and the Belgians who found their final resting place here. More than half this total came from Great Britain and the lands of the Commonwealth.

Today their names can be found on the thousands of headstones which dot the countryside and on the panels of the Memorials to the Missing.

Britons, Canadians, Australians and New Zealanders lie buried in the more than 170 cemeteries which still surround the city of Ypres (now Ieper). Soldiers from the many colonies of the period also fought and died here: Senegalese, Moroccans, Algerians, Tunisians, Indians, Sikhs,… and even Chinese.

(See Cemeteries from page 108 onwards).

DIKSMUIDE IJzer Tower, Gate of Peace and IJzer Crypt The first IJzer Tower was built in the 1930s, as a memorial to the Flemish soldiers who had died at the front, which ran along the line of the River IJzer between 1914 and 1918. During the Second World War, the site was the scene of various German-Flemish ceremonies. This original tower was destroyed by an explosion in 1946 and it was not until 1965 that a new structure arose, phoenix-like, from its ashes. In recent years, the tower has also housed a museum.

This fully renovated Museum on the IJzer tells the story of the BelgianGerman front during the First World War, using the memoirs of soldiers, civilians and refugees on both sides of the line.

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In addition to a magnificent view over the old battlefields of the IJzer Front, the 84 metre-high tower also offers fine panoramas of Diksmuide and the Westhoek.

I IJzerdijk 49 - 8600 Diksmuide - T. +32 (0)51 50 02 86 www.aandeijzer.be - info@aandeijzer.be Open from 1 April to 30 September from 09.00 to 18.00.

From 1 October to 31 March from 09.00 to 17.00.

Weekends and public holidays from 10.00.

Last tickets sold 30 minutes before closing.

Entrance fee: € 8 pp - 7-17 years: € 2.5 pp - 18-25 years: € 5 pp 65-Plus: € 6 pp.

Free for children younger than 7 years. Groups (min. 20 pers.): €6 pp.

A network of sites between the Frontzate and the IJzer Dyke As part of the activities to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the First World War, the Town of Diksmuide has improved access and facilities in the area of the old front line between the left bank of the River IJzer and the Frontzate (the old railway embankment between Diksmuide and Nieuwpoort). This will allow better recreational exploration of the following sites.

The Path of Silence The Path of Silence is a one kilometre-long walking and cycling pathway in concrete, which connects the Frontzate with the dyke of the River IJzer. The pathway more or less follows the line of the old ‘Hope Trench’ from the war years. Along the route, the ruin of an old farmstead reflects the damage and misery that war can cause.

O.-L.-Vrouwehoekje (Our Lady’s Corner) Stuivekenskerke Our Lady’s Corner (O.-L.-Vrouwehoekje) in Stuivekenskerke is located between Nieuwpoort and Diksmuide. The church tower was an important Belgian outpost during the war, and its preserved ruins contain an orientation table which highlights key places of interest on the IJzer Front. The adjacent chapel of remembrance is ringed by memorial stones to units of the Belgian Army which served near here. There is also an original demarcation stone, with the inscription: ’Here the invader was brought to halt... ’ The nearby railway embankment still contains dugouts and other interesting relics from the war years. This embankment marked the Belgian front line for much of the period 1914 -1918.

I Always open, free entrance

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The Trench of Death Two kilometres further along the River IJzer stands one of the most evocative reminders of the war in the Westhoek: the so-called Trench of Death. This kilometre-long network of revetments, saps and dugouts was one of the most dangerous Belgian positions on the Western Front, situated just 50 metres from a German bunker. As a result, the trench was subjected to almost constant fire from German snipers and machine guns. The site was recently renovated and a new visitors centre was opened. Using maps, photographs, videos and war memorabilia, a permanent exhibition in the centre shows the relative positions of friend and foe, charts the destruction of the surrounding towns and villages and tells the story of life - and death in the front-line.

I IJzerdijk 65 - 8600 Diksmuide T. +32 (0)51 50 53 44 Open from 1 April to 15 November from 10.00 to 17.00. From 16 November to 31 March on Tuesdays and Fridays from 09.30 to 16.00.

Closed from 25 December to 3 January.

Entrance fee: €4 (individuals) €2 (groups)

THE ANGELS OF PERVIJZE At the end of November 1914, two British nurses arrived on the Belgian front. In particular, Elisabeth Knocker was struck by the number of wounded who died unnecessarily, simply because of the distance they had to be transported before receiving treatment. For this reason, she wanted to set up an aid post near the front line.

In Pervijze (near Diksmuide) she worked with Mairi Chisholm in a cellar less than 50 metres from the trenches. Elisabeth was even able to make an unusual agreement with the Germans - they allowed her to collect wounded soldiers who had been left behind in No Man’s Land. Her dog took a request to the German commander in the opposing trenches. If he agreed - which usually happened- she was able to move between the lines in safety. The Germans would not shoot, provided she was wearing her nurse’s cap - and not a helmet. Both nurses were decorated by King Albert in January 1915.

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The Petroleum Tanks It was on this site that the original petroleum tanks - which supplied Diksmuide with fuel at the beginning of the previous century and were destroyed in 1914 - were rebuilt in replica. The replicas were made from wooden beams around a metal frame.

The Grieving Parents Vladslo This group of statues by the famous German expressionist artist Käthe Kollwitz is one of the most moving and memorable reminders of the terrible price of war. She created the sculpture to commemorate the death of her son at the front in 1914. It now stands at the rear of the German military cemetery in Vladslo (see page 124).

I Houtlandstraat 3 8600 Vladslo

The Little Bunker Oudekapelle This little bunker near the hamlet of Groigne is something of a curiosity.

It is definitely a Belgian bunker, built in 1918. However, there is an unusual feature on its southern side: the entrance has a pointed horseshoe arch with an inscription in Arabic! Translated, this inscription reads: ’There is no greater God than Allah. Whosoever believes in Allah will triumph, as at the victories of Tadmoor and Namar’. The inscription was probably made by Muslims soldiers serving in the French army.

I Grote Beverdijkstraat - 8600 Oudekapelle

Belgian Military Cemetery at Keiem See page 109

German Military Cemetery at Vladslo See page 121

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KÄTHE KOLLWITZ This famous German artist and sculptress was born in July 1867 as Käthe Schmidt in the Prussian city of Köningsberg (now Kaliningrad in Russia). In 1891 she married Karl Kollwitz, a local doctor. The couple - who were widely known for their deep social commitment - had two sons: Hans (born in 1892) and Peter (born in1896). Peter was killed near Esen on 22 October 1914.

His heartbroken mother - who was a leading member of the expressionist school of art in Germany - planned a memorial for her lost son.

This took much longer than originally intended but by 1931 a plaster version of’The Grieving Parents’ was finally ready. During the following year the sculpture was carved from Belgian granite by August Rhades and Fritz Diederich. In July 1932 the finished work was erected in the Roggeveld German military cemetery at Esen, near Diksmuide. This cemetery, together with the statues, was later transferred to its present site in Vladslo. In 1933 Käthe Kollwitz was removed from the Prussian Academy of Art by the Nazis and the public display of her work was banned from 1935 onwards. She died at Moritzberg on 22 April 1945.

HEUVELLAND Heuvelland Tourist Office Kemmel The Tourist Office at Kemmel is the ideal starting point for your journey of discovery through the history of the First World War in Heuvelland.

In the Tourist Office, it is also possible to view the documentary ’Zero Hour’ - the story of the mine battles of 1917. This documentary is a combination of aerial photography, live recordings, archive material and re-enacting.

I NEW ADDRESS: Polenlaan 1 - 8956 Kemmel (from 1 April) T. +32 (0)57 45 04 55 - www.heuvelland.be - toerisme@heuvelland.be From 1 April to 15 November: every day from 09.00 to 12.00 and 13.30 to 16.00.

On Tuesdays continually open from 09.00 to 16.00.

On Sundays and public holidays from 10.00 to 12.30.

From 16 November to 31 March: every day from 10.00 to 12.00 and 13.30 to 16.00.

On Tuesdays continually open from 09.00 to 16.00. Closed on Sundays and public holidays.

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The Pool of Peace Wijtschate The Pool of Peace (or Lone Tree Crater) in Wijtschate is a now peaceful reminder of the great Mine Battle of 1917. On 7 June 1917, the British attempted to capture Messines Ridge, a strategically important area of high ground around the villages of Wijtschate and Mesen (Messines).

The opening of the offensive was marked by the detonation of 19 deep mines under the German lines between Ploegsteert and Hill 60. The explosions formed enormous craters in the landscape. The largest and most impressive crater is the Pool of Peace. It is 12 metres deep and has a diameter of 129 metres. The site is administered by the provincial government of West Flanders.

I Kruisstraat - 8953 Wijtschate T. +32 (0)57 45 04 55 - www.heuvelland.be Permanent free access, from sunrise to sunset.

Bayernwald (Bavaria Wood) Wijtschate This unique German site is located between the villages of Wijtschate and Voormezele.

The site consists of two mine shafts, a trench system and four bunkers. It is accessed via a footpath which passes through the restored network of trenches. A series of information panels give details of the events which took place here

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and explain what life at the front was really like. Tickets are only for sale in the Tourist Office in Kemmel.

I Tickets: Tourism Heuvelland: NEW ADDRESS: Polenlaan 1 - 8956 Kemmel Address Bayernwald : Voormezelestraat, near Croonaert Wood 8953 Wijtschate T. 0032(0)-57 45 04 55 - www.heuvelland.be Entrance fee: individual € 4 pp, -26 years € 1 pp, groups € 2,5 pp

The Lettenberg Hill Kemmel The Lettenberg hill (97 m) is a spur of the much larger Mount Kemmel, which dominates its position. Towards the end of 1916, the British engineers and tunnellers started to excavate an underground headquarters complex at Kemmel, which was the most important British observation post in the sector. Between 4 April and the end of May 1917, the 175th Tunnelling Company worked on the construction of a new brigade headquarters under the Lettenberg. The concrete bunkers which gave access to this headquarters have now been restored. There are four shelters, built in reinforced concrete, which was poured in moulds of corrugated sheeting. Each shelter has an entrance and a window on the western side. Access to the site is via a footpath with explanatory information panels.

I Lokerstraat - 8956 Kemmel T. +32 (0)57 45 04 55 www.heuvelland.be Permanent free access, from sunrise to sunset.

French monument Kemmel On the summit of Mount Kemmel there is an impressive French memorial which commemorates the heavy fighting that took place here in April 1918. The memorial is known popularly as ’The Angel’.

French ossuary See page 119

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ACHIEL VAN WALLEGHEM Achiel van Walleghem was curate in the village of Dikkebus during the war and kept a diary of events in his parish. He noted what people experienced and felt.

The manuscript, which testifies to his great humanity, was edited and re-written by Achiel himself after the war. ”In the morning, an English soldier was shot against the wall of the convent because he refused to go to the trenches. His own pals were forced to do it. Many soldiers have told me how terrible it is to have to shoot a mate. Some of them cry from guilt and remorse…” In these words, the curate described the execution of Private William Smith in a field behind the convent in Reningelst on 14 November 1917. ’Shot at dawn’.

HOUTHULST The Peace Mill Klerken The Germans evacuated all civilians from Klerken in November 1914. The mill stands on a ridge 43 metres above sea level and was used by the Germans as an observation post. The final attack on Klerken and its mill was launched on 28 September 1918. German troops in the mill were able to hold on to their position, but next morning they had disappeared. Legend has it that they escaped through underground tunnels. The attack on Klerken cost 554 Belgian soldiers their lives. In recent decades the condition of the mill has deteriorated, but recent renovation ensured that it is once again open to the public. The mill offers a wonderful panoramic view over the old front lines.

I Molenweg - 8650 Klerken

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Drie Grachten (Three Canals) Merkem In 1914 and 1915 this bridge was an important outpost for first Belgian and later French troops. A memorial plaque on the wall commemorates a celebrated action by the French Zouaves. On 10 November 1914, 500 Zouaves attacked strong German positions with cold steel. The attack failed, largely because the Zouaves preceded it with bugle calls and loud shouts of ’en avant à la bayonette’ (forward with the bayonet!).

All surprise was lost and there were heavy casualties on both sides.

Two days later, the Germans launched their own attack on the Drie Grachten. They tried to shield their advance by making a captured Zouave walk ahead of them into No Man’s Land. Suddenly, the Zouave cried out: ’Tirez donc nom de Dieu, ce sont les Boches’ (Shoot, for God’s sake: it’s the Germans!). The attack failed. In 1915 the Germans finally managed to capture this advanced position and they held it until it was retaken by the French at the end of 1917.

I Driegrachtensteenweg - 8650 Merkem

Belgian Military Cemetery Houthulst See page 110

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IEPER (YPRES) SYMBOL OF SACRIFICE In the Middle Ages Ypres became world famous because of its cloth trade. Commercial relations flourished, particularly with England, which provided much of the wool on which the town’s great prosperity was based. The most obvious symbol of this prosperity was the magnificent Cloth Hall, built during the 13th century. Ypres was occupied by the German Army for one night at the beginning of the Great War. It was recaptured on 14 October 1914 - and remained in Allied hands until the end of hostilities.

Some five million British and Commonwealth soldiers passed through Ypres on their way to the Salient. Reduced to rubble by constant bombardment, the town came to symbolise the meaningless slaughter of the Great War. After the Armistice, the British government wished to acquire the ruins of Ypres as a permanent memorial to the sacrifices of its army between 1914 and 1918. However, the returning refugees wanted to rebuild their homes and the wishes of the local population finally prevailed. Now restored to its former grandeur, Ypres - now Ieper - still contains numerous poignant sites and monuments linked to the war.

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In Flanders Fields Museum The In Flanders Fields Museum is every visitor’s portal to the history of the First World War in Flanders. It tells the story of life and death in the Westhoek region during the terrible years between 1914 and 1918.

The museum explains how and why exactly 100 years ago hundreds of thousands of people from all over the world were all part of the same tragic event. The displays make use of the very latest advances in museum technology, providing an intense experience that shows what life at the front was really like. On arrival, every visitor is issued a personal poppy bracelet. Thanks to the chip in the bracelet, the visitor’s language of choice is automatically programmed, allowing him/her to follow the personal stories of four individuals through the different sections of the museum. The war is still all around us, embedded into the landscape of the region. This is visualized using a series of aerial photographs, which compares the present-day topography with the devastation of the war years. The museum visit also makes possible an ascent of the belfry tower with its unique view over the city and the surrounding battlefields.

