Military Cemeteries/Memorials, Ieper

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The Commonwealth authorities did decide that bodies should not be repatriated and that uniform memorials should be used. At the end of the WW I started the production of uniform headstones most made of Portland stone. The headstones were engraved by hand. They are all rectangles with rounded tops.

At the top British headstones bear the regimental badge, those from the other countries are marked with their national emblem.
Just below the badge or emblem is engraved the rank (with a distinction for infantry "Private", artillery "Gunner", engineers "Sapper"), name, number, unit, date of death and eventually age.
Most headstones are inscribed with a Cross, a few with a Star of David or no religious symbol for those deceased known to be atheist.
At the bottom there is often an epitaph chosen by the soldier's family.

Many gravestones concern unidentified casualties; these headstones bear the inscription "A Soldier of the Great War, Known unto God". (photo 1).
Before the use of the uniform headstones military cemeteries looked like the one of my photo N° 2 near Ypres.

The names of the fallen soldiers whose rests were not identified are engraven on the walls of the various memorials.

The cleaning and eventual re-engraving of the 800.000 First World War headstones worldwide is a mission of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

For details see www.cwgc.org

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On our way to Zillebeke we stopped at a cemetery whose name "China Wall" intrigued me.
The name Perth originated from the fact that this cemetery was adopted by the 2nd Scottish Rifles in June 1917. China Wall comes from a close communication trench known as the "Great Wall of China".
After the Armistice, graves were brought in from the battlefields around Ypres and from a number of smaller cemeteries. There are now 2791 Commonwealth servicemen of the First World War buried or commemorated in this cemetery. Only 1422 are identified.

On our visit the cemetery was closed.

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This was the company that I chose to tour the various battlefields and Memorials around the Ieper area.

The company and tour is run by a gentleman named Andre...The tour was quite informative and quite interesting..I spent the entire day visiting various Memorials and a few battlefield areas in what is considered the North Salient....as well as the South Salient...

We made stops at Essex Farm where it is believed that John Mc Crae wrote the infamous poem "In Flanders Fields"...also included in the itinerary were Tyne Cot Cemetery, and Langemarck Cemetery.

Some of the Memorials included in our day were The Brooding Soldier..and the Irish Peace Park that commemorates The battle of Messines and the role that the 36th Ulster Northern Irish Division and the 16th Southern Irish Division played in that battle.

It was a full day and somewhat at times overwhelming....but certainly worth the monies paid...we met and started the day at 9:30 am...with a break mid day we rendezvoused again at 1:30 pm and wrapped up the day at around 5:30 pm...

The normal cost per person would be 35 Euros for a half day...its possible to book only a morning or an afternoon tour...He runs the North Tour in the morning and the Southern section in the afternoon...

Payment can be made with major credit cards as well as cash...of course!

In addition to the tours that Andre operates he has a small store that sells really wide selection of books relating to the battles around Ieper and collectibles such as,medals,helmets,knives,bayonets and odds and ends.

1988 Commonwealth soldiers were burried on this spot. About 2/3 of them are unidentified.
Lieutenant G.W.L. Talbot , who gave his name to Talbot House in Poperinge, lies in Plot I.
Sanctuary Wood Cemetery

It was here near Essex farm that the Canadian physician, John McCrae (1872-1918), in the night of 2-3 may 1915, wrote his famous poem: In Flanders fields.
On Sunday, May 2nd, a friend of McCrae, Lieutenant Alexis Helmer, was killed by a grenade. During the burial cermony for his friend Dr. McCrae said some prayers. Adjudant Allison says that he personally saw how McCrae wrote his poem on the following day, staring at Helmer's grave. John was buried in Wimereux Cemetery north of Boulogne, not far from the fields of Flanders.
John McCrae biography
In Flanders fields

At the corner Jules Coomansstraat and Boterstraat (across the street coming from the Grote Markt, along the Cloth hall), you find the Memorial in remembrance of the victims of Ieper (WW I and WW II), this is also names the Ieper Fury.

It was designed by architect Jules Coomans in 1924 and made by sculptur Aloïs de Beule from 1924 / 1926.

The monument shows the bronze statues of soldiers on guard, in the middle there is a fallen soldiers in between women, with a lying lion in front of them. On both sides there are plates with the names of the fallen soldiers.

On the day of the revelation of the monument on Sunday June 27 1926 there were heavy incidents which got the name the Iepers Fury.

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Potyze : the word comes from the French word Potiche.
Which is a long earthen or chinaware vase or vessel.

Nearby there is a roundabout with a big Potyze on (when I pass there I must make a picture of it)

This cemetery is one of the two French military cemeteries in the Westhoek. This is also the biggest French military cemetery in Flanders.

Probably there are resting about 4171 French soldiers here on this cemetery.
- 3547 soldiers in individual, in double and in collective graves
- 609 dead soldiers in the 'Ossuary'
- 15 recent graves of remains found by the diggers while they where working on Ieper industrial park along the channel Ieper-IJzer.

What is also special, that it are not all crosses on this cemetery, there are also arab thumbs with arab names, and some jewish graves (often with one or more stones on top of it) - see pictures.

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Potyze cemetery along the road to Zonnebeke

Hier rusten de roemrijke lijken van meer dan 4.000 Franse soldaten gesneuveld op het veld van eer op Vlaanderens Front gedurende de Grote Oorlog 1914 - 1918

Ici reposent les restes glorieux de plus de 4.000 soldats Francais morts au Champs d'honneur sur le front des Flandres au cours de la Grande Guerre 1914 - 1918

Here are resting the glorious bodies of more then 4.000 French soldiers who died on the Field of honour at Flanders Front during the Big War 1914 - 1918