Wow – another totally amazing day – and the most amazing and significant day thus far. We caught the TGV train to Lille – which we only just made by the skin of our teeth with 30 seconds to spare! The train ride was great and within 60 minutes we were in Lille, with no stops in between.
We checked into our hotel and then took a look around Lille and enjoyed some lunch. I had the yummiest chocolate and caramel brownie (following my baguette) and the small boulangerie storeman was so nice and appreciated my attempt to relay what I wanted in French.
We then met the Pillow Tour group at 3 pm and commenced our Wester Battle Front Tour. We spent the afternoon and evening in Belgium with our first stop at the Berks Cemetery Extension 1914 – 1916 which commemorates 11,447 men with no known graves who well in nearby battles. There are four Victoria Cross holders on its panels.
We next visited the New Zealand memorial at Messines which stands on the Messines Ridge overlooking the unprotected fields. Some German bunkers still stand. This was one of the few victories where Australians and New Zealanders were able to advance and force the Germans back.
Then we made our way along small country roads to Polygon Wood Cemetery and 5th Australian Division Memorial where 2200 men lie. The messages and epitaphs are so moving and heart wrenching and you can feel the personal loss of those left behind. One inscription reads ‘Beloved son of Harry & Emily Hunter, Nanango QLD. At rest after being lost for 90 years’. He was identified with the aid of DNA testing. Many of these men were only 16 and 17 years old – they are oh so young.
We also met Tom the Donkey who lives across the road and is a bit grumpy if you don’t give him an apple or a sugar cube, but is still quite endearing nonetheless.
We then made our way to the Tyne Cot Cemetery following a drive along the Passchendaele Ridge. Tyne Cot is the largest Commonwealth Cemetery in the World and the most important reminder of the bloody battle of Passchendaele. Approximately 12,000 men lie there with 72% of them known only unto God. The rear wall of the cemetery is a memorial to the missing and bears the names of 35,000 British and New Zealand servicemen who fell in the vicinity after August 1917. The Tyne Cot Memorial continues the list of the names inscribed on the Ypres Menin Gate (pronounced e-preh).
One of the saddest stories I saw in the small museum at Tyne Cot Cemetery was a letter a wife had written to her husband dated 9th October 1917. Coincidently and sadly he was killed the same day as detailed on his War Roll. It’s just heart breaking stuff!
We then made our way to Ypres for dinner and a spot of Belgium Chocolate shopping – Yum!! I had a chicken and mushroom vol-en-vent for dinner, which some might say is very circa 1980’s but it was so delicious.
Then it was time for the last post at Menin Gate. It commenced at 8 pm sharp with a bugler playing the last post. Wreaths were then laid and the ceremony was completed with the playing of the reveille. It was such a stirring and emotional ceremony especially with the names of 55,000 British and Empire soldiers killed and missing in action on the memorials surrounding us. We faced the wall with the names of Australian soldiers making it all the more personal. It was an amazing ceremony to be witness to.
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