No. 124
The Trusty Servant
Wykehamists in Belgium – Ypres 2017
David Anderson records this year’ s WW1 pilgrimage:
36 OWs, spouses and sons, together with the Win Coll team of Michael Wallis, James Webster, Alex Roe and Suzanne Foster( Archivist), met at the Hotel Ariane in Ypres on Monday 11 th September for our tour of those battlefields particularly relevant to 3 rd Ypres. This tour is part of the Great War Centenary Commemoration, which will finish with the final 1918 Push next September. that the Peace Park provoked differing reactions from the group: indeed a modern trend to suggest that the War was nobody’ s fault and that the suffering was futile found little sympathy amongst our group. The highlight after lunch was Hill 60 and its craters: it is hard for us to comprehend many things about WW1, but the tunnels under this ridge and the miners who created them seem particularly incredible.
The rain that appropriately greeted us on arrival had eased by 4 pm when we walked into Ypres to go round the Cloth Hall’ s In Flanders’ Fields museum and St George’ s Church. These visits prepared us well for the next three days.
On Tuesday we started at the Southern end of the battlefield and, after the Berkshire Cemeteries, headed for the Island of Ireland Peace Park on the Messines Ridge. It would be fair to say
Hill 60- Pool of Peace
Irish Peace Park
Later we walked to the Menin Gate and Dr John Verity laid a wreath to honour Lieutenant Denis Hewitt VC, the youngest OW to be so honoured, and whose battle we were to learn more about on Wednesday morning. Hugh Priestley read the words that are inscribed around the top of War Cloister. On our return to the hotel Lt Col Richard Pawson gave us a lecture on the Royal Artillery in the WW1, reminding us that the conflict was not just about infantry.
Berkshire Cemetery Extension
On Wednesday we started with Essex Farm cemetery and the advanced dressing station where Dr John McCrae wrote In Flanders Fields. I continue to be haunted by the last and famous verse:
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