Ypres

---

13 June 2011

An interesting and moving day in the town of Ypres in Western Belgium. In World War 1 the area around Ypres saw much of the fighting by British and Empire troops on the western front in Flanders. In 1914 the German advance was held just to the east of the town and a salient (a bulge in the front) was formed. This meant that the defenders could be attacked on 3 sides. From 1915 until the eventual allied breakout in 1918 the position of the forward trenches moved backwards and forwards only a few miles but Ypres was never taken by the Germans although it was completely destroyed by shell fire. Four major battles and continual skirmishing claimed 185,000 Commonwealth lives. The town and its major buildings were rebuilt after the war.

Our first visit was to the ‘In Flanders Fields’ museum which using modern techniques and many testimonies from the time gives a very good history of WW1 in the area. We then followed a tour around the town when we saw most of the major buildings and the Menin Gate war memorial, walked along the ramparts adjacent to the moat which surrounds the town and visited a small war cemetery. In the afternoon we drove to two other cemeteries in the outskirts and a reconstruction of a length of trench.

The Ypres campsite was very conveniently situated and we were able to join a couple of hundred people at the 8.00pm ceremony at the Menin Gate when the last post is played by buglers from the local fire brigade. A wreath was laid by pupils from Hyndland Secondary School in Glasgow.

---