Gent Wevelgem - Flanders Fields

by Duncan White
5 years ago
Near Ieper, BE

68 views

Sampling the hills and cobbles(*) of Gent-Wevelgem from Ypres.

1 Kemmelberg (the longer side)*
2 Mont des Cats
3 Mont de Boeschaepe
4 Mont Noir
5 Rue de la Blanchesserie
6 Baneberg }
6 Rodeberg }
7 Kemmelberg (the steeper side)*
8 Palingbeek*


D - Demarcation Stones, placed to mark the limit of the German advance in 1918, inscribed in English, French or Flemish "Here the Invader was brought to a standstill". We pass four on the route.

Kaisers Nephew - Prince Maximilian von Hesse was killed in 1914 when British Cavalry retook the Mont des Cats. He was buried locally but the priest refused to tell the Germans where "until the last German leaves Belgium and restitution is made for crimes committed against our people". His body was eventually repatriated in 1926.

Mine Crater - The large pond to the left as we join the road to Wytschaete is the crater formed when a mine containing 44000kg of explosive was blown under German positions on 7 June 1917, one of 19 mines that heralded the start of the Battle of Messines. The simultaneous detonation of these mines was the largest non-nuclear explosion ever. (Within 500 metres of this crater another mine containing 22000kg of explosive was not set off. After the war the original farm was rebuilt over it!)

1914 Football Match - about 2 miles from our route in Wulverghem, Territorials of the 6th Battalion Cheshire Regiment enjoyed a football match during the Christmas truce in 1914. More a kick-about than a true match apparently, even then they knew the Germans would win on penalties !

Hill 60 - Named for the 60 metre contour at the summit, this high ground overlooking Ypres changed hands several times over the course of the war. A total of 5 VCs were won in the area including 3 in one engagement in April 1915.

Menin Gate - The memorial contains the names of 54900 men with no known grave lost between 1914-17. (Tyne Cot memorial at Passchendaele commemorates a further 34888 men lost in 1917/18).