In Flanders Fields

On June 28^th 1914, the world learned of the news that Archduke Franz Ferdinand of the Austro-Hungarian Empire had been assassinated in Sarajevo by a Serbian terrorist. This event caused Austria to declare war on Serbia a month later. Following this, an unstoppable momentum towards a larger conflict gathered with allies of Austria and Serbia falling in behind one another to join the conflict. The UK joined the conflict after the Germans ignored an ultimatum that their army should withdraw from Belgium.  The armies met in the West Flanders region and fought five of the bloodiest battles in the history of humanity, making a mockery of the wisdom of the time that believed it would all be over by Christmas 1914. As we approach the 100 year anniversary of the Great War, it was a good opportunity to visit Flanders and explore some of the areas where the horror took place.

Our coach left early on Saturday morning and during the journey, we saw two video documentaries of WW1 in colour. These helped to set the scene for the day ahead, featuring interviews with veterans of the war, new angles on war zone footage and extracts from letters from the front line. One of the participants in the video was Harry Patch, acknowledged to have been the longest surviving “fighting Tommy” who lived until the age of 111 before peacefully passing away in 2009. He recalled the chilling tale from the battlefield of Passendale where a soldiers’ upper torso was riddled with bullets and asking colleagues to shoot him. He was to succumb to his injuries seconds later with his last word being “Mother”.

Patch also told of his pride in serving King and country but also recalled that he recalled that the 6^th commandment was “Thou shalt not kill”. His resolve was tested on the battle field when he was faced with a German soldier and he shot him in the leg to immobilise him but didn’t kill him. This really brought home that ultimately, the soldiers of all sides were made up of ordinary working men with feelings who were brought together to fight one another. As our journey progressed along the French autoroute, I also noticed the port city of Dunkirk, reminding me of meeting a gentleman called Stan from Langley who fought there in WW2, his resolve impressed me as he recalled the words of his commanding officer who told them that they should “fight, fight and fight” again.

When we crossed the border into Belgium, our first port of call was the area of Zonnebeke which is made up of several small villages, the most famous of which is Passendale, a name that has become a byword for brutal slaughter. A museum is dedicated to the World War 1 battles to secure the ridge around the municipality. There were many exhibits of artillery, uniforms and artefacts including items from the early chemical warfare. The centrepiece of the exhibition was the reconstruction of a WW1 trench and deep dugout. There was a massive network of trenches around the Ypres Salient, an area where the fighting was at its fiercest on the Western Front.

 

The focus on trench warfare brought to mind the final episode of classic BBC comedy Blackadder Goes Forth, when the main characters go “over the top” for a death and glory charge in the battlefield but they all fall one by one then the battle scene gradually morphs into a field of poppies.

The next stop was the famous Tyne Cot cemetery that sits outside Passendale, on the ridge that the Allied Forces were trying to take from the Germans. The area had the nickname of "passion dale" on account of the massive suffering experienced here. Having visited the area surrounding the battle of the Somme a few years back, I had become familiar with the Commonwealth war grave sites and the horror stories of the Great War. It is fair to say that nothing can prepare you for the tsunami of emotion of pride, gratitude and grief that will be experienced at the site of row after row of white gravestones, imposing cross monument and vast wall of remembrance at the Tyne Cot site. The WW1 poet, Siegfried Sasson wrote the words “I died in hell, they call it Passchendaele”, these words may have been true of the fields of mud, blood and artillery fire, though almost 100 years on it is a place of peace and tranquillity.

 

There was a little visitor centre outside the cemetery, where the names of the fallen and their ages were being read out over the speakers. As we listened to the announcement against the backdrop of the thousands of gravestones, the first verse of the great hymn of remembrance, I Vow to Thee, My Country, came to mind:

I vow to thee, my country, all earthly things above,

Entire and whole and perfect, the service of my love;

The love that asks no question, the love that stands the test,

That lays upon the altar the dearest and the best;

The love that never falters, the love that pays the price,

The love that makes undaunted the final sacrifice.

The majestic and haunting scene where we stood gave us confirmation that the dearest and best of our nation were laid on the altar and asked to make the ultimate sacrifice in those dark times, allowing us to enjoy peace and freedom in our own generation. This visit also offered a good opportunity to pay tribute to two soldiers from the North Ayrshire town of Kilwinning. The names of Private William Marshall of the 16^th Battalion of the Royal Scots and Private William McCulloch of 2^nd Battalion of the Royal Scots Fusiliers are listed on the local cenotaph but also feature on the vast wall of remembrance at Tyne Cot.

 

Our final leg of the trip involved a trip to the centre of Ypres itself, now more commonly known by its Flemish name of Ieper. Like many Belgian cities, the centre of the city is the Groete Markt, an area that is the administrative and civic heart. The first thing immediately noticeable is the imposing Cloth Hall, a building that traces its origins back to the time when the city was a major hub in the cloth trade. The Cloth Hall was almost totally destroyed in the bombardment of the city but work started again in 1921 to restore it to its former glory.

 

There was an excellent WW1 museum in this building covering the period from before the war through to the post-war rebuilding process. There was an interesting display of WW1 memorabilia from old uniforms, like the examples of this French officer uniform and the Canadian Black Watch uniform complete with its own tartan.

 

 

We were given a poppy wrist band that helped to unlock some additional online content at each display area although is also a nice remembrance momento to wear at this time of year.

 

Following a walk around the main square, I then headed to Menin Gate, a large memorial to the Fallen who have no known grave. This is located to the east of the city centre and covers soldiers from all areas of the British Commonwealth, with 54,986 names in the hall of memory. This also offered the opportunity to find the names of other soldiers from my home county. It was a privilege to pay respect to men like Private David Willis of the 1st Battalion of the Royal Scots Fusiliers only a few days short of 99 years since his passing. In addition, Private James Maxwell of the Gordon Highlanders and Richard Maxwell Dyet, a driver with the Royal Field Artillery fell in the first battle of Ypres in 1914.

There was also time to pay respects to Private Andrew Love of the Canadian Infantry and Private John Muirhead of the Gordon Highlanders who perished in the second battle of Ypres in 1915. A moment was also taken to pay respect to James Wilson, a 2nd Lieutenant with the Royal Scots Fusiliers, this young man was of the same regiment as William McCulloch from the Tyne Cot memorial and both perished on the same day in Passendale. All of these men mentioned by name were the lost sons of North Ayrshire and they died along with thousands of other brave men from all over the Commonwealth including soldiers from the Sikh regiments immortalised in the hall of remembrance.

 

 

 

The scale of sacrifice and suffering in the Great War should be a warning that we can't allow the world to reach such a crisis point ever again. The modern city of Ypres has risen from the ashes of those apocalyptic scenes from a century ago and is a major hub in the region. The city labels itself “City of Peace”, an accolade that would’ve seemed unthinkable in those days of infamy and a fine tribute to all those young men whose remains lie under the green and lush fields of Flanders.