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Battle of Messines 7 - 14 June 2017

Battle of Messines 7 - 14 June 2017

Anniversary of the of Messines 7 - 14 June 2017

The battle of Messines – Contents

1 Introduction 3 1.1 Background: the and Messines Ridge 3 1.2 3 1.3 The Battle of the Mines 3 1.4 Prelude to the 4 2 The Irish in Messines 5 2.1 The Sixteenth (Irish) and Thirty-sixth () Divisions 5 2.2 The Irish objectives 6 2.3 The mine 6 2.4 The outcome of the attack 6 3 The Australians and New-Zealanders in Messines 7 3.1 underground 7 3.2 The ANZAC objectives 7 3.3 The outcome of the attack 8 4 Individual stories 9 4.1 Fighting deep in the tunnels 9 4.2 General Herbert Plumer 10 4.3 Eyewitness accounts of the explosion 10 4.4 Congratulations from King 11 4.5 John and 11 4.6 Samuel Frickleton is awarded the 11 4.7 Pte Alan Mather 12 4.8 Audio stories 12 5 Things to see related to the battle of Messines 13 5.1 Sites 13 5.2 Cemeteries 15 5.3 Memorial ceremonies and events 16 5.4 Exhibition: in 17 5.5 Guided tours/routes/itineraries 20 6 Further information 22 6.1 Websites 22 6.2 Pictures 22 6.3 Interviews 23 6.4 Visit Flanders contacts 23 6.5 Sources 24

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Pagina 2 van 24 INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background: the and Messines Ridge The course of the First World War in the Flanders sector was determined by the hilly landscape. The front line between the towns of Ypres and Messines took the form of an inverted S, with the city of Ypres and the village of Wijtschate as the two centres, from north to south. The Germans spoke of the Ypernbogen and the Wytschaetebogen, the British, for their part, of the Ypres Salient and the Messines Ridge. In the north of the Westhoek () district, from Drie Grachten to Nieuwpoort, the flooding of the Yser plain in 1914 held up the German advance. This meant that the ridge was the only way the Germans could reach the sea and the channel ports of and Calais. The Allies had to defend those hills, no matter what the cost. The struggle was grim and relentless. British and French troops succeeded in bringing the Germans to a halt. Worn out by the heavy fighting and with winter approaching, the enemy dug in. 1.2 Trench warfare The war of movement was replaced by trench warfare. In the Wijtschate salient (Messines Ridge), the German defences were concentrated around advanced positions on a number of natural heights that were difficult to take. For the Germans, Wijtschate was an important observation post. From the height, they had a bird’s-eye view, from a distance of seven kilometres, of all troop movements to the south of Ypres. The British lines were much lower down and were all within range of the German . The Germans transformed Wijtschate into an impregnable fort. A succession of attacks came to grief on the reinforced ridge at Wijtschate and Messines. Failure above ground led both armies to try a new approach. Already in 1915, the war in the whole Ypres Salient slipped stealthily underground. British (Tunnellers or Sappers) and German (Mineure) miners dug a network of passageways and tunnels towards and under each other’s positions. They frequently blew them up and built new, reinforced positions in the resulting craters. In 1916 alone, the British exploded 750 mines and the Germans 696. At the start of 1917, there were more than 40 German and more than 20 British mine craters visible in the no-man’s-land between and Ploegsteert. 1.3 The Battle of the Mines What the British know as the Battle of the Mines or the Battle of Messines (Ridge) and the Germans as ‘der Schlacht am Wytschaetebogen’ began on 7 June and ended on 14 . The British, aiming to take the Germans by surprise, deployed special ‘Tunnelling Companies’. The aim was to approach the German positions unnoticed and to tunnel under them. The ultimate goal was the capture of the ports of Ostend and Zeebrugge, as the German based there were a constant threat to Allied supply lines. It took a year of planning, starting in 1916.

On the morning of 7 June 1917, at 4.10 am local time (Zero Hour), the British exploded 19 of the 24 deep mines, almost simultaneously, between Hill 60 (Zillebeke) and ‘The Birdcage’ (south-west of Warneton). The gigantic explosions destroyed the enemy positions and created huge craters in the landscape. One bunker was actually turned upside down. The explosions created the loudest man-made noise in history – until, that is, the detonation of the atomic at Hiroshima and Nagasaki. A student is reported to have heard it in . The

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Pagina 3 van 24 explosion was heard by the British Prime Minister , who was working late in his Downing Street study.

