Zonnebeke Dugout

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18 September 2017

In pouring ran we made two more WW1 memorial visits in the Ypres area.

Firstly, at the Railway Dugouts Burial Ground we found the grave of Second Lieutenant Leonard Ewbank who was killed on 23 February 2016 at the age 23. He was one of many people who Wendy has come across whilst researching the family.

During the last two years of the war, allied tunneling companies built a series of 370 deep dugouts to help protect the troops on the front line. One of these was located under the ancient foundations of the destroyed church in the village of Zonnebeke. In 1918 the dugout was abandoned and became flooded. In 2017 to mark the centenary of the Battle of Passchendaele the water has been pumped out and they have been opened to the public They will be flooded again in November and sealed forever. It was a real privilege to be two of the few people who will experience this unique little bit of WW1 history.

We stayed the night at the pretty small village of Aubechies in the car park of an outdoor archeological museum.

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