I Cloth Hall (Lakenhallen) - Grote Markt 34 - 8900 Ieper T. +32 (0)57 23 92 20 - www.inflandersfields.be From 1 April to 15 November: open daily from 10.00 to 18.00.

From 16 November to 31 March: open Tuesday to Sunday from 10.00 to 17.00. Last ticket sold 1 hour before closing.

The museum is closed on 25 December, 1 January and from 5 to 19 January 2015. Entrance fee: adults € 9 - children 7-18 years € 4 young people 19-25 years € 5 - visit to belfry tower € 2.

From 4 April until 30 August, a new temporary exhibition will be held under the title ‘The Second Battle of Ieper and the chateaus in the Westhoek’. This exhibition explores the historic events that took place near Ieper in 1915, when gas was used as a weapon for the first time in modern warfare. This is linked to the stories of the many magnificent castles and chateaus that once graced the countryside around Ieper.

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’In Flanders Fields’ Knowledge Centre This centre is a repository for more than 13,000 books, 500 topographic maps, an extensive photographic library and hundreds of newspapers and magazines about the First World War. I Sint-Maartensplein 3 - 8900 Ieper +32 (0)57 239 450 - kenniscentrum@ieper.be Opening times: 1 April - 15 November: Monday, Tuesday, Thursday, Friday from 13.00 to 17.00 + Wednesday from 10.00 to 12.00 and 13.00 to 17.00.16 November - 31 March: Tuesday, Thursday, Friday from 13.00 to 17.00 + Wednesday from 10.00 to 12.00 and 13.00 to 17.00. Closed during the Christmas Holiday.

The Menin Gate The Menin Gate is the most famous Commonwealth war memorial in Flanders.

It was designed in classical style by Sir Reginald Blomfield and stands on the site of one of the old town gates. Tens of thousands of soldiers passed through this gate on the way to the front, many of them never to return. Opened in 1927, the memorial bears the names of 54,896 soldiers who were reported missing in the Ypres Salient between the outbreak of war and 15 August 1917.

Because the gate was too small to hold the names of all the missing, those who were lost after this date (a further 35,000) are commemorated on the panels of the Tyne Cot Memorial in Passendale.

I The Last Post Ceremony takes place each day under the Menin Gate at 20.00. www.lastpost.be

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THE LAST POST Every evening at 8 pm, a deeply moving ceremony takes place under the vast arch of the Menin Gate: the traffic stops and buglers from the local fire brigade play the Last Post. The ceremony was begun in 1928 and the buglers have performed it faithfully ever since, although they were banned from playing during the German occupation of 1940-44.

Brookwood cemetery in England took over the ceremony during the war, but the tradition was immediately re-established on the first day after the liberation in September 1944.

Sometimes the ceremony is attended by just a few spectators; on more formal occasions, many hundreds can be present. Irrespective of numbers, the Last Post remains a unique and moving experience.

On 9 July 2015, the Last Post will be played for the 30,000th time.

Daily at 20.00 under the Menin Gate www.lastpost.be During the ceremony a verse from the poem ’For the Fallen’ by Laurence Binyon is usually read out:

’They shall grow not 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.’

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St. George’s Memorial Church St. George’s Memorial Church was built in 1929 in honour of the soldiers and units of the British army who served in the Ypres Salient during the war. Designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield in the style of an English parish church, it contains many poignant memorials to both individuals and regiments.

The small school next to the church was known as the Eton College School. For many years, it provided education for the children of the many British employees of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. This British community was forced to flee Ieper during the Second World War. Few returned after 1945 and the school was eventually closed. It now serves as the church hall.

I Elverdingestraat 1 - 8900 Ieper. Open daily.

Canal Bank - site John McCrae One of the best known sites in the Ypres Salient is Essex Farm Cemetery and the nearby A.D.S. (Advanced Dressing Station), where John McCrae wrote his world-famous poem ’In Flanders Fields’ at the beginning of May 1915. In addition to the cemetery and the adjacent concrete shelters of the old dressing station, the bank of the canal has also recently been opened to the public over a distance of 450 metres.

It was here that the guns of the 1st Canadian Artillery Brigade stood in April 1915 and it was on this spot shortly afterwards that the Royal Engineers built a number of shelters and dugouts for the protection of the troops in the high canal bank. This bank had originally been dug in the 17th century by the French military architect Vauban as a ’retranchement’, a large fortification alongside the canal, which for more than 50 years constituted the northern border of Louis XIV’s French empire.

Shortly after the 1918 Armistice, the numerous bunkers in the bank also served as temporary accommodation for many of the refugees returning home. High on the canal bank stands a monument to the 49th West Riding Division, which was first deployed here in the summer of 1915 and suffered heavy losses.

I Next to Diksmuidseweg 148 - 8900 Ypres. Free admission.

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John McCrae In 1915, during the Second Battle of Ypres, this military doctor worked in an aid post near the Ieperlee canal in Boezinge. Born in Canada in 1872, McCrae originally saw active service as a volunteer during the Boer War in South Africa (1899-1902). He resigned from the army in 1901, but re-enlisted again on the outbreak of war in August 1914. On 22 April 1915 he was amongst the first to treat the casualties of the terrible chlorine gas attack. Deeply affected by what he had seen, at the beginning of May 1915 he wrote his famous poem, ’In Flanders Fields’. McCrae died of a cerebral haemorrhage (brought on by pneumonia) at Wimereux (France) on 28 January 1918. The poppy, which his poem had made so famous, eventually became the symbol for the sacrifice of war: perhaps because it thrives in devastation and grows where everything else is dead. ”Red is the leaf and the blood, black is the heart of sorrow…”

In Flanders fields the poppies blow, Between the crosses, row on row, That mark our place; and in the sky, The larks, still bravely singing, fly, Scarce heard amid the guns below.

Mine craters In comparison with many other offensives, the Mine Battle of 7 June 1917 - also known as the Battle of Messines Ridge - was one of the most successful British operations on the Western Front during the war. This offensive was opened with the explosion of 19 large mines and traces of 16 craters are still visible to this day, almost all in the shape of deep ponds.

Until recently, only the famous Lone Tree Crater in Wijtschate (commonly known as the Pool of Peace) was open to the public.

However, in 2001 the Province of West Flanders also acquired the Domain ’De Vierlingen’ (near Hill 60), which contains the Caterpillar Crater. Due to the proximity of the nearby railway cutting, this crater is the only one in Flanders that is not

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filled with water. Since mid 2003, it has also been possible to visit the mine crater at St. Eloi, which was the result of the largest deep mine (50 tons of ammonal) detonated during the war. The crater is flanked by an intact British bunker from 1917 and stands just 100 metres from another crater (on the opposite side of the road), the result of one of the six mines exploded on 27 March 1916 during the Attack on St. Eloi.

I Next to Rijselseweg 214 - 8902 Voormezele Free entry from 1 April to 15 November between 10.00 and 17.00.

Access code available at the Ieper tourist office: Grote Markt 34 8900 Ieper - T. +32 (0)57 23 92 20

Hill 60 Zillebeke This hill was created by the earth excavated from the adjacent railway cutting. In 1914 it was captured by the Germans from the French. Later, this sector was taken over by the British, who began an underground war of mines and counter-mines. The first British ’deep’ mine was exploded on 17 February 1915. Following a second detonation on 17 April 1915, the British were able to temporarily seize the hill, but it was soon lost. The underground war continued until the beginning of June 1917 (Third Battle of Ypres). Countless soldiers worked in the cold and the dark of the mine tunnels. Some of them died there and are still buried beneath the clay. In this sense, Hill 60 is their cemetery.

I Zwarteleen - 8902 Zillebeke

Hill 62 - Sanctuary Wood Zillebeke At Hill 62 in Zillebeke, there is an impressive memorial to commemorate the Canadian forces who served in the Ypres Salient. Maple Avenue - the road which now leads to this memorial - once formed part of the Canadian second line. After the war, the avenue was planted with maple trees as a mark of respect for the Canadian sacrifice (the maple leaf is the national symbol of Canada). The memorial stands on top of the hill, surrounded by a pleasant park.

It was the scene of fierce fighting in June 1916, but now offers peaceful views of the spires of Ieper.

I Canadalaan 8902 Zillebeke

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Yorkshire Trench & Dug-Out Boezinge The war is still ever-present in the Ieper area. Not only in the landscape, with its hundreds of cemeteries, monuments and relics, but also underground. These underground relics of the war can still be found at a depth of between 60 and 70 cm, something the local population quickly learned, when from 1997 onwards a new industrial site was developed along the Ieper-IJzer canal. Numerous vestiges of the war were soon discovered: unexploded ammunition, constructions, human remains… Since then, the bodies of some 205 soldiers of three different nationalities have been recovered. The city acquired a small plot of land, for the creation of a memorial site by the In Flanders Fields Museum. This plot marks the location of Yorkshire Trench, originally dug by the British in 1915. In close consultation with the archaeological team, the trench was restored along its original route, including the entrance and exit of a deep dug-out from 1917. At the IFF Museum, a film and a scale model, including an exhibition of the objects found in the dug-out, give a deeper insight into this fascinating and little-known aspect of the war ”in the wet, wet Flanders’ plain.”

I Industrial estate along the Ieper-IJzer canal - Bargiestraat - 8904 Boezinge The site is permanently open (sunrise to sunset) and entrance is free.

Until 4 April 2015 the Yorkshire Trench & Dug Out site is only partially accessible to the public, as a result of necessary renovation work on the trench. From 4 april 2015 the Yorkshire Trench & Dug Out will be accessible via the visitor’s point North of the Ypres Salient, located in ‘Hoeve Klein Zwaanhof’ in the Kleine Poezelstraat.

Other museums Hooge Crater Museum - Zillebeke Private museum with photographs, weapons, equipment and life-size reconstructions of scenes from the war years.

A stained-glass window portrays the burning of the Cloth Hall in Ieper on 22 November 1914.

I Meenseweg 467 - 8902 Zillebeke T. +32 (0)57 46 84 46 www.hoogecrater.be Entrance fee: € 5 Open from 27 January to 22 December.

Closed on Mondays and from 11 to 16 August.

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Site ’t Hooghe - Kasteelhof ’t Hooghe Remnants of the numerous mine impacts near the strategically important Hooge can be seen in the garden of the Kasteelhof ’t Hooghe hotel.

An original trench was excavated here in 1995.

I Meenseweg 481 - 8902 Ieper - +32 (0)57 468 787 www.hotelkasteelhofthooghe.be The site can be visited every day from 10.00 to 19.00.

Exploring the Ieper Salient on foot or by bike On 15 April 2015 three unmanned visitors’ point will be opened in the Ieper Salient. These brand-new visitors’ facilities will sketch the most important historical facts associated with their localities, which were all important strategic positions on the front line during the First World War. In addition, one other war-related theme will be explored. Each point also marks the start of a short walking route and connects with the Ieper Salient cycle route. A new digital application with historical and contemporary images provides an evocative framework for the factual background. The first visitors’ point is at the former Klein Zwaanhof Farm, at Kleine Poezelstraat 6. This is in the north of the Ieper Salient, where the Second Battle of Ieper was most fiercely fought and where the first gas attack took place. The centre also looks at the important role played by the war poets. The second visitors’ point, in the heart of the Ieper Salient, is at Hooge Crater Museum (Meenseweg 467). This centre also looks at the fate of the many old castles and chateaus that once stood in the Ieper area. The third visitors’ point, in the south of the Ieper Salient, is in the Palingbeek Provincial Park, where the historical facts are supplemented by a detailed look at the war underground.

FRANCIS LEDWIDGE Despite his strong Irish nationalist sentiments, this poet enlisted in the British Army during the Great War. Born in 1887at Slane, deep in the old heartlands of Ireland, he was killed near the Carrefour des Roses (Rose Crossroad) on 31 July 1917 - the opening day of the Third Battle of Ypres. He is buried nearby in Artillery Wood Military Cemetery. His poems are mainly about Ireland, but he also wrote some fine pieces about his wartime experiences: Soliloquy, A Soldier’s Grave, Home, Ascension Thursday1917. His most famous poem was his Lament for Thomas MacDonagh, who was shot by the British following the abortive Easter Uprising in Dublin in 1916. Ledwidge was a man dedicated to the poet’s art and a memorial in his honour now stands near the spot where he was killed, alongside the cycle path on the site of the old railway line to Torhout.

He shall not hear the bittern cry In the wild sky, where he is lain, Nor voices of the sweeter birds, Above the wailing of the rain.

(From ’Lament for Thomas MacDonagh’)

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Saint Charles de Potyze French Military Cemetery See page 119

Commonwealth War Graves Commission See page 118

LANGEMARK-POELKAPELLE The Brooding Soldier Sint-Juliaan The Canadian Forces Memorial at Sint-Juliaan was erected in remembrance of the 2,000 dead of the First Canadian Division, who were killed in the fighting which followed the German gas attack of 22 April 1915. The monument dates from 1921 and was designed by F.C. Clemeshaw. It is also known as ’The Brooding Soldier’ - a reference to the grieving Canadian warrior, his head bowed in sorrow and his hands resting on the butt of his upturned rifle. It is generally regarded as one of the most poignant military memorials in the Salient.

I Crossroads Brugseweg-Zonnebekestraat 8920 Sint-Juliaan

Ypres Salient Tank Memorial Poelkapelle For many years after the First World War, a derelict tank stood at the foot of the Guynemer Memorial, embedded deep in the ground. It was not until the Second World War that it was finally removed. It is at this same location that the Ypres Salient Tank Memorial now stands. This monument commemorates the 244 officers and men of the Tank Corps who died on the nearby battlefields between 1914 and 1918. There is also a model of the original tank.

I Guynemerplein - 8920 Poelkapelle T. +32 (0)57 49 09 41 - www.langemark-poelkapelle.be

Guynemer Monument Poelkapelle Perhaps one of the most impressive French memorials in the Salient is the monument erected in memory of the French pilot Georges Guynemer in Poelkapelle.

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Guynemer was one of the great pioneers of aerial warfare and in 1917 the skies above Poelkapelle were the scene of some of his most memorable actions. It was here that he disappeared on 11 September 1917 during a routine mission. His body was never recovered. The Guynemer monument was inaugurated on 8 July 1923 and is crowned by a graceful stork - a reference to the great ace’s squadron: l’Escadrille des Cigognes.

