In Flanders' Fields

Our first day takes us to various locations around Ypres and Passechendaele, the scenes of some of the biggest battles in the First World War. The area serves as a place of pilgrimage and memorial, and our guide leads us to several different places to pay our respects. We begin with Tyne Cot Cemetery, the largest Commonwealth Cemetery on the Western Front, located in what was once the Ypres Salient, a strategically significant location where French, Belgian, German and Commonwealth soldiers fought almost continuously during World War One. Originally honouring 343 fallen soldiers, the site was largely expanded after Armistice Day on 11th November 1918, mainly by concentrating graves from the surrounding battlefields and smaller cemeteries. Although 11,961 servicemen were eventually laid to rest here, a staggering 8,373 of the burials are sadly unidentified, with a further 34,991 names forever etched onto the Memorial to the Missing.

We continue to Langemark Cemetery, where approximately 44,000 German soldiers who fought in the First World War are buried, and the Ploegsteert Memorial, which honours over 11,000 British and South African soldiers with no known grave, before heading to the Menin Gate in central Ypres. This is where the city’s daily act of remembrance, The Last Post, is played in honour of those who fell in the Ypres Salient from 1914-1918. At exactly 8pm every evening, the police stop traffic around the memorial to let the buglers complete the world-famous fanfare.

Next, we head to Sanctuary Wood Museum, one of the few places on the Ypres Salient where a British trench system can be seen, discovered and preserved by a farmer who returned to reclaim his land after the war. Be sure to take in the battlefield relics and objects of interest inside the museum, such as a British Army cook’s wagon, before we head to the St. Julien Canadian Memorial at Vancouver Corner. The iconic Brooding Soldier statue here commemorates the Canadian 1^st Division participation in the Second Battle of Ypres, who fought against the first poison gas attacks seen along the Western Front.

Today focuses on the locales connected to the Battle of Arras, beginning with the Arras Memorial in the Faubourg d’Amiens British Cemetery, which commemorates a further 35,942 soldiers who died in the Arras district with no known grave. We continue to the Loos Memorial in Dud Corner Cemetery, located on what was once a German strong hold and a tribute to the thousands that fell from the first day of the Battle of Loos to the end of the First World War. Just one of the names recorded here is John Kipling, the only son of famous author Rudyard Kipling, who was believed to have been killed in action age 18. Rudyard spent four years searching for him after the war, yet sadly passed without ever finding out what happened to John – his body was finally identified in 1992.

Our next stop is the Vimy Ridge Memorial, Canada’s largest national memorial found overseas and unveiled by Edward VIII in July 1936. The gleaming marble monument honours 60,000 Canadians who gave their lives in France, many during the successful battle for Vimy Ridge, a seven-kilometre ridge with important views over the Allied lines. We have time to pay our respects before making our way to the CWGC Experience, which offers a behind-the-scenes insight into the remarkable work of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission whilst commemorating all those who were killed during both world wars.

After a brief stop in the historic city of Arras, famous for the UNESCO-listed Gothic tower which overlooks the town square, we conclude the day with a visit to the strikingly modern Lens’ 14-18. Housed in four black cubes, this museum delves into the events of the First World War and aims to provide visitors a sense of what everyday life was like for those who fought on the Western Front, through maps, photographs, artefacts, film footage and more.

After breakfast, we check out of our hotel and begin our journey home. En route, we stop at The Somme to explore key sites such as Lochnagar Mine Crater, Newfoundland Park, Thiepval Memorial and Peronne.

Lochnager Crater, once the Western Front’s deadliest square mile. The large crater was formed when a mine detonated underneath the German front line on 1^st July 1916, caused by the British Army’s 179^th Tunnelling Company Royal Engineers (nicknamed ‘The Moles’). This explosion signified the start of the Battle of the Somme, and this day was to become the bloodiest day in the history of the British Army, with 57,000 casualties.

We continue to the Beaumont-Hamel Newfoundland Memorial Park, the largest protected battlefield site of the Somme area, with harrowing trench lines and shell holes visible on both sides. It’s also one of the few places where no-man’s land can be seen in a preserved natural state, and the extensive park is also home to a visitor centre, cemeteries and memorials, including the Caribou statue, the symbol of the Newfoundland Regiment. Apart from the Vimy Ridge Memorial, this is the only National Historic Site of Canada located outside North America and, as of September 2023, is recognised as a UNESCO World Heritage Site.

Next, we head to Thiepval Memorial to the Missing of the Somme, which commemorates 72,337 British and South African servicemen who were killed on the Somme battlefields between July 1915 to February 1918. Seven Victoria Cross recipients are honoured here, and on top of the red-brick arch, a French inscription reads “Aux armées Française et Britannique l'Empire Britannique reconnaissant: To the French and British Armies, from the grateful British Empire.” For our last stop of the day, we visit the pretty medieval town of Peronne on the River Somme, well known for its Museum of the Great War, which documents the military, social and cultural effects of WWI.

After lunch, we travel to Calais for our return ferry home.