Page 10 - Walking Back Through Time

tlefields. Being interested in the lad's quest he offered to take him to a secluded combat zone where many Commonwealth soldiers had fought. This place is now a private farm dwelling not on the tourist itinerary and so they had to seek permission to visit. The liaison proved invaluable as the owner realised that the guy's grandfather had fought to defend the farm alongside his own, both of whom died in action though their trench has been preserved as their epitaph. It was an emotional time for both of them but thanks to the intuition of the guide this young chap travelled back home with closure and comforting news of his brave relative.
Today's journey between here and Lille is inevitably dominated by the presence of military cemeteries built literally where men from Britain and the Commonwealth had fallen in battle. Once the scene of brutality these military graveyards are now peaceful gardens that honour the dead. Like all the war cemeteries in Flanders Fields they are immacu- lately kept and often tended on a daily basis. In particular I note the many Canadian cemeteries in the region where regiments had fought throughout the entire war. The Canadians were among the first drafted in from the Empire during the autumn of 1914. They had arrived in time for the first Battle of Ypres and held ground east of the town at Hill 62 for 2 years. The region was named Sanctuary Wood as it became a place of refuge for wounded soldiers throughout the war. There is also a mu- seum built next to the Canadian frontline where some of the trench net- work still exists, and back along the country lane to Ypres is Sanctuary Wood Cemetery where many of the combatants are buried.
They also fought bravely at Passchendaele in the 1917 stalemate of mud and a year later expelled the Kaiser's men from Mons to end the war. There is a plaque at the foot of the city which commemorates their ef- fort at the end of the war alongside the British who died there at the start of it. The whole experience is humbling as I walk among the fallen whose sacrifice is largely unimaginable in today’s world. Sadly many young people have little knowledge about this war and are in any case more concerned about the present day battles of making ends meet in an economically demanding world. Even with the gift of education imple- mented to help heal the pain of two world wars, it is still difficult to comprehend the enormity of this conflict. Only when exposed to the vast fields of white tablets and the epitaphs of brave men immortalised