I Guynemerplein - 8920 Poelkapelle

Charles Dresse Monument Poelkapelle This slightly neglected monument with an obelisk and a Breton cross was erected in 1922. The text is in both Dutch and French (which was unusual for that time). It is dedicated to Charles Dresse, who was born in Liege on 23 January 1897 and died in this vicinity on 28 September 1918. He is now buried in the Belgian military cemetery at Westvleteren.

I Poperingestraat - 8920 Poelkapelle

Welsh National Memorial Park The Welsh National Memorial Park is located near the Hagebos (Hedge Wood). A dolmen made from Welsh slate commemorates all the victims of Welsh origin who died during the Great War. Next to the park stand a memorial plaque to the Welsh poet Hedd Wyn, where a ceremony of remembrance is held on the first Monday of each month at 19.00 hours.

I Boezingestraat - 8920 Langemark T. +32 (0)57 49 09 41 - www.langemark-poelkapelle.be

German Military Cemetery Langemark See page 120

GEORGES GUYNEMER Georges Guynemer was a famous French pilot who won many aerial duals. Born in Paris on 24 December 1894, his small size initially made it difficult for him to enlist in the services. He was finally accepted into the infant air force as a non-commissioned officer but was soon promoted to the rank of captain. He shot down his first enemy plane in July 1915 and went on to claim no fewer than 53 victims, earning him the name of the ’Legendary Guynemer’. On 11 September 1917 he set off in his favourite Spad biplane for a reconnaissance mission over the Ypres Salient. He never returned. When the British later captured the village of Poelkapelle, they heard tales of a Spad which had been shot down nearby. Sadly, subsequent bombardments had obliterated all trace of the plane and Guynemer’s body was never recovered. There is still a monument to this greatest of all French aces in Poelkapelle, crowned by a flying stork - the symbol of his squadron: L’Escadrille des Cigognes.

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MESSINES (MESEN) Touristic Information Point This is the obvious starting point for any visit to the town, which is the smallest in Belgium.

The information centre is located in the former town hall, a listed building which has been completely restored and is a fine example of reconstruction architecture at its best. The centre explains the role of Messines role throughout history, with the main focus on the First World War. The first battle in 1914, the New Zealanders during the mine battle of 1917 and the special symbolic value of the Irish Peace Tower are just few of the topics that are covered. During the centennial period (2014 -2018) numerous temporary exhibitions and events will be organized.

I Markt 1 - 8957 Mesen T. +32 (0)57 22 17 14 - www.mesen.be - info@mesen.be Open daily from 8.30 to 17.30.

The Irish Peace Park and Peace Tower In the Irish Peace Park in Mesen (Messines), a round tower serves as a memorial in honour of Irishmen of all denominations who died during the First World War. The tower transcends religious and political differences, aspiring to be a symbol of reconciliation, not only for the past, but also for the present and the future. During the Battle of Messines, which started on 7 June 1917, the Catholic and Protestant Irish divisions (the 16th Irish and the 36th Ulster) fought side by side to gain the ridge on which the villages of Wijtschate and Mesen stand.

I Armentiersesteenweg - 8957 Mesen Free access every day from 09.00 to 17.00. Guided visits for groups can be booked at the Tourist Office.

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The New Zealand Memorial The New Zealand Division was also heavily engaged in the Battle of Messines in 1917. Each year, on 25 April, the New Zealand and Australian dead are commemorated on ANZAC Day (ANZAC stands for Australian and New Zealand Army Corps). Mesen (Messines) is twinned with the town of Featherston in New Zealand: quite literally on the other side of the world.

I Nieuw-Zeelanderstraat - 8957 Mesen Free access every day from 09.00 to 17.00. Guided visits for groups can be booked at the Tourist Office.

Peace carillon The belfry of the St. Nicolas Church houses a carillon of no fewer than 52 bells, donated as symbols of peace by individuals and organisations from more than 15 different countries.

I Sint-Niklaas Church - 8957 Mesen Free access every day from 09.00 to 17.00. Guided visits for groups can be booked at the Tourist Office.

Messines Ridge Memorial to the Missing This memorial is located at the entrance to Messines Ridge British Cemetery and bears the names of 839 New Zealand soldiers who died during the Battle of Messines and have no known grave. There are similar memorials to New Zealand’s war dead in Tyne Cot Cemetery and Buttes New British Cemetery.

I Nieuwkerkestraat - 8957 Mesen

Monument to Samuel Frickleton Erected to the memory of this New Zealand winner of the Victoria Cross (V.C.).

I Featherstonplein - next to the church

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SAMUEL FRICKLETON Born in Scotland in 1891 but also with Irish blood in his veins, Samuel Frickleton emigrated to New Zealand with his mother in 1913, following the death of his father. He was the tenth of eleven children and went to work in the Blackball Mine. When war broke out, he enlisted in the army and returned to Europe as a non-commissioned officer in the New Zealand Rifle Brigade. On 7 June 1917 - the opening day of the great mine offensive against the Messines Ridge - he was wounded during the early stages of the advance. Even so, he was able to knock out two German machine gun posts and subsequently defended them against repeated counter-attack, notwithstanding two further wounds. For his great bravery, Samuel Frickleton was awarded the Victoria Cross. Instigated by Queen Victoria in 1856, the VC has only been awarded 1,358 times in its 150 year history. Sam Frickleton’s medal can still be seen at the Army Memorial Museum at Waiouru in New Zealand.

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NIEUWPOORT (THE COAST) Lock complex ’De Ganzepoot’ (Goose’s Foot) and the Albert I Monument From the Langebrug (Long Bridge) in Nieuwpoort, there is an excellent view of the famous Goose’s Foot, a complex of locks where the river IJzer, three shipping canals and three drainage canals all flow together.

It was from here that the IJzer plain and front region was flooded at the end of 1914. In peacetime, the sea locks allowed the low-lying coastal plain to shed its excess water, whilst at the same time regulating water levels in the canals for navigation purposes. At high tide the gates of the sea lock remained closed, but at ebb tide they were opened, to allow any surplus water to flow out to sea. The actual locks were used to move boats upstream and downstream.

The superintendent of the Northern Waterways, Karel Cogge from Veurne, knew how this network of canals, streams and overflows was linked to the River IJzer via the locks at Nieuwpoort. Ship’s master Hendrik Geeraert knew how to open the flood gates. The water level rose and via this network seawater overflowed parts of the Yservalley.

As a result, the Germans were forced to retire and this sector of the front remained stable until the final Liberation Offensive in 1918.

Next to the Goose’s Foot stands the King Albert I Monument, which was dedicated in 1938 at the initiative of the Belgian National Association of War Veterans. It was designed by Julien de Ridder and the sculptor was Karel Aubroeck. The platform on top of the memorial offers an excellent view of the IJzer plain and the port of Nieuwpoort, with its fishing harbour and yachting marina. Orientation tables indicate the most

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important places of interest. On the first Sunday in August an annual national act of homage in honour of ’King Albert I and the Heroes of the IJzer’ is held here. Nearby stand a British and a French memorial, as well as the so-called IJzer Monument.

In the autumn of 2014 a brand-new visitors centre Westfront Nieuwpoort opened near the ‘Goose’s Foot’, which will house a permanent exhibition explaining the important role played by the Nieuwpoort locks in the flooding of the IJzer plain during the First World War. The permanent display is supplemented by frequent temporary exhibitions, nocturnes and workshops I Westfront Nieuwpoort is open from 10.00 to 17.00. Closed on Mondays, exept on holidays. Last ticket sold one hour before closing.

Entrance fee: adults € 7 - childeren < 6 years free childeren < 12 years € 5.

Frontzate It was here that the old railway line from Diksmuide to Nieuwpoort once ran, also known as Line 74. In 1983 this isolated (and now disused) stretch of track was turned into a walking and cycling path. During the war the ’Frontzate’ was an important line of defence and Line 74 had a key strategic function. During the flooding of the IJzer plain, the raised railway embankment acted as a water buffer. A number of brick bunkers were built into the embankment, to offer protection to the troops. 70 or so bunkers between Pervijze and Nieuwpoort can still be seen: silent witnesses to this important page in Belgian history.

Ramskapelle The First World War was disastrous for the architectural heritage of the front region. By the end of 1918, this polder village had been reduced to a heap of ruins. It was rebuilt during the 1920s. Just over the now-disused railway there is a commemorative plaque to the 14th Regiment of Line on the wall of the first house. This regiment lost more than 100 men during the recapture of the village in October 1914. The old station was used as an observation post. It was finally abandoned in1918, but was left in its wartime state. The only thing that has been changed is the replacement of the original sandbags with modern concrete copies.

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ZONNEBEKE Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917 In 1917 more than 400,000 soldiers were lost in the course of just one hundred days, and all for a paltry territorial gain of a few kilometres of shell-torn mud. The final objective for this unprecedented slaughter was the village of Passendale - then known as Passchendaele. The memory of this tragedy has been preserved for posterity in the Memorial Museum in Zonnebeke. Using authentic photographic material, a wide collection of historical objects and several realistic dioramas, the museum tells the story of the battle as it was experienced by the troops.

Pride of place goes to a reconstruction of a 6 metre-deep British dugout, complete with communications and first-aid posts, headquarters and sleeping facilities. The Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917 has been renewed and enlarged, the extension being officially opened in July 2013. This extension consists of a new underground section focusing on the Battle of Passchendaele, a network of open air trenches and a new remembrance gallery. As a result, the museum route had been extended to 400 metres, and now contains more than 5.000 exhibits.

The museum is housed in the historic park of Zonnebeke Château and is close to Tyne Cot Cemetery, to which it is linked by a special walking and cycling path. The chateau grounds now contain an open-air event area, the Passchendaele Memorial Gardens (seven Gardens of Remembrance for the nations who fought here during the First World War) and the chateau itself (where temporary exhibitions are often held).

I Berten Pilstraat - Château park - 8980 Zonnebeke T. +32 (0)51 77 04 41 - www.zonnebeke.be - www.passchendaele.be Open from 1 February to 15 December, from 9.00 to 18.00.

Last entrance at 16.30.

Entrance fee: Adults € 7.5

The Passchendaele Archives The Passchendaele Archives is a project launched by the Memorial Museum ’Passchendaele 1917’. With the Passchendaele Archives the museum wants to put a face and a story to the names of the men who fought and died here, by building up personal archives with photographs, family information and copies of records from military sources.

Did someone from your family fight at Passchendaele in 1917? Did he give his life? If you have a photograph, please contact the MMP1917.

In return for your cooperation we will try to find out what exactly happened to your relative.

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Command bunker Zandvoorde Just outside the village of Zandvoorde there is a German command bunker, dating from 1916. With six rooms and two entrances, this is one of the most impressive examples of German military architecture still surviving in the Salient. The bunker served as a link between the frontline in Hollebeke and headquarters units in Komen.

I Komenstraat - 8980 Zandvoorde T. +32 (0)51 77 04 41 - www.zonnebeke.be - www.passchendaele.be Permanent free access, from sunrise to sunset.

Crypt In the civil cemetery in Zonnebeke there is a crypt with fourteen separate coffins, which contain the remains of Zonnebeke’s war dead. This sad collection of bones is unique in Belgium.

I Civil cemetery - 8980 Zonnebeke T. +32 (0)51 77 04 41 www.zonnebeke.be www.passchendaele.be Permanent free access, from sunrise to sunset.

Cryer Farm Geluveld Also dating from 1916, a further German aid post can still be seen along the Menin-Ieper road, near the locality known as Clapham Junction. This post was captured in September 1917 by the British lieutenant Cryer, who lost his life in the process.

I Menenstraat - 8980 Geluveld T. +32 (0)51 77 04 41 www.zonnebeke.be - www.passchendaele.be Only accessible by appointment. Please contact the Tourist Office.

Crest Farm Canadian Memorial This monument commemorates the officers and men of the Canadian Corps, which suffered heavy losses here during the Battle of Passchendaele, but eventually managed to capture the church. Crest Farm is situated on high ground, offering an excellent view over the battlefield. Passchendaele church is barely 700 metres away, but it took the Canadians almost 10 days to fight that far. The road between the monument and the church is now called Canadalaan. Every year on the evening of 10 November, a ceremony is held with a torchlight procession to the church.

I Canadalaan - 8980 Passendale Free admission

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’The Road to Passchendaele’ This route allows walkers and cyclists to trace the advance of the Allied forces on 4 October 1917, a key day in the Battle of Passchendaele. The old railway bed of the now disused Ieper-Roeselare line links the Memorial Museum with Tyne Cot Cemetery, over a distance of 3 kilometres. Along the way, there are various bunkers and other relics of the war to be seen.

School groups can book a special ’Platoon Experience’, which will allow them to follow in the personal footsteps of a soldier from 1917.

I T. +32 (0)51 77 04 41 - www.zonnebeke.be - www.passchendaele.be ’Platoon Experience’ is only available for pupils older than 14 years of age. Reservations via the Tourist Office.

Polygon Wood Polygon Wood is a large wood that was completely destroyed in the First World War. Deep in the heart of the wood stands Buttes New British Cemetery and the New Zealand Memorial to the Missing, which commemorates 383 officers and men of the New Zealand Division. On top of the ’butte’ (hill) there is a memorial to the 5th Australian Division.

Polygon Wood still contains the remains of several shelters. Each year on ANZAC Day (25 April), the sacrifice of the ANZAC soldiers is commemorated during a dawn service. Polygon Wood Cemetery lies just across the other side of the road.

I Lange Dreve - 8980 Zonnebeke

Tyne Cot Cemetery See page 112

THE FRONT IN THE ’WESTHOEK’

91 I Buttes New British Cemetery

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BEHIND THE FRONT: UNOCCUPIED BELGIUM ALVERINGEM The Chaplain’s House (parsonage) The former Chaplain’s House or parsonage in Alveringem will be given a new and modern museum function. The area in and round the house - which was the home of the controversial priest-poet Cyriel Verschaeve from 1911 to 1939 - will be transformed into an experience centre, which will tell the unique story of Alveringem in the Great War. During the war the house served as a kind of refuge for the few remaining villagers, Flemish intellectuals, ordinary soldiers, officers, military chaplains and important figures from unoccupied Belgium. Here they discussed the pressing issues of the day: war and peace, matters of state, art and moral decline, the Front Movement and activism, war-weariness and desertion...

