Page 43 - QARANC Vol 14 No 10 2015

us the history, the stark reality and the many tragedies of the World War that led to the re-shaping of our nation’s social landscape. His words illuminated the hardships endured by young men on these battlefields, and helped us see the relevance of the geography and politics of France, Germany and Belgium, and the significant loss of life in poorly planned battles. We learned the reasons for and the challenges of the battles and, equally important, the aftermath.
Trench philosophy, planning and warfare came into shocking clarity as we discussed what had transpired where we were standing. We learned about the use of chlorine gas, artillery tactics, no man’s land, battle leadership decisions, and the resourcefulness of soldiers enduring an intolerable existence in an environment of death.
The many cemeteries and Commonwealth memorials to the missing we visited were impressive and thought provoking. Seeing name after name on the memorials to the missing, names representing men with no known resting place, seeing gravestone after gravestone bearing only the words “KNOWN UNTO GOD” or “A SOLDIER OF THE GREAT WAR”, we came to understand that the predominant legacy of the First World War was the incomprehensible loss of young men in battle.
The program was planned to be both progressive and full with the central base being the famous Talbot House in the town of Poperinghe, Belgium. Once we had completed the Eurotunnel crossing we continued the short 1 hour journey towards the Ypres Salient and before we reached the sanctuary of Talbot House we visited the Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery. This is the second largest Commonwealth cemetery housing over 10,000 graves. During the War the site was a casualty clearing station and hence most of the fatalities in this cemetery died of their wounds. It is also where S/N Nellie Spindler is laid to rest. The short stop certainly focused the mind and set the scene for the remainder of the trip.
On arriving at Talbot House we visited its dedicated museum. This gave us a wonderful insight into the solace that it must have provided the troops resting from the front line during the War. The House’s humble beginning and subsequent use are owed to the vision of an Army Chaplain the Reverend Philip “Tubby” Clayton who saw a use for the property as a soldier’s club. It became a rare place where soldiers could meet and relax regardless of rank, an Every-Man’s Club. The cordial atmosphere that was promoted then is still in evidence today.
On day 2 we moved to the Tyne Cot Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery and Memorial to the Missing for the dead in the Ypres Salient. This is the largest Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery with almost 12000 graves. The stone wall surrounding the cemetery makes-up the Tyne Cot Memorial to the Missing. Upon completion of the Menin Gate memorial to the missing in Ypres, builders discovered it was not large enough to contain all the names as originally planned. They selected an arbitrary cut-off date of 15 August 1917 and the names of the UK missing after this date were inscribed on the Tyne Cot memorial instead which amounts to almost 34000 names. As we wandered through the row on row of headstones and read down the columns of countless names on the Memorial Wall it dawned on each member of the group the vast extent of the human sacrifice suffered not only in the battles for the Ypres Salient but throughout this intense four year period in history.
As we started our drive back to Poperinghe we paralleled the original line of ‘no man’s land’ observing just some of the many hundreds of smaller cemeteries that are ever present throughout the countryside. After the War had finished bodies found between the opposing forces trenches were gathered
up and conveniently buried, thus leaving an ever present geographical legacy of where the fighting took place.
During day 3 we visited the site of the first Christmas truce which started on Christmas Eve 1914 when German and British troops left their trenches and met in ‘no man’s land’ at Saint-Yvon. To be at the very location of this unique and romantic act of unauthorized fraternization, courage and charity gave us all a deep sense of pensive humility. This intuitive feeling that consumed the group set us up perfectly for the important duties we were to fulfil that evening.
After dinner we conducted one of the main purposes of our trip by playing our part in the famous and moving Menin Gate ‘Last post’ ceremony, a full centenary after the Great War commenced. The ceremony has taken place under the impressive Menin Gate Memorial at 8pm daily since 1929 with the only interruption being during World War 2. It is a simple but moving ceremony which attracted, on the 4th August, a congregation of well over 500 people and worldwide TV coverage. At the prescribed part of the commemoration Lisa and I laid the QARANC and Royal British Legion wreaths beneath the Menin Gate archway with its 55000 inscribed names paying homage to the memory of the soldiers of the former British Empire who died and are missing without a known grave in the Ypres Salient. To play such a leading role in this historic ceremony was a great honour for Lisa and I and it allowed us to pay tribute to the pain and tragedy suffered by ordinary men and women so that we can enjoy our freedom today.
On the morning of day 4 we set off towards the town of Arras for our final visit before we embarked back to England on the Eurotunnel. Arras was the scene of a bitter battle designed to dislocate the German Army’s ability to fight and therefore quicken the end of the War. Beneath the town is a substantial quarry and tunnel system which the Allies used to hide 26000 troops prior to the battle commencing. Our tour underground highlighted the squalid conditions endured by the soldiers in such a cramped and damp environment and the ingenuity shown by them to make good their circumstances afore facing the trauma of battle.
On reflection, by laying the QARANC wreath at such a momentous commemoration in a small but poignant way helped to pay tribute to the terrible suffering that was endured by so many ordinary men, women and their families during the ‘Great War’. Sobbingly by visiting just a few of the many Memorials and cemeteries dedicated to the memory of the fallen during the War, we in our own way, had an overwhelming sense of the importance to never allow the memories of those that fell be forgotten.
‘WE WILL REMEMBER THEM’ Diane Boisson and Lisa Birch
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