Along the River Lys: The Franco-Belgian Border Part Five – Wervik Communal Cemetery

Posted on September 20, 2011 by Magicfingers

Curious places, these communal cemeteries, at least to an English eye.  Every shade of grey that you could wish for, and very little green.

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Posted in Along the River Lys: Comines, Wervik, Geluwe & Menen, Wervik & Wervicq-Sud | 6 Comments

Along the River Lys: The Franco-Belgian Border Part Four – Wervicq-Sud War Memorial

Posted on September 18, 2011 by Magicfingers

South of the river, in Wervicq-Sud, this French memorial mourns the dead of two World Wars.

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Posted in Along the River Lys: Comines, Wervik, Geluwe & Menen, French War Memorials, Wervik & Wervicq-Sud | Leave a comment

Along the River Lys: The Franco-Belgian Border Part Three – Wervik War Memorial

Posted on September 18, 2011 by Magicfingers

Following the Lys north east, after a couple of miles we arrive in Wervik, another town that, like Comines, straddles the river.  This is the war memorial in the northern, Belgian part of Wervik, and like all of these memorials along the Franco-Belgian border, it commemorates both military and civilian casualties from both World Wars.

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Posted in Along the River Lys: Comines, Wervik, Geluwe & Menen, Belgian War Memorials, Wervik & Wervicq-Sud | 3 Comments

Along the River Lys: The Franco-Belgian Border Part Two – Comines Communal Cemetery

Posted on September 18, 2011 by Magicfingers

North of the river, in the Belgian section of Comines, the Commonwealth Plot in Comines Communal Cemetery bears witness to the severity of the now largely-forgotten fighting that took place in the vicinity in late May 1940.  During the subsequent German occupation, one hundred men, all but five of them identified, were brought in from isolated burials in the area and buried here by the local inhabitants in back-to-back graves.

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Along the River Lys: The Franco-Belgian Border Part One – Comines War Memorial

Posted on September 18, 2011 by Magicfingers

From just west of the town of Menen, some ten miles south east of Ypres (Ieper), the River Leie (better known to those with an interest in the First World War by its French name, the River Lys) forms the border between France and Belgium for approximately fifteen miles.  The towns we shall visit along this stretch of the river were under German occupation for much of the First World War, as well as seeing heavy fighting towards the end of May 1940, as the B.E.F. attempted to prevent the Germans crossing the river during the retreat to Dunkirk.

Picture the scene.  It’s November, it’s late at night, and it’s cold.  Very cold.  And me and the missus are standing in a darkened, deserted square in Comines (the French bit, south of the river) peering at the occasional passing car wondering why Baldrick isn’t driving it.  However, every cloud, and all that.  In front of the bell tower of the Church of St. Chrysole, to the east of the square, stands Comines War Memorial, and as I’ve got the camera with me, why waste the opportunity?

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Matching Umbrellas

Posted on July 16, 2011 by Baldrick

          

Just to prove to you that Balders and I are still hard at work, whatever the weather, scouring the Flemish countryside (or in this case the Flemish suburbs) for future additions to this site, here’s the two of us this very afternoon in Ledegem, braving the elements in our search for the tiny military cemetery that nestles somewhere among the housing estates on the town’s outskirts.  You will be pleased to know that we did eventually find it (closed roads and cycle race notwithstanding), so at some point in the future we will, of course, be sharing with you the photos we took on what turned out to be a VERY wet afternoon.

Thank heavens that the weather yesterday, when we revisited Ploegsteert Wood (look out for a huge update to the Tour of Ploegsteert Wood in the not-too-distant future) was simply glorious…

Posted in Miscellaneous | 17 Comments

Memories of Spoilbank

Posted on June 16, 2011 by Magicfingers

I thought you might like to see this.  Drawn by Lieutenant (and later Captain) H. M. Boyd, Royal Engineers, and kindly lent to me for use on this site by a member of his family (who naturally holds the copyright), it shows the area referred to as “Spoilbank” early in 1917.

Take a look at this trench map (click to enlarge) which shows the route of the first part of our Zillebeke tour.  Down near the bottom left hand corner you can see that “Spoilbank” is marked, just south of the Ypres-Comines Canal, with the green dot signifying Spoilbank Cemetery, directly opposite on the northern side of the canal.  You can even see “Blighty Bridge”, as Captain Boyd refers to it in the sketch, crossing the canal if you look carefully.  “Not to be used in daylight”.  Indeed not.

Posted in Books, Documents, Maps & Artwork, Zillebeke | 26 Comments