A series of photographs, documents and sound fragments will help visitors to learn more about the different aspects of the Great War in Alveringem and the role of Chaplain Verschaeve in these momentous events. Attention is also devoted to his life after the war, when he first became radicalized and later collaborated with Nazi Germany: a sad but fascinating story that shows all too clearly the dangers of extreme nationalism, no matter how well-intentioned.

The Chaplain’s House will open its doors in summer 2015.

I Sint-Rijkersstraat 22 - 8690 Alveringem

Malt and Brewing House ’de Snoek ’ The museum ’de Snoek’ tells the unique story of thirst during the First World War. I Fortem 40 - 8690 Alveringem www.desnoek.be and bezoek@ desnoek.be

Belgian Military Cemetery Oeren See page 108

Belgian Military Cemetery Hoogstade See page 108

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DE PANNE (THE COAST) L’Océan On 20 December 1914, the Grand Hôtel de L’Océan was opened as a front-line hospital. A number of wooden barracks were also built around this sea-front hotel. The ingenuity and organisation of its director, Dr. Antoine Depage - who worked closely with the Red Cross soon became legendary. By September 1918, when the final offensive of the war was launched, the hospital had a capacity of 1,800 beds.

During the First World War the Royal Family was accommodated in De Panne for a long time. Queen Elisabeth - a Bavarian princess who had married King Albert in 1900 (when he was still a prince) - was also involved in the foundation and development of the hospital. She visited it regularly and sometimes helped to tend the wounded. Nothing now remains of this once-famous site, but its location on the promenade is marked by a commemorative plaque. For reasons of safety, a large part of the hospital was transferred in 1917 to Vinkem, which is now part of the municipality of Beauvoorde, near Veurne.

I Zeedijk (Promenade) 70-74 - 8660 De Panne

LO-RENINGE Destrooper visitors’ centre The Destrooper biscuit factory is a brand new visitors’ centre where you can discover the family history and the history of the famous biscuits. Part of the visitors’ centre is dedicated to the First World War. The son of founder Jules Destrooper, Jules Destrooper Junior, was discharged from the army due to illness and returned to his hometown of Lo. The biscuit factory was closed due to the scarcity of raw materials and so he decided to print and sell postcards. These postcards showed regional landscapes and typical war scenes.

Soldiers were eager to collect the cards and used them to write to their families back home. The collection contained about 150 different postcards. Part of the collection can be seen in the visitors’ centre.

I Gravestraat 5 - 8647 Lo T. +32(0)58 28 09 33 - bezoekerscentrum@destrooper.be Open on weekdays and Saturdays from 09.30 to 12.30 and from 13.30 to 17.30 (Fridays to 16.30). Please note there is no production on Saturdays. Closed on Friday morning, Sundays and public holidays and from 24/12/2014 until 03/01/2015. Last admission one hour before closing. Entrance fee: € 5 - <12 years € 3 - <6 years free.

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POPERINGE Poperinge is a pleasant town surrounded by 150 hectares of hop fields. During the First World War, Poperinge - or ‘Pop’ as it was universally known - was the place behind the front where soldiers came to rest. Its shops, restaurants, hotels, inns, coffee houses, cinemas, theatres and dance halls were all much frequented by the troops ‘Poperinge was a great town then, one of the seven wonders of the world. And the other six, indeed, were temporarily disregarded.’ So wrote the English poet Edmund Blunden in 1917.

But this atmosphere of calm was deceptive. The town was shelled nearly every day. The American nurse Ellen N. La Motte described Poperinge in terms very different from Blunden’s: “The sight of the ruined houses filled me with dismay. The large public square in the centre of the town was ringed with shell-torn buildings, peppered with shell fragments and flying pieces of brick and masonry.”

Talbot House & Concert Hall “Abandon rank, all ye who enter here”. This was the motto of Talbot House, which was opened in Poperinge at the end of 1915 by two British army chaplains, Philip ‘Tubby’ Clayton and Neville Talbot. It was set up as an alternative place of rest and relaxation for the troops when they were out of the line, and eventually became the most famous of all the British ‘soldier clubs’.

Talbot House gave men a chance to become human again after the horrors of the trenches. Here they could relax and forget about the war in an atmosphere that reminded them of home. Everyone was welcome in this “Every-Man’s Club”, from the lowliest private to the most senior officer.

The unique atmosphere of Talbot House can still best be experienced in the Upper Room, a small chapel that was set up in the attic. And the English garden is still a ‘breath of fresh air’, just as it was during the war years. The adjacent hop store - better known to the troops as the Concert Hall - and the bathhouse in the Slessorium were both lovingly restored in 2004. The grounds and the rest of the building have also

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been renovated in recent years, but the authentic interior has been largely preserved. The Concert Hall now shows a continuous film projection of a recreated Concert Party, and since the autumn of 2013 visitors can follow a digital tour of the house and its various exhibits using ‘Tubby’s Story Tablet’. A series of photographs, videos and sound fragments tell the remarkable story of this remarkable place.

And if you are looking for overnight accommodation that combines a unique setting with a genuine experience of ‘life behind the front’, why not book one of the guest rooms at Talbot House? You won’t find fourstar luxury, but you will find a charm and an authenticity that you will never forget.

I Gasthuisstraat 43 8970 Poperinge T. +32 (0)57 33 32 28 +44 2035 149 826 www.talbothouse.be Open from Tuesday to Sunday, from 10.00 to 17.30. Last admittance at 16.30. Closed between Christmas and New Year. - Entrance fee: € 8

I Poperinge during WWI

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PHILIP THOMAS BYARD CLAYTON Better known as ’Tubby’ (because of his size and shape), the Reverend Philip Clayton will forever be associated with Talbot House. He was born in Queensland (Australia) in 1885 but returned to England with his parents just two years later. After studying theology at Oxford, he went to France in 1915 as an army chaplain. In December of the same year, he opened Talbot House, together with his friend Neville Talbot. It was located in the 18th century mansion of Maurice Coevoet, a rich banker and hop merchant. The Upper Room (as it was later known) has scarcely changed since 1915. Aided by his batman Arthur Pettifer, who was a master ’scrounger’, Tubby made sure that the troops lacked for nothing. He was even able to start a library. His sense of humour made him extremely popular and Talbot House was soon known and loved throughout the British Army. After the war, Tubby Clayton returned to London, where he opened a second Talbot House in 1920. In 1922 he became vicar of All-Hallows-by-the-Tower Church, where he remained until 1962. For the last ten years of his life he devoted himself to the work of the Toc H movement - a worldwide charitable organisation which had grown from the original Talbot House idea. He died in 1972 at the age of 87. In a rare tribute, BBC radio and television held a minute’s silence in honour of his memory.

Execution site and death cells The courtyard of Poperinge town hall, with its adjacent ‘death cells’, is a place of huge symbolic significance. It is the only place where the stories of the soldiers ‘shot at dawn’ can be so vividly experienced.

During the First World War, 15 British and 2 Canadian soldiers were executed in GreaterPoperinge, and several more in nearby villages. There are now 17 ‘shot at dawn’ burials in Poperinge New Military Cemetery (Deken Debolaan), with others buried in the military cemeteries at Lijssenthoek, Poperinge (Old), Reninghelst (New), Nine Elms and Mendinghem. In total, the British Army executed 69 of its own troops in the Westhoek. Their graves are now spread over 23 different cemeteries, although seven whose graves were later lost are now commemorated on the Menin Gate (four) and the Ploegsteert Memorial (three).

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It is known with certainty that at least four British soldiers were executed in the town hall courtyard. The execution site and the adjacent death cells, where the condemned men spent their last night, have been renovated to allow better public access. The renovation was carried out in a contemporary style, which emphasizes the symbolic significance of the location. In the death cells you can share the last moments of the terrified young soldiers and even read the graffiti that some of the prisoners left behind. The execution post has been repositioned, so that it is now visible from the cells. A bench and a partition wall - both in concrete are set on either side of the post, intensifying the grim intimacy of the courtyard. Cobblestones with the impression of a bird’s paw symbolize the fragility of human life. A poem by Edwin Mortier brings home the deeper dimension of the site.

I The execution site and the death cells are open daily from 06.00 to 22.00. They can be reached via the entrance on the Guido Gezellestraat. Admittance is free. T. +32 (0)57 34 66 76

Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery and Visitor Centre See page 114

‘The First World War behind the front’ visitors’ centre The attic of the ’t Jagershof tavern is home to a unique exhibition that highlights the history of De Lovie chateau, St. Sixtus Abbey and the ‘t Jagershof site itself. Diary extracts from two of the monks at St. Sixtus form the central element of the display, linking together a fine collection of artefacts, uniforms and documents that tell the story of the troubled years between 1914 and 1918.

I Bankelindeweg 58, 8972 Krombeke www.hetjagershof.be

VEURNE ’The Free Fatherland, living behind the front’ Experience Centre The Great War was the first war to be fought on an industrial scale. Never before had so many millions been killed in a conflict between nations. However, the brand-new ‘Free Fatherland’ Experience Centre - located in the historic town hall of Veurne - has chosen not to focus on the battlefield, but looks instead at life in the last remaining piece of free, unoccupied Belgium, the so-called Belgian Sector. It was here that the Belgian Army, under the command of King Albert I, was able to hold the invader at bay for four long years. The centre tells you what it was like to live in the small and dangerous zone immediately behind the front, which was

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transformed into a veritable melting-pot of different nationalities. This was a multicultural society in microcosm, racial integration ‘avant la lettre’. Veurne and the surrounding countryside were packed with soldiers from the ‘fatherland’, from neighbouring lands and even from distant continents, but there were also many thousands of local residents, refuges, doctors and nurses. ‘Free Fatherland’ brings together the stories of all these different people in a series of atmospheric displays that make use of both modern media technology and traditional exhibition techniques.

I Grote Markt - 8630 Veurne Opening hours: www.vrijvaderland.be or T. +32 (0)58 33 55 31 Entrance fee: €4, €3 for groups > 15 pers.

Guides available on request T. +32 (0)58 33 55 34

Town hall The headquarters of the Belgian Army was located in Veurne town hall during the crucial Battle of the IJzer. King Albert I also had his command post in the building between 15 October 1914 and 23 January 1915. King George V of England, the French president Poincaré and his minister of war Joffre, the British commander-in-chief French, King Victor Emmanuel of Italy and the French general Foch all visited him during this period. In October 1914 the possible flooding of the IJzer plain was also discussed here with Karel Cogge. From the spring of 1915 until 1919 the headquarters of the army was located in the parsonage at Houtem.

I Grote Markt - 8630 Veurne T. +32 (0)58 33 55 34 - groepen@veurne.be The town hall can only be visited by groups of 15 people or more.

Prior reservation is necessary. Entrance fee: €2 pp.

Bust of Karel Cogge Karel Cogge, (1855-1922) was the superintendent of the Northern Waterways. He played an important role in the flooding of the IJzer plain at the end of October 1914. This bust was made by Jules Lagae.

I Noordstraat - 8630 Veurne

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Headquarters of the Belgian Army Houtem From 23 January 1915 until October 1918, the Belgian Army had its headquarters in the parsonage next to the church in Houtem. It was from this building that Lieutenant-General Wielemans conducted operations. It was here that King Albert visited him three or four times a week, meeting other Allied commanders and decorating soldiers for gallantry. General Wielemans died on 5 January 1917 and was buried in Houtem cemetery. His grave, with its column of pink granite, can still be seen today.

I Kerkhoek - 8630 Houtem

Joe English Vinkem Joe English was born in Bruges in 1882. He is above all known for his design of the so-called ’hero’ headstones. This Celtic-style cross, with a seagull or stormy petrel as emblem and the letters AVV-VVK (’Alles Voor Vlaanderen, Vlaanderen Voor Kristus’, meaning ’All for Flanders, Flanders for Christ’) was erected over the graves of many Flemish soldiers. English died on 31 August 1918 in the L’Océan 2 military hospital as a result of a badly treated appendicitis. A simple stone in Vinkem is the only indication of where this hospital once stood. In the summer of 1917 the original hospital at the Hotel l’Ocean in De Panne was forced by continuous shellfire to move to a tented village in Vinkem.

I Joe Englishstraat - 8630 Vinkem

Cachot (prison cell) Wulveringem Near the old village school it is still possible to see a well-preserved ’cachot’ or prison cell. This simple vaulted room is just 1.80 m high and 2.10 m wide. It was surrounded with barbed wire and was used to keep recalcitrant soldiers under lock and key. Here they had to survive the day on just a chunk of bread and a bowl of water.

I Wulveringemstraat 14 - 8630 Wulveringem

Belgian Military Cemetery Steenkerke See page 111

French Military Cemetery Veurne See page 119

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VLETEREN Belgian Military Cemetery Westvleteren See page 116

Dozinghem Military Cemetery Westvleteren See page 116

Searching for the fallen From 4 August 2014 it is possible to consult a complete casualty list of all those who died in Belgium during the First World War. The list can be viewed on the website of the In Flanders Fields Museum (www.inflandersfields.be/en) and contains all Belgian war dead, both civilian and military, as well as all the fatal casualties of the other warring nations whose deaths were connected with their service in Belgium. This is the first time that such an integrated list has ever been published exactly 100 years after the war started. It is estimated to contain some 600,000 names, 550,000 of whom died in West Flanders.

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BEHIND THE FRONT: THE OCCUPIED TERRITORY HOOGLEDE Hooglede and Gits did not emerge unscathed from the First World War. For both villages, the German occupation was a period of relative calm. Even so, they were still in the ’Etappengebiet’ (Reserve Zone) and therefore close to the front. Many wounded soldiers were brought here for medical care. Some of them never recovered and are now buried in the ’Soldatenfriedhof ’ (military cemetery). During the Liberation Offensive in September 1918, both villages were badly damaged.

War museum The museum focuses its attention largely on local history during the First and Second World Wars.

I Marktplaats 24 - 8830 Hooglede Free admittance. Guided tour available on request.

T. +32 (0)51 20 30 30 www.hooglede.be

German Military Cemetery Hooglede See page 121

KOEKELARE Käthe Kollwitz Museum Learn about Käthe Kollwitz, her son and her work in a unique brewery site.