The surprise was total and the impact and the chaos among the Germans were enormous. In the fighting and the gigantic artillery bombardment that followed the mine explosions, British, Irish, Australian, and units succeeded in taking the Wijtschate-Messines ridge. Their total losses came to 15,913 dead, 23,953 wounded, and 10,595 missing. On the morning of 7 June 1917, troops broke through at Messines, the totally devastated village of Wijtschate was taken by the Irish divisions, and British divisions occupied the Hollebeke ridge. It was the greatest British military success of the war up to that time. 1.4 Prelude to the Battle of Passchendaele Following the Battle of the Mines, the whole ‘Wytschaetebogen’ or Messines Ridge was occupied. Seven kilometres of territory had been gained. In the wake of the disasters of the previous year, 1916, the British were euphoric. Both civilians and the military needed a boost. But there was a sequel to come, and soon. The second phase was the Battle of Passchendaele, which did not begin until 31 July, nearly eight weeks later. Some say that the commander-in-chief, Douglas Haig, waited too long, thereby giving the Germans time to repair and improve their defences.

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Pagina 4 van 24 2 THE IRISH IN MESSINES

2.1 The Sixteenth (Irish) and Thirty-sixth (Ulster) Divisions

Three divisions raised in There were three divisions raised in Ireland during the Great War. The first to be raised was the Tenth (Irish) Division, which fought at Gallipoli in and later at Salonika and in . The second division formed was the Sixteenth (Irish) Division, whose volunteer recruits were mainly southern Irish Catholics. The final division raised was the Thirty-sixth (Ulster) Division, which was raised mainly from the Ulster Volunteer Force, a predominantly Protestant body. All three divisions included what were called Service Engineers, Pioneers, Medics, Intelligence, and Transport units.

The Sixteenth (Irish) and Thirty-sixth (Ulster) Divisions fraternising The two Irish divisions (Sixteenth and Thirty-sixth) retained their separate identities, although they came close to amalgamating in early 1917, following the dreadful losses at the Somme and the precipitous reduction in recruitment numbers in Ireland. Nothing came of this, mainly because no political compromise could be found that would make it acceptable at home. The aftermath of the Easter (1916) Rising and the new militant nationalist sentiment had contributed to an even more febrile atmosphere back in Ireland. Nationalists and unionists were even further apart. But, in this uncharacteristically hilly part of Flanders, both divisions had a common cause, even if they had diametrically different views of Ireland’s place within the . The divisions fraternised with each other behind the lines in Bailleul and played football matches against other. One match was watched by between 2,000 and 3,000 spectators, making it a tempting target for the Germans had they known about it.

The Sixteenth (Irish) and Thirty-sixth (Ulster) fighting side by side The Thirty-sixth (Ulster) Division was positioned at Kruisstraat, just to the right of where the huge Spanbroekmolen mine was due to explode. They were to be the very first to go up the hill in the advance guard of the first wave of . To their left was the Sixteenth (Irish) Division. The regiments from Ulster and from the south of Ireland would fight side by side.

The Revd , a Church of Ireland chaplain with the 9th Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, commented on the friendly relations between the two divisions. ‘It was impressive to see what a feeling of security before the battle the Ulster Division had in having the 16th Irish on our left flank and that the 16th Division had in having the Ulster Division on their right flank. This feeling of goodwill and confidence between the two divisions had been growing for some time. I wish the entire North and South that they represent, could participate in the same Spirit.’

The Times observed on Friday 8 June 1917: In the capture of the ridge, both north and south Irishmen have their share.. Northerners and Southerners, Protestand and Catholic troops, fought alongside of one another and, whatever may be party feeling at home, it is as well to know that the feeling between the two bodies here is most cordial. The Southern Irishmen recently presented a cup for competition between various companies of

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Pagina 5 van 24 the Northern force, and of late there has been swearing of the utmost rivalry as to which would get to the top of the Messines Ridge first. I do not yet know which did, but I have no doubt that both were first in good Irish Tradition.

2.2 The Irish objectives

In line with the plan laid out in General Plumer’s ‘Instruction for the Offensive’, Generals Hickie and Nugent, the commanders of the Sixteenth (Irish) and Thirty-sixth (Ulster) Divisions respectively, planned to take the objectives along their battle front in two main phases. All twenty-four battalions from the two Irish Divisions would be used in the attack, twelve from each division. Phase 1 would be to capture the village of Wijtschate and the ridge it sat