In the Käthe Kollwitz Museum you will find some original pieces by this famous German artist. Her expressionist art illustrates how Käthe rebelled against both war and poverty. But the museum also shows Käthe Kollwitz as the mother of her son Peter, who was killed during the war.

In an explanatory section, a comparison is made between her work and the world of contemporary art. Käthe Kollwitz is best known in Flanders for her statue of The Grieving Parents, which can be admired in the German military cemetery at Vladslo (Diksmuide).

I Sint-Maartensplein 15B - 8680 Koekelare T. +32 (0)51 61 04 94 - www. koekelare.be diensttoerisme@koekelare.be

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Open Tuesday to Friday from 09.30 to 12.00 and 13.30 to 17.00 (last tickets sold 30 minutes before closing). From 15 May to 15 November also open on Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays from 13.30 to 17.00. Closed on Mondays and Wednesday morning.

Entrance fee: adults € 5 - children 0-6 years free - children 6 to 12 years € 3.50 - seniors (65+) € 4 - groups from 10 people € 3.50 Museum pass holders € 4 The entrance fee covers both the Käthe Kollwitz Museum and the ‘Frenchies’ Museum.

Lange Max Museum The ’Lange Max’ (Long Max) Museum focuses almost exclusively on the First World War as seen from a German point of view. This makes it unique amongst First World War museums.

It tells the story of the largest German cannon of the day, which was used primarily to bombard Dunkirk, but also provides a fascinating insight into life and work on the German side of the front. Qualitative information and the most modern presentation techniques are used to create a memorable museum experience.

I Clevenstraat 2 - 8680 Koekelare T. +32 (0)476 21 68 59 www.langemaxmuseum.be July and August: open every day from 14.00 to 18.00. From September to June: open Wednesday to Sunday from 14.00 to 18.00.

Entrance fee: Standard €5 - children 0 to 6 years free - children 6 to 12 € 3.50 - groups from 10 people € 4

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MENIN (MENEN) (FLANDERS LYS VALLEY) During the First World War, Menin was occupied by the German Army from October 1914 until October 1918. The town was just a stone’s throw behind the fighting zone and became a supply centre for the German front-line troops. It was equipped with field kitchens, bakeries, supply depots, ammunition depots, wagon parks and even airfields. Menin also contained a number of field hospitals to care for the growing numbers of wounded.

Wounded prisoners-of-war were also treated here. Until 1917, the soldiers who died of their wounds were buried in the civil cemetery (behind the station). However, as a result of the huge casualties during the Third Battle of Ypres a new purpose-built cemetery was begun in the fields near the boundary between Menen and the neighbouring village of Wevelgem. By the end of the war, the ’Ehrenfriedhof Meenen Wald N° 62’ contained more than 6,000 German burials.

German Military Cemetery Menen-Wevelgem See page 121

MIDDELKERKE (THE COAST) Leffinge

German mausoleum This mausoleum in the cemetery on the Dorpstraat in Leffinge (near Middelkerke) was built by German soldiers in 1915 to a design by Hauptman (Captain) Löwenstein. During the war years some 1,700 of their fallen comrades were buried here. In 1958 their remains were transferred to the ’Soldatenfriedhof’ in Vladslo and the Leffinge site was converted into a civilian cemetery for the local community. In 2002, the mausoleum - which is a rare example of non-military war architecture was granted the status of a protected monument.

I Dorpsstraat - 8434 Leffinge

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OSTEND (OOSTENDE) (THE COAST) The lively port and seaside resort of Ostend remained in German hands throughout the Great War. The harbour was a base for German submarines that attacked Allied troop and transport ships. This sector of the front was defended by the German ’Marinekorps Flandern’ under the command of Admiral von Schröder. The British attempted to put the harbour out of action. The Vindictive Monument commemorates a daring British naval attack which partly blocked the port in 1918.

Provincial Domain of Raversyde The Atlantikwall at Raversijde (just outside Ostend) boasts an impressive collection of German bunkers and coastal defences from the First and the Second World War. I Nieuwpoortsesteenweg 636 - 8400 Ostend T. +32 (0)59 70 22 85 - www.raversyde.be Open from 21 March 2015 to 15 November 2015: - school holidays, weekends and public holidays from 10.30 to 18.00.

- Week days: Atlanticwall open from 10.30 to 17.00, Anno 1465 open from 14.00 to 17.00.

Entrance fee per museum: Atlantikwall: €8, Anno 1465: €6 / combiticket: € 10

STADEN During the early months of the war the small town of Staden and its neighbouring village of Westrozebeke were almost completely destroyed, although nearby Oostnieuwkerke was partially spared. In 1917 the castle in Staden was demolished by a British bombardment. It was never rebuilt.

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Monument to Luitenant Juul De Winde Westrozebeke Born in Merchtem in 1893, De Winde was drafted into the Belgian Army in 1913. He was prompted to the rank of lieutenant in 1917 - which was something of an exception for a soldier with clear Flemish nationalist sympathies. He was killed during the attack on Westrozebeke on 28 September 1918. In 1937 his remains were transferred to the crypt of the IJzer Tower in Diksmuide. The monument in the Hyndrickxbosstraat in Westrozebeke was unveiled in 1938. It was designed by Karel Aubroeck, the designer of the King Albert Monument in Nieuwpoort.

This is perhaps most clearly seen in the use of yellow Nieuwpoort brick.

I Hyndrickxbosstraat in Westrozebeke

WERVIK For the four years of the war, the town of Wervik almost became a German ’colony’. Curiously enough, this occupation also led to a kind of ’reunification’: for the duration of hostilities, the old distinction between Wervicq-Sud (on the French side of the River Leie) and Wervik (on the Belgian side of the Leie) ceased to exist. As one of the nearest towns behind the German lines, Wervik was the scene of frenetic military activity. Many German troops were quartered there. Different units arrived and departed almost every day. Prisoners of war passed through on a regular basis, as did military convoys. There were dumps of every kind, almost too numerous to mention. Inevitably, there were also cemeteries: funeral processions and mass burials were frequent occurrences. In his letters home, the German artist Max Beckmann described the almost surrealistic life of German troops stationed in Wervik in 1915. Not that things were much better for the local inhabitants, who faced all the dangers of war but who were also subject to strict German rules, with heavy fines for any infringements. The civilian population was finally evacuated in the summer of 1917, when the plans for a major Allied offensive against this sector of the front became clear.

I Ruined houses nearby the medieval St.-Medardus Church.

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WILLIAM LEGGETT William Leggett was born in Australia in 1891. When he was 21 years old he left for England and joined the Life Guards. William was elevated to the rank of corporal in the 1st Life Guards. At the beginning of the First World War, he found himself in Geluwe. On 14 October 1914, five days before the First Battle of Ypres started, he was killed during a brief skirmish with German troops. Corporal William Leggett is believed to be the first Australian who fell in the Great War. He was buried in Geluwe but his remains were transferred to the New British Cemetery in Harelbeke. A plaque and work of art next to the church in Geluwe commemorate his death.

National Tobacco Museum The fully renovated National Tobacco Museum in Wervik will for the next five years largely be dedicated to the history of tobacco and smoking during the First World War. The varied collection of artefacts and militaria that have been assembled offer a fascinating view of the role played by tobacco during the war years. “A shared smoke was a way of connecting in a disconnected world”.

This was something that the generals on both sides understood. Those who managed to survive the war often returned home as hardened smokers. But what did they smoke? Did they prefer the traditional pipe or were they fans of the more recent cigarette? Were they sniffers of snuff or were they chewers of wads? Was there always enough tobacco at the front? How did the prisoners of war manage? What were the most popular brands? And perhaps the most important question of all: how did the humble cigarette become ‘the soldier’s friend’? You can find the answers to these and many other interesting questions in the museum’s brand-new display settings.

I Koestraat 63 - 8940 Wervik T. +32 (0)56 95 24 25 - www.nationaaltabakmuseum.be tabaksmuseum@wervik.be Opening hours: (30.03-15.11) Tuesday to Friday from 10.00 to 12.00 and 14.00 to 18.00; Saturday, Sunday and public holidays from 14.00 to 18.00. Closed on Monday. Last tickets sold 30 minutes before closing. Group visits are possible at other times with prior reservation.

Entrance fee: standard € 4.50 - seniors (60+) € 3.50 - children/ youngsters (6-18 years) € 2 - children < 6 years free.

Temporary exhibitions 2015: www.nationaltabaksmuseum.be

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Memorial plaque to John Eden Kruiseke During the first clashes between British and German forward units near the hamlet of Kruiseke in October 1914, one of the casualties was Lieutenant John Eden of the 12th Lancers. He was the brother of Anthony Eden, who later became prime minister of Great Britain. A memorial plaque to Lieutenant Eden is bricked into the wall of the Sacred Heart Church. The hamlet is also the starting point for the Kruiseke provincial walking route, which leads visitors across the rolling terrain over which the opening actions of the First Battle of Ypres were fought.

The ’French Hill’ in Wervicq-Sud (France) During the period of German occupation between 1914 and 1918, the towns of Wervik (in Belgium) and Wervicq-Sud (in France) were temporarily reunited, to form a single community (as had often been the case in the past). This community was largely German and largely military.

Evidence of this occupation can still be found at the so-called French Hill in Wervicq-Sud. The ’Wit Kasteel’ (White Chateau) in the grounds of the Dalle-Dumont park served as a field hospital for much of the war, and there are still the remains of military shelters and a memorial to the XVth Army Corps dating from 1915. There is also a German military cemetery (’Deutscher Soldatenfriedhof’) in Wervicq-Sud, which was transferred from its original location in the Dalle-Dumont park and was extended by the concentration of graves from elsewhere in 1974.

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BELGIAN MILITARY CEMETERIES ALVERINGEM Oeren 508 Belgian soldiers lie buried around the church in Oeren, many of whom are unknown. In 1923 the village was the setting for the fourth IJzer Pilgrimage.

I Oerenstraat 8690 Oeren

Hoogstade The Belgian military cemetery at Hoogstade contains 825 graves, of which 35 are unknown. 20 British soldiers are also buried here. Since 2004 it has been possible to â&#x20AC;&#x2122;adoptâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; the grave of a Belgian soldier.

I Brouwerijstraat 8690 Hoogstade

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DE PANNE (THE COAST) The military cemetery is situated alongside the civil cemetery in De Panne. In total the site contains 3,739 graves, of which 3,366 are Belgian casualities from the First World War. De Panne is therefore the largest of all Belgian military cemeteries. It was begun by fighting units during the First World War. Later, graves from a number of smaller burial sites in the Westhoek were transferred here.

I Kerkstraat - 8660 De Panne

Adinkerke This cemetery behind the church contains the graves of 1,651 Belgian, 67 British and 1 French soldier, who all died during the First World War. The cemetery contains six Flemish â&#x20AC;&#x2122;heroâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; crosses designed by Joe English.

I Heldenweg - 8660 Adinkerke

DIKSMUIDE Keiem This cemetery is the last resting place of 628 soldiers from the 8th and 13th Line Regiments of the Belgian Army. During the Battle of the IJzer (October 1914) an attempt to capture the village of Keiem was repulsed with heavy losses. Many were killed during the confusion of the subsequent retreat to the hamlet of Tervaete, on the other side of the River IJzer.

I Keiemdorpstraat 170 - 8600 Keiem

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EDWARD AND FRANS VAN RAEMDONCK More commonly referred to as the Van Raemdonck Brothers, Edward and Frans came to be seen as a Flemish symbol for sacrifice and brotherly love. Tragic as their deaths were, their story was later romanticised in the interest of the Flemish cause - and was immortalised in a moving drawing by the artist Joe English. The brothers were born in Temse - Edward in 1895 and Frans in 1897 - and both were sergeants in the 24th Line Regiment. Tradition claims that they died in each other’s arms in No Man’s Land, following an attack on the ’Stampkot’ position near Steenstraete in March 1917. We will never know exactly what happened on that fateful night, but it seems that Frans was wounded on his way back to the Belgian trenches. A French-speaking comrade, Aimé Fiévez, went to his aid, but both were killed by a German shell. When Edward discovered that this brother had not returned, he went back out into No Man’s Land to look for him, but was mown down by machine gun fire, just yards from where Frans and Fiévez were lying. During subsequent bombardments, the bodies were disturbed, so that Edward and Frans were found side by side, when their remains were eventually recovered after the war.In 1932, the brothers - together with Aimé Fiévez - were interred in a single coffin in the crypt of the IJzer Tower in Diksmuide. A year later a memorial was built over the spot near Steenstraete where their bodies had been discovered.

HOUTHULST The most well-known Belgian military cemetery is located in the heart of Houthulst forest and contains 1.723 graves, most of soldiers who were killed during the so-called Liberation Offensive of September-October 1918. 81 Italiens are also buried here. Italian prisoners of war were used by the Germans for work behind the front, especially in the region Roeselare-Izegem.

Most of those who died fell victim to illness or disease. Their remains were later transferred to Houthulst, where they now lay along the forest’s edge in this star-shaped cemetery.

I Poelkapellestraat 8650 Houthulst

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NIEUWPOORT (THE COAST) Ramskapelle This concentration cemetery contains the graves of 634 Belgian soldiers, 400 of whom are unidentified. Most of these men were killed during the Battle of the IJzer in October 1914.

I Ramskapellestraat- 8620 Ramskapelle

VEURNE Steenkerke Some 500 Belgian soldiers are buried behind the St. Laurentius Church in Steenkerke. Joe English was the first casualty to be buried here, but his remains were later transferred to the crypt of the IJzer Tower. He died from peritonitis in the military hospital at Vinkem, where a street was named after him. A small monument was also erected in the same village in honour of this well-known Flemish soldier, a leading figurein the so-called Front Movement.

I Behind the St. Laurentius Church

VLETEREN Westvleteren 1,208 soldiers found their last resting place in the Belgian military cemetery in the village of Westvleteren.

I Sint-Maartensstraat - 8640 Westvleteren I Belgian military cemetery Ramskapelle

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’If I should die, think only this of me: That there’s some corner of a foreign field That is forever England.’

From ’The Soldier’ by Rupert Brooke

COMMONWEALTH MILITARY CEMETERIES Between 1914 and 1918, the fertile fields around the city of Ypres (now Ieper) were the setting for some of the most frightful battles the world has ever known. Soldiers from more than 50 nations fought and died here. Time has inevitably erased many traces of the Great War, but the many military cemeteries and memorials which dot the landscape still speak to our imagination and say much about the terrible nature of the ’war to end all wars’.

Commonwealth war cemeteries that contain more than 40 graves each have a Cross of Sacrifice. Cemeteries with more than 1,000 graves also have a Stone of Remembrance, which bears the inscription: ’Their Name Liveth For Evermore’ - a text chosen from the Bible by Rudyard Kipling.

ZONNEBEKE Passendale

Tyne Cot Cemetery and visitors centre The name Passendale is indelibly etched on the collective consciousness of Great Britain and her Commonwealth. During the Third Battle of Ypres (1917) the British Army lost nearly 300,000 men to capture this ruined village and a few kilometres of shell-blasted mud. The British called the village ’Passion Dale’- the Valley of Suffering. The cost in human life to achieve this ’victory’ is all too evident in Tyne Cot Cemetery, the largest British war cemetery on mainland Europe.

Originally, ’Tyne Cot’ was a strong point in the German Flandern I Line.

Australian troops set up an aid post in one of its bunkers, following its capture in October 1917. A cemetery of 340 graves quickly grew up around this bunker - men who had died in the aid post or nearby.

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Between 1919 and 1921 specialised Exhumation Companies brought in many thousands of bodies from the surrounding battlefields. Only 3,800 of the victims could be identified by name. The cemetery - which also contains a memorial to the missing - was designed by Sir Herbert Baker and was inaugurated in 1927.

Nearly 12,000 soldiers of the Commonwealth are buried here, together with a number of German prisoners of war who died in Allied hands.

The screen wall at the back of the cemetery commemorates a further 34,957 missing soldiers, who died after 15 August 1917. The more than 55,000 missing who died before this date are honoured by name on the Menin Gate Memorial in Ieper (this memorial, designed during the war, was intended to commemorate all the missing, but simply proved to be too small to take the terrible number of names).

The uniform headstones are made of white Portland stone, as are the impressive Cross of Sacrifice, with its bronze sword, and the altar-like Stone of Remembrance. At the specific request of King George V, the Cross of Sacrifice was constructed above a German bunker captured on 4 October 1917, which later served as an aidpost (see above).

On 12 July 2007 a whole new infrastructure for visitors was opened by Queen Elizabeth II of Great Britain and Queen Paola of Belgium. The modern visitors centre looks out over the old battlefields and contains much information about the terrible fighting that took place here. There is also a large parking area with sanitary facilities behind the cemetery. The cemetery is linked to the Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917 by a 3 kilometre-long walking and cycling route. This route is also known as â&#x20AC;&#x2122;The Road to Passchendaeleâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;.

I Tyne Cot Cemetery - Tynecotstraat - 8980 Passendale Entrance and parking - Vijfwegestraat The Visitors Centre is open daily from 1 February until the end of November from 10.00 to 18.00.

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Buttes New British Cemetery Polygon Wood is a large wood that was completely destroyed in the First World War. Deep in the heart of the wood stands Buttes New British Cemetery and the New Zealand Memorial to the Missing, which commemorates 383 officers and men of the New Zealand Division. On top of the ‘butte’ (hill) there is a memorial to the 5th Australian Division.

Polygon Wood still contains the remains of several shelters. Each year on ANZAC Day (25 April), the sacrifice of the ANZAC soldiers is commemorated during a dawn service. Polygon Wood Cemetery lies just across the other side of the road.

I Lange Dreve - 8980 Zonnebeke

POPERINGE Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery and visitor centre From 1915 until 1920 the hamlet of Lijssenthoek (in the Boescheepseweg) was the site of the largest evacuation hospital in the Ypres Salient. Today, Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery bears witness to the terrible human cost of more than 4 years of war. 10,784 soldiers are buried here. The cemetery is a multicultural one. Not only does it contain the graves of British soldiers, but also of French, Canadian, Chinese, South African, New Zealand, German and Australian troops. The visitors’ centre is situated next to the cemetery and offers a historical interpretation of this unique site. It tells about the daily life in the hospital and the creation of the cemetery. A video-calendar, changing every day, recounts the story of one of the victims who died that day. From within the walls, audio fragments with voices from the past and the present read snippets from letters, diaries, registers… Along the footpath leading to the

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cemetery entrance, a row of 1392 poles charts the grim development of Lijssenthoek and its growing toll of death.

I Boescheepseweg 35A - 8970 Poperinge The Visitor Centre is open daily from 09.00 to 18.00. Entrance is free.

Info: www.lijssenthoek.be

IEPER (YPRES) Essex Farm Cemetery One of the best known sites in the Ypres Salient is Essex Farm Cemetery and the nearby Advanced Dressing Station, where John McCrae wrote his famous poem â&#x20AC;&#x2122;In Flanders Fieldsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; at the beginning of May 1915. McCrae died in 1918 and is buried in Wimereux, France. In addition to the cemetery and the adjacent concrete shelters of the old dressing station, the bank of the canal has also recently been renovated and opened to the public.

I Diksmuidseweg 146 - 8900 Ieper

Bedford House Cemetery This cemetery, just outside Ieper, is one of the largest British cemeteries in the Westhoek. It stands in what was once the park of Rosendael Castle, which the British troops renamed Bedford House during the First World War. The castle served as a headquarters and as a medical aid post. Several small cemeteries were started in the castle grounds, and later expanded after the Armistice. Its magnificent garden architecture makes Bedford House Cemetery a unique site.

I Rijselseweg 152 - 8902 Zillebeke

New Irish Farm Cemetery This large Commonwealth cemetery lies just off the northern ring road of Ieper. It was created in 1917, after this zone had been captured during an Allied advance. Before that, it had been in the front line. New Irish Farm Cemetery originally contained just 73 graves. After the war, a further 4,500 burials were added, as a result of battlefield clearance or the consolidation of other smaller cemeteries. 70% of the casualties are unknown.

I Briekestraat - 8900 Sint-Jan

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Hooge Crater Cemetery

I Meenseweg 479 - 8902 Zillebeke

VLETEREN Dozinghem Military Cemetery In preparation for the Third Battle of Ieper in 1917, the British Army set up a number of extra field hospitals behind the lines. There were three such hospitals near Dozinghem. The soldiers who died of their wounds were buried here. The cemetery also contains the graves of three members of the Chinese Labour Corps.

I Leeuwerikstraat 6 - 8640 Westvleteren

KOMEN-WAASTEN - PLUGSTREET (Province Hainaut)

Berks Cemetery Extension and visitors’ centre Just over the provincial (and linguistic) border, not far from Messines (Mesen), lies the burial ground known as Berks Cemetery Extension. The most striking feature of this cemetery is the memorial to more than 11,000 missing soldiers from Great Britain and South Africa, who died as a result of ’routine’ trench warfare or in one of the minor operations designed to support major offensives elsewhere. On the first Friday of every month the Last Post is sounded here at 19.00. Just behind the cemetery and memorial stands the new ‘Plugstreet 14-18 Experience’. This interpretation centre tells the story of both soldiers and civilians in the Ploegsteert area during the war years.

I Rue de Messines - 7782 Ploegsteert

Countless other British Cemeteries of various sizes Apart from the imposing cemeteries at Tyne Cot and Lijssenthoek, there are more than 170 smaller and more intimate Commonwealth cemeteries scattered across the landscape of the Westhoek. The Scots have their own cemetery (No Man’s Cot on Pilkem Ridge), as do the Welsh (Caesar’s Nose Cemetery, also on Pilkem Ridge) and the Irish (Locre Hospice Cemetery, near Loker in Heuvelland). Near to Locre Hospice Cemetery,

6

Hooge Crater Cemetery was begun in October 1917, when Hooge fell into Allied hands at the start of the Third Battle of Ypres. After the Armistice, the cemetery was enlarged by the addition of some 5,800 graves from the neighbouring battlefields and cemeteries. The Stone of Remembrance at the front of the burial area has been placed in a hollow; a symbol for the craters that were formed by the many mines blown in this area.

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in what was once the garden of a convent, stands the grave of Major William Redmond. He was an important Catholic political leader before the war and helped to force the British government to pass a bill granting Home Rule for Ireland. To ensure that the bill would be honoured after the war, he encouraged many Catholics to join the British Army (where they served in the 16th Irish Division). Redmond was bitterly disappointed by the Easter Rising of 1916 and its harsh suppression. He was killed on 7 June 1917, the opening day of the Battle of Messines Ridge: a battle in which, appropriately enough, Irish Catholics and Protestants fought side by side. In Buttes New British Cemetery in Polygon Wood, a memorial to the 5th Australian Division now stands astride what was once a pre-war rifle range of the Belgian army. At the opposite side ofthe cemetery, there is a memorial to missing soldiers from New Zealand, who died here in the winter of 1917-1918.

I No Manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Cot - Moortelweg in Boezinge (Ieper) Caesarâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Nose - Moortelweg in Boezinge Locre Hospice Cemetery - Godtschalckstraat in Loker (Heuvelland)

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BLOOD RED IS THE BLOOM OF THE POPPY...

”In Flanders fields the poppies blow, between the crosses, row on row that mark our place” John McCrae in 1915 The red poppy was destined to become a symbol for the inhuman suffering and loss caused by the war. Even 100 years later, traces of this war are still to be found in the landscape.

The Bomb Disposal Unit of the Belgian Army, based at Houthulst, still detonates old munitions from the war twice each day. Shells are regularly brought to the surface, as a result of farming or building works.

Each year in the Westhoek more than 200 tons of old munitions are collected, 10% of which contain chemical weapons.

Commonwealth War Graves Commission The Imperial War Graves Commission was founded in 1917 and is responsible for the maintenance of graves and memorials in some 150 countries, from Albania to Zimbabwe. The Commission commemorates more than 1,700,000 members of the Commonwealth forces who died in the two world wars and who now lie buried in more than 23,000 cemeteries world-wide. In 1960 the organisation changed its name to the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.The regional headquarters for Northern Europe is located in Ieper at Elverdingestraat 82. - T. +32 (0)57 22 36 36 (neaoffice@cwgc.org - www.cwgc.org).

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FRENCH MILITARY CEMETERIES IEPER (YPRES) Saint-Charles de Potyze More than 4,000 French soldiers are buried in Saint-Charles de Potyze Cemetery near Ieper (on the road to Zonnebeke). A further 600 unknown soldiers were interred in a mass grave. A Breton Pieta by the sculptor J. Fréour is located at the front of the site, mourning over the lost dead.

I Zonnebeekseweg - 8900 Ieper

HEUVELLAND French ossuary Kemmel This mass grave at the foot of Mount Kemmel contains the remains of 5,294 French soldiers, of whom just 57 are identified. Most of these men died during the battle for the hill in April 1918. Higher up the slopes of the same hill stands the ’Monument aux Soldats Français’, also known as ’The Angel’. This 18 metre-high memorial column was erected in 1932 and looks out wistfully over the battlefield where so many died.

I Kemmelbergweg - 8956 Kemmel

VEURNE French military cemetery and ossuary This cemetery contains the mass grave - or ossuary - of 78 French soldiers. A further 186 French casualties are buried in individual graves, including 8 soldiers of the Muslim faith.

I Oude Vestingstraat - 8630 Veurne

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GERMAN MILITARY CEMETERIES In total, 134,000 German soldiers from the First World War are buried in Belgium. In 1954, hundreds of smaller German cemeteries in Flanders were concentrated into four major sites.

There are still a dozen or so smaller burial grounds in the Frenchspeaking part of Belgium.

In contrast to the British cemeteries, the German cemeteries appear to be very sombre. The British deliberately tried to make their cemeteries look like traditional English gardens, full of the flowers of spring and autumn. It is almost as if the British have accepted death and the cemetery has become a small part of England or a little piece of heaven on earth. This ’acceptance’ is lacking in German cemeteries, where death in all its monstrous forms still lingers between the massive oaks. The basalt crosses are scars on ’God’s green acre’. In autumn, dead leaves fall from the giant trees, covering the thousands of fallen soldiers. ”Tod... mit Eichenlaub”.

LANGEMARK This sombreness is very much in evidence at the German military cemetery ’Deutscher Soldatenfriedhof’ - in Langemark. However, its powerful simplicity lends a poignant air to this haunting burial ground. Behind the monumental entrance building in pink Weserberg sandstone lie 44,304 soldiers, 24,917 of them in a mass grave. Over 3,000 cadets and student volunteers, serving in the 22nd - 27th Reserve Corps, are amongst the dead. They were killed in October1914 during futile attempts to break through in the direction of Ypres. For this reason, the cemetery is also known as the ’Studentenfriedhof ’. The sculpture of four bronze soldiers by the Munich sculptor Emil Krieger seems to reflect the sorrow of these bleak statistics.

I Klerkenstraat 86A - 8920 Langemark

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DIKSMUIDE Vladslo The German military cemetery at Vladslo is the last resting place of Peter Kollwitz, a young student volunteer who was just 17 years of age when he was killed in October 1914. Deeply affected by her son’s death, Käthe Kollwitz created her world-famous sculpture ’The Grieving Parents’. The sculpture was many years in the making and was only displayed for the first time in 1932 at the Roggeveld military cemetery near Esen. The grave marker in front of the sculpture group bore the following inscription: ’Peter Kollwitz Musketier +23.10.14’. This cemetery - and the statue group - were moved to their current site at the Praetbos (Praet Wood) near Vladslo in 1957. 25,645 German soldiers are buried here. Käthe Kollwitz was a famous expressionist artist from Berlin. Her work was considered to be an example of Entartete Kunst (perverted art) by the Nazis and was removed from most museums and public buildings. Her grandson Peter was killed on the Eastern Front in 1942. Surprisingly, the sculpture survived the Nazi occupation of Belgium during Second World War. I Houtlandstraat 3 - 8600 Vladslo

HOOGLEDE Hooglede German Military Cemetery is located some 6 km from the town of Roeselare. It is the smallest of the four German ’concentration’ cemeteries and contains 8,247 burials. The cemetery was first created in 1917. The ’Ehrenhalle’ (Hall of Honour) was built later with stones from the German pavilion at the 1928 World Exhibition in Paris. On fine days, the panorama of the surrounding countryside is impressive.

I Beverenstraat - 8830 Hooglede

MENEN-WEVELGEM (FLANDERS LYS VALLEY) The cemetery at Menen-Wevelgem is the largest German military cemetery in Western Europe, commemorating no fewer than 47,864 fallen soldiers.

In the centre of the burial plots stands a chapel, decorated with sombre grey mosaics. The interior has an arched vault with a central supporting column, resting on a Greek cross decorated with carved lion’s heads in stone.

I 8930 Menen - Groenestraat - 8560 Wevelgem - Kruisstraat

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MEMORIES Demarcation Stones Granite demarcation stones can also be seen at various locations throughout the Westhoek. First erected during the 1920s at theinitiative of the Touring Club of Belgium, these one metre-high stones are usually crowned with a military-style-helmet and bear the inscription (in three languages): ”Here the invader was brought to a halt”.

During the Second World War this inscription was often defaced by the Germans. Nineteen of these stones still remain in the Westhoek, often to be found at the corner of a street and sometimes on the edge of a field.

Poetry In addition to the large cemeteries and memorials, there are numerous other, smaller (and perhaps more intimate) reminders of the Great War in the Westhoek. Several poems by Edmund Blunden are displayed on panels at various locations. There are also monuments for Indian soldiers and for poets, such as Francis Ledwidge and Hedd Wynn.

There is also a poem by the Belgian poet Herman deConinck at the Menin Gate.

Landscape Art Projects As part of a land consolidation scheme in Fortem and Pervijze, various landscape art projects have been integrated into the natural surroundings at these locations, where the last traces of the First World War are threatening to disappear.

Alveringem - Fortem At the ’Pannendorp’ site - a design by Stijn Claikens - the brightly coloured stone walls in brick represent the Belgian and German front lines in the Westhoek.

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Diksmuide - Pervijze Along the old railway line between Diksmuide and Nieuwpoort - which served as the Belgian front line for much of the war - the artist Lucas Coeman has used 104 identical concrete blocks to depict the dates on which the war started and ended.

Name Stones At various places, diamond-shaped commemorative plaques in white stone mark ’Belgian’ locations, which were of importance during the First World War and of which nothing remains today. These 24 name stones were erected during the 1980s at the instigation of the Province of West Flanders.

Provincial Parks Several parks in provincial ownership, such as the ’Palingbeek’ (Eel Brook Woods) and the ’Gasthuisbossen’ (Hospice Woods) near Ieper (Zillebeke) and Mount Kemmel in Heuvelland, also contain traces fromthe Great War. Between 1914 and 1918, the land around the ’Palingbeek’ formed part of the front line. The highest point in this area was known by the British as ’The Bluff’, whereas the Germans called it ’Die grosse Bastion’. The ’Zwarte Molenbos’ (Black Mill Woods) was renamed ’The Ravine’, the ’Vierlingen’ Forest became ’Battle Wood’, while the long, low hill around which it stood was christened ’The Caterpillar’. The six British cemeteries in this neighbourhood testify to the severity of the fighting which took place here. The ’Palingbeek’ provincial park is also close to the Hill 60 battlefield site. Hill 60 still retains its original wartime landscape, with clear traces of old trenches, mine craters, shell holes, concrete pillboxes, etc. A number of memorials recall the savage struggle for control of this strategic position. In particular, Hill 60 and its surroundings are notorious for their important role in the underground mining war - a war which claimed countless lives. This subterranean battle reached its climax on 7 June 1917 with the opening of the Messines Offensive, when 19 mines were exploded simultaneously under German trenches in the Ypres and Wijtschate salients. The mine craters at Hill 60 and on the Caterpillar still scar the landscape, even today.

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TOURIST ROUTES 14-18 CAR Ypres Salient From battlefield to killing field The Ypres Salient was a semi-circular bulge in the front line. The Germans held the high ground on three sides of the city of Ypres (now Ieper). This meant that the British positions could be fired on from all directions - a huge military disadvantage. The salient was the scene of heavy fighting, since it was the most vulnerable part on the front in the Westhoek.

A German victory here could have led to disastrous consequences for the Allies.

Fortunately, the Germans were unable to break through the British defences. But the British were equally unable to break out of the salient. And so a stalemate ensued. In particular, the Battle of Passendale caused huge casualties on both sides.

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Life at the Front car route Little Paris and the gates of hell ‘Life at the Front’ explores the front area between Poperinge, Heuvelland and surroundings. There was the bitter life at the front and the better life behind the front. ‘Pop’ was like a little Paris. A few kilometres away lies the border between life or death. Heuvelland was a scene of constant fighting, a veritable gateway to the hell of Dante’s Inferno.

Pioneer The german masters of concrete in the trenches The Pioneer Route explores the area behind the old German front of 1914-1918. Today, this area straddles the borders of France, Flanders and Wallonia. But during the war there were no such borders. The Flemish town of Wervik and the French town of Wervicq-Sud were merged together to form a single municipality. The German ‘Pioniere’ pioneer troops or military engineers - were a common sight throughout the region. They were responsible for the building and maintenance of roads, concrete bunkers, munitions depots, field hospitals.... The car route ‘Pionier’ (75 km), signposted with six-sided direction boards, will take you to all these places The car routes are available from the various tourist offices in the Westhoek or can be ordered from Westtoer via T. +32 (0)50 30 55 00 or shop.westtoer.be. The six car routes are also combined in a map.

You can also explore the cars routes via a new computer application: Touristic Car Routes Flanders Fields. This application is a guide and a travelling companion all rolled into one and will take you by car to all the most important First World War sites. Its offline navigation tool tells you exactly where you are and where you need to go. And once you arrive at your destination, it has plenty of useful photographs, texts, documents, sound fragments and other information, which tell you what happened at that particular location during the war years.

You can also download the application ’Behind the Front 14-18’. This is a handy mobile app that contains digital stories linked to 75 sites of interest in the area behind the German lines (some in the Westhoek region, some in the Leie region). Choose your starting point, select a theme and a mode of transport (car, bike, etc.) and away you go on a 14-18 voyage of discovery in German-occupied Belgium. Learn what life was like behind ’enemy lines’, thanks to the app’s unique photo material, videos, personality sketches and augmented reality.

Both applications can be downloaded free for iOS and Android.

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Cycling To mark the 100th anniversary of the Great War, a number of new tourist cycle routes have been developed for the Westhoek region, which all have the war as their theme. The circular routes take in numerous monuments, memorials, cemeteries and museums, which recall the tragedy and horror of the terrible years between 1914 and 1918. They are the ideal way to discover the historic landscape on which men fought and died a century ago.

The routes are signposted in one direction by brown-coloured hexagonal boards, each bearing a red poppy. The route maps cost 2 euros and can be purchased from all local tourist offices and Westtoer. (Tel. 050 30 55 00 - shop.westtoer.be).

The first two routes were opened in 2014. During 2015 seven more new routes will be added.

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The Legacy Zonnebeke The 37-kilometer-long route of ‘The Legacy’ will allow visitors to discover the memorial heritage of the Battle of Passchendaele. The route starts at the Memorial Museum ‘Passchendaele 1917’ in Zonnebeke and takes in 20 other key sites, including Polygon Wood, the Canadian Memorial at Crest Farm and Tyne Cot Cemetery, before finally ending back in Zonnebeke.

Cogge/Geeraert Veurne/Nieuwpoort The 41-kilometre trajectory of the ‘Cogge-Geeraert’ route tells the story of the flooding of the IJzer Plain, which is inextricably linked with the legendary figures of Karel Cogge and Hendrik Geeraert. The route starts at the Town Hall on the Market Square in Veurne, where King Albert I established the headquarters of the Belgian Army on 15 October 1914.

From there, it winds its way through the beautiful polder landscape to Nieuwpoort and the King Albert Memorial at the Goose’s Foot lock complex, home of the recently opened Westfront Visitors Centre. On the way back to Veurne, cyclists will follow the Frontzate, the old railway embankment between Nieuwpoort and Diksmuide that marked the front line during the Great War, passing the Landscape Art Project in Pervijze and the Belgian military cemetery in Steenkerke.

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POP, Poperinge 7 March This cycle route explores the First World War behind the front.

Poperinge was ‘the first stop after hell’, the place where the soldiers could leave behind the mud and misery of the trenches. It was also the place where their wounds were treated and where, sadly, many of them died. For four long years, Poperinge - or Pop, as it was called by the British - was overrun by foreign troops. Here, rubbing shoulders with the local civilians, the soldiers could enjoy a short period of rest away from the fighting, although for a unlucky few it was also the scene of their trail and execution for their supposed ‘failure’ on the field of battle.

Set amidst a pleasant landscape, dotted with hop fields and military cemeteries, various museums and visitors centres will tell the story of ‘life behind the lines’.

Ieper Salient, Ieper 4 April By the end of October 1914, a small area around the city of Ieper was the last remaining area on the Western Front where the opposing armies faced each other in open field. But after weeks of bitter fighting the front here also ground to a halt and trench warfare began in what was soon to be known as the Ieper Salient. In these changed circumstances, various features in the landscape quickly proved their strategic value and became the setting for one of the bloodiest series of battles in history. This route explores the Salient in an anti-clockwise direction and links the historical facts of the past to the contemporary landscape of today by means of a collection of aerial photographs.

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Poison gas, Langemark-Poelkapelle 10 April On 22 April 1915, the German Army opened some 6,000 bottles filled with chlorine gas over a 6-kilometre stretch of the front line between Stampkot Farm and Halfway House. On that day more than 5,000 soldiers and civilians were killed by the gas and many thousands of others suffered from its effects for the rest of their lives. The use of this weapon of mass destruction is regarded as the start of modern chemical warfare. The 41-kilometre-long route takes visitors to all the most important sites associated with this tragic event.

‘Aller-Retour’, Alveringem, Diksmuide and Lo-Reninge summer The ‘Aller-Retour’ route follows the arduous round trip of the Belgian soldiers from the huge army camp at Alveringem to the Trench of Death in Diksmuide, and back again. Different aspects of the Great War will be highlighted along the way: life at and behind the front, the supply lines, the medical care system and the military strategy that allowed this last little piece of unoccupied Belgium to be defended. The ‘Flemish question’ and the rights of the Flemish soldiers give the use of the French term ‘AllerRetour’ an extra dimension. Visits to numerous war relics and monuments help to tell this many sided story.

On a similar theme, a second route will be opened in the summer: Niemandswater, Alveringem, Lo-Reninge, Vleteren

Käthe Kollwitz, Koekelare beginning of September This 14-18 cycle route is built around the figure of Käthe Kollwitz, the celebrated German expressionist artist, who sculpted the famous ‘Grieving Parents’, a masterpiece in stone that stands in the German military cemetery in Vladslo. The new ‘Lange Max’ (Long Max) Museum is also part of this route, a site that tells the German story in this region.

IJzer 14-18, Diksmuide autumn At the end of October 1914 the front stabilized along the River IJzer.

The Belgian Army had been forced to pull back to the Westhoek and the IJzer was their last line of defence. It was here that they struggled to fight off repeated German attacks, until King Albert decided to open the sea locks at Nieuwpoort. The IJzer plain was flooded and the Belgians were able to hold on to the last small piece of their country. The ‘IJzer 14-18’ cycle route takes visitors to all the most important war-related sites in and around Diksmuide. ‘IJzer 14-18’ replaces the earlier ‘No More War’ cycle route.

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Flanders Fields boating route Do you fancy a boating holiday along the River IJzer (Yser), the Lo Canal, the Ieper-IJzer Canal and the Nieuwpoort-Duinkerke Canal? During your pleasant waterborne journey along these canals you will pass through both the Westhoek and the Coast (â&#x20AC;&#x2122;Kustâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;) tourist regions.

Let the waterways be your guide for an exploration of this surprising corner of Flanders, sandwiched between France and the North Sea! This tourist map offers a varied boating route through Flanders Fields, but one that you can easily adapt to suit your own needs and interests.

The map is available free of charge from local tourist offices or from Westtoer (T. +32 (0)50 30 55 00 - shop.westtoer.be).

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100 YEARS AGO Gas attacks On 22 April 2015 it will be exactly 100 years ago since gas was used for the first time on a large scale in a conflict between warring nations. This heralded the start of a new and terrible era in the practice of war, the era of weapons of mass destruction. The communes of Ieper and Langemark wish to focus attention on this tragic moment. In addition to remembrance ceremonies that will be organized at different memorials 100 years to the day after the attack, a series of other initiatives will also serve to remind the world of this dramatic event that changed the course of history.

30,000th Last Post On 9 July 2015 the Last Post will be sounded for the 30,000th time (!) under the Menin Gate in Ieper. The significance of this unique event will be given added emphasis by a large-scale participative project that will take placein fire stations around the world. This is the Ode to the Ode, which involves each participating organization making arrangements to read out in public a text written by actor Wim Opbrouck, who developed the original idea for this special tribute. The resulting worldwide event is an initiative of Gone West, the remembrance programme of the Province of West Flanders, in collaboration with the Last Post Association.

100 years Talbot House 11 December 2015 marks the 100th anniversary of the founding of Talbot House, the famous British soldiers club that operated in Poperinge during the Great War. To commemorate this anniversary, a week of varied cultural and artistic activities is planned, which will start exactly a century after the club first opened its doors. After this commemorative week, Gone West will continue the celebratory theme with a series of piano concerts at different locations in Poperinge until 20 December.

Anzac Day On 25 April 2015 it will be precisely 100 years since the Australians and New Zealanders landed at Gallipoli, the moment that marked the real start of ‘their’ Great War. It was not until 1917 that the men of both nations first came to Flanders, to take part in the bloody Battle of Passchendaele. The commemorations begin with the traditional ‘Dawn Service’ in Polygon Wood (at 6 o’clock in the morning!), followed by several commemorational events at Tyne Cot Cemetery and the chateau grounds of Zonnebeke. In the evening there is also a themed concert organized by Gone West, under the title ‘Children of the Empire’.

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EVENTS 2015 January

10/10/2014 – 11/11/2018 Diksmuide, Museum at the Yser ‘Exhibition The Battle of the Yser’ This exhibition shows the importance of The battle of the Yser (October 1914) and the flooding of the plains, which stopped the Germans to continue the swift invasion of Western Europe. museum.aandeijzer.be | T. +32 (0)51 50 02 86

19/09/2014 – 5/09/2015 Poperinge, Gasthuiskapel Heavy Traffic, railway traffic and other forms of transport in Poperinge 1914-1918 The town of Poperinge is in constant movement. Soldiers, goods, the wounded and refugees being brought in and transported: it all happens via an extensive network of railways and access routes. In the hospital chapel the diorama shows you a glimpse behind the curtains. Trains arrive and depart, night and day. From there you can connect to the outdoor exhibition. You walk into the landscape via an application.

Compare images of the past and now. Discover the stories behind the railway relics.

More info: www.poperinge14-18.be | T. +32 (0)57 34 66 76

April

04/04/2015 – 30/09/2015 Poperinge, Kinderbrouwerij (Kids Factory) Exhibition ‘Illustrated by the War’ During the summer of 2014, Gerda Dendooven, Randall Casaer and Kitty Crowther - three famous illustrators - resided at the Kinderbrouwerij (Kids Factory). During World War 1 this building served as a bathing facility for 40,000 British soldiers who had their quarters at Reningelst.

Every illustrator was accompanied by a young artist: Ward Zwart, Trui Chielens and Liesbeth De Stercke. Together they created drawings inspired by stories on children during wartime. From april onwards, these illustrations are displayed at the Kinderbrouwerij (Kids Factory).

More info: www.poperinge14-18.be en www.kinderbrouwerij.com T. +32 (0)496/27.96.58

04/04/2015 – 30/09/2015 Poperinge, Hops museum Exhibition ‘Food, hops and beer in WW I’ www.hopmuseum.be – T. 032 (0)57 33 79 22

04/04/2015 – 30/08/2015 Ieper, In Flanders Fields Museum Historical exhibition ‘The Second Battle of Ypres – Gas! & Dream Castles – manors and castles in the war.’

The museum is organizing a historical exhibition that focuses on the

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Second Battle of Ieper.

More info: www.inflandersfields.be | T. +32 (0)57 23 92 20

17/04/2015 – 17/07/2015 Langemark ART TRACES: across the western front www.langemark-poelkapelle.be | T. +32 (0)57 49 09 41

22/04/2015 Ieper & Langemark-Poelkapelle International ceremony of remembrance to commemorate the first gas attack This is a solemn remembrance of the first extensive use of chemical weapons in a war, taking place in various locations along the Ypres Salient. Three evening ceremonies will be held at the Cross of Reconciliation (Steenstraete), the Canadian Memorial “The brooding soldier” (Sint-Juliaan) and the Menin Gate.

More info: www.toerisme-ieper.be/en | T. +32 (0)57 23 92 20 & www.langemark-poelkapelle.be | T. +32 (0)57 49 09 41

25/04/2015 – 15/11/2015 Zonnebeke, Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917 Exhibition ‘Decoding the Front’ A prestigious exhibition devoted to communication during WWI. More info: www.passchendaele.be | T. +32 (0)51 77 04 41

25/04/2015 Zonnebeke ANZAC Day Ceremony Exactly 100 years ago, soldiers from Australia and New Zealand landed at Gallipoli, which marked their entrance into the ‘Great War’. The troops of both countries came to Flanders for the first time in 1917, to take part in the bloody Battle of Passendale. ANZAC Day begins traditionally with the dawn service at Buttes New British Cemetery, followed by a breakfast for all the participants.

More info: www.passchendaele.be | T. +32 (0)51 77 04 41

25/04/2015 – 26/04/2015 Zonnebeke ANZAC Day Precisely 100 years after ANZAC day in 1915 and 100 years after Canadian soldiers were confronted with combat gas, internationally renowned artists from Australia, New Zealand and Canada come together in a musical remembrance project to commemorate the 100th anniversary of ANZAC Day. A series of evening concerts will be organised as part of GoneWest, featuring musicians from Australia, New Zealand and Canada. These artists will draw inspiration from the historical events and perform new works in the grounds of the castle in Zonnebeke, site of the renewed Passchendaele 1917 Memorial Museum. Top artists will be invited to perform during these evenings.

More info: www.gonewest.be

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25/04/2015 – 26/04/2015 Zonnebeke Museumweekend More info: www.passchendaele.be | T. +32 (0)51 77 04 41

26/04/2015 Zonnebeke Flanders Scottish Memorial day (Zonnebeke) This day focuses on Scottish traditions and communities in Canada, Australia and New Zealand. Many Scottish battalions were established, especially in the Canadian army, adopting the traditions of their British sister regiments. Designed to appeal to a broad section of the public, the event will include highland games, bagpipes and Scottish gastronomy.

More info: www.passchendaele.be

30/04/2015 – 31/08/2015 Poperinge, Domain and Manor ‘De Lovie’ The Smell of War, art course Smell artist Peter De Cupere is the curator of “The Smell of War”. He challenges an international cast of artists to immerse castle De Lovie in a palette of smells. The context of the exhibition is the first gas offensives in 1915 and the impact of that chemical warfare.

More info: www.poperinge14-18.be | T. +32 (0)57 34 66 76

30/04/2015 – 03/05/2015 Poperinge, Domain and Manor ‘De Lovie’ Furious Folly, outdoor event Furious Folly takes places as night falls, in a no-mans land between the two frontlines. Disoriented, the audience find themselves immersed within a multi-media performance. The artists draw on the anti-war spirit of the Dadaist movement. Sound, light, pyrotechnics and performance take a hard line on the folly of war.

Furious Folly is created by Dark Spark, a multi-media arts group specializing in site specific performances and installations. The performance includes flashing lights and given the subject matter some images may be disturbing for young children.

More info: www.poperinge14-18.be | T. +32 (0)57 34 66 76

May

05/2015 – 07/2015 Poperinge, Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery Flanders Fields, final destination Poperinge Flanders Fields, final destination Poperinge is a new musical theatre production, a creation especially written and composed in remembrance of 1914-1918. The play will be staged on location, next to Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery. On this former hospital site, almost 11,000 victims are buried. The musical theatre production focuses on the stories behind the headstones. A professional cast of actors and

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musicians will create a meaningful night for all ages and stimulate reflection.

More info: www.poperinge 14-18.be | T. +32 (0)57 34 66 76

8-10/05/2015 Diksmuide, The Trench of Death Evocation weekend: live and danger in the trenches. toerisme.diksmuide.be | T. +32 (0)51 79 30 50

22-24/05/2015 Ieper, Het Perron Babel To mark the end of the Second Battle of Ypres on 28 May 1915, a multimedia dance show will be premiered. This internationally acclaimed contemporary show will have deep thematic links with the gas attacks, which took place in combat for the first time. It will act as a reminder of where we have come from, who we are today and where we are heading in the future within the vulnerable structure we call the individual.

More info: www.gonewest.be

June

26/06/2015-06/2016 Westfront Nieuwpoort Les demoiselles de Nieuport Temporary exhibition www.westfrontnieuwpoort.be | T. +32 (0)58 23 07 33

July

9/07/2015 Ieper, centre The Last Post: special edition In the evening, at 8 o ‘clock sharp, the Last Post will be played for the 30,000th time under the Menin Gate Memorial in Ieper.

More info: www.lastpost.be

9/07/2015 Ieper, centre 30.000th Last Post This day will be devoted entirely to the 30,000th playing of the Last Post. Since 1928 a deeply moving ceremony is performed by the buglers from the local fire brigade under the vast arch of the Menin Gate, every evening at 8 pm. The 30.000th Last Post will be a ‘tribute to the tribute’ event.

More info: www.gonewest.be

August

21-23/08/2015 Diksmuide, The Trench of Death Evocation weekend: live and danger in the trenches. toerisme.diksmuide.be | T. +32 (0)51 79 30 50

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October

2-4/10/2015 Diksmuide, The Trench of Death Evocation weekend: live and danger in the trenches. toerisme.diksmuide.be | T. +32 (0)51 79 30 50

November 11/11/2015 Ieper, centre

Armistice & concert ‘The Great War Remembered’ This day starts with the traditional memorial ceremony ‘Armistice’ at 11 o’clock in the morning, followed by the concert ‘The Great War Remembered’ at 16.30 o’clock in the Saint-Martin’s Cathedral.

More info: www.lastpost.be

December

11/12/2015 – 15/12/2015 Poperinge, Talbot House Events to mark the 100th anniversary of the founding of Talbot House The 100th anniversary celebrations for Talbot House will start on 11 December with a week of varied activities in Talbot House itself.

More info: www.talbothouse.be | T. +32 (0)57 33 32 28

16/12/2015 – 20/12/2015 Poperinge Piano festival During the weekend of 16-20 December, GoneWest will be organizing a piano festival in Poperinge, to symbolize the piano that first played in Talbot House 100 years ago. The three-day festival offers a varied programme of different genres performed by internationally recognized artists, who will also play a number of new pieces specially composed to commemorate the First World War. Amateur pianists will also be given the chance to show what they can do.

More info: www.gonewest.be

The great war centenary – accessible to everyone Flanders Fields will be in the international spotlight for four years regarding the commemoration of “The Great War Centenary”. We expect millions of foreign visitors of all ages, some of whom will have some form of accessibility issue. To this end, Visit Flanders in cooperation with vzw Westkans and the province of West Flanders has initiated the “The Great War Centenary - accessible to everyone” project. The project strives for full accessibility of the activities commemorating WWI for the broadest possible public.

For more information visit www.accessinfo.be or order the brochure “The Great War Centenary accessible to everyone.”

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Long running events The Last Post The Last Post is played at 8 oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;clock sharp every evening under the Menin Gate Memorial in Ieper. This ceremony, the traditional salute to the fallen, is conducted in honour of the memory of the soldiers of the then British Empire and their allies who died in the Ypres Salient during the First World War. More info: www.lastpost.be

Coming World/Remember me Visitors are invited to take part in this plastic arts project organized by GoneWest, by making a figure out of clay. These figures will serve as a tribute to the 600,000 victims who died in Belgium during the First World War. At the end of the 2014-2018 remembrance period, the 600,000 figures will all be displayed in the Palingbeek provincial park.

More info: www.gonewest.be

The Soundtrack of 14-18 (Poperinge) Musical dinner with songs that won the great war In the unique setting of Hotel Palace you are offered a threecourse meal. After each dish, the stage is taken by musicians.

They will tell you stories, recite poems and bring a variety of songs dating from the Great War. More info: www.lijssenthoek.be

FOR A LIST OF ALL EVENTS VISIT: www.greatwarcentenary.be

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GONEWEST Gone West is the name of the cultural-tourist programme of remembrance activities organized by the Province of West Flanders. Gone West looks at life stories (both great and small) from the war years through the unique perspective of music, dance, theatre, literature and the visual arts. The content guidelines for these artistic acts of remembrance were defined in a Letter of Intent written by Erwin Mortier.

Each edition of Gone West throughout the centenary period will contain a number of recurring events: > The List of Names: a register compiled by the In Flanders Fields Museum, giving access to the names of the 600,000 victims (both civilian and military) of the war in Belgium. > Coming World / Remember Me (CWRM): During each of the five remembrance years, workshops and other experience activities will be organized, during which the participants/visitors will help to make 600,000 small model figures, one for each victim of the war.

The first workshop will be held at the end of 2013 in the â&#x20AC;&#x2DC;Bommenvrijâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; (Bomb Free) site in Nieuwpoort. Other mobile workshops will also be arranged. In 2018, the 600,000 figures will be put on display in a 3-hectare land art installation in what was once no-manâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s-land in the Palingbeek Provincial Park near Ieper. > Voices and Places: this part of the programme focuses on dance, theatre productions, story-telling, conferences and literary happenings. Erwin Mortier will act as literary curator for all the happenings throughout the commemorative period and will also lead a major project to translate celebrated international works from the French, German and British literature of the war.

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> Ground Sounds: This part of the cultural programme combines several musical events. The Veils, the alternative rock band leaded by front man Finn Andrews, composed music especially for this event and on the theme of ANZAC Day and World War One. This new composition will be performed for the first time at the chateau grounds of Zonnebeke on the afternoon of Saturday April 25th. Later on that evening the Canadian musician and well-known producer Daniel Lanois will perform live his newly composed repertoire of music inspired by the theme of remembrance.

On the evening of Sunday April 26th, Gurrumul, an enigma within the Australian musical landscape, will perform and make its world premiere of a composition on the 100th anniversary of ANZAC Day in 2015.

For the Piano Festival in Poperinge, which is being organized to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of Talbot House, Wim Mertens has specially composed a new piece that will receive its world premiere in Poperinge Town Hall on 19 December 2015. Jan Swerts has described the new work in the following terms: Op 20 December Jef Neve will give the world premiere of his new work in the St. Bertinus Church in Poperinge.

On 9 July 2015 the Last Post will be played under the Menin Gate for the 30,000th time. To celebrate this unique event, Gone West is organizing, in collaboration with the Last Post Association and instigator Wim Opbrouck, an Ode to the Ode. This is a large scale participative event that will take place at fire stations around the world.

You can find full details of the Gone West programme calendar on www.gonewest.be.

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To provide you with accurate information about the First World War and to ensure that your visit to our region is both enjoyable and worthwhile, Westtoer organized a First World War training programme for entrepreneurs active in the tourist sector in the Westhoek. Together with the regionâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s museums and tourist offices, these actors are very often the first point of contact for the tourists who come to visit our region.

In addition to battlefield guides and staff from the local tourist offices and museums, numerous owners and proprietors of accommodation outlets, restaurants and cafes took part in the training programme.

During three workshops and an educational tour around the war sites in the Westhoek, the participants were made ready to deal with the coming remembrance period in a correct and effective manner.

During the training, careful attention was given, amongst other things, to the most important events of the First World War in our region. The wide-ranging choice of tourist attractions - war-related museums, sites, routes and events - were also examined in detail. Last but not least, the participants were given the chance to organize their own remembrance arrangements.

In all, some 163 tourist entrepreneurs took part in the training programme. For them, the Great War in the Westhoek no longer holds any secrets! All the participants are now united in the Westhoek Remembrance Partners network, which was officially launched on 1 April 2014. You can easily recognize the remembrance partners thanks to this exclusive network logo.

The Westhoek Remembrance Partners network guarantees that visitors will receive correct historical information, a warm welcome and a high quality service in relation to the First World War. All the partners have committed themselves to act in accordance with the philosophy of ethical and multi-voiced remembrance, which is also known as tourism+.

As a starting point for tourism+, Westtoer formulated seven basic principles: respect, good hospitality, accessibility, multi-vocalism, deepening, internationalization and the peace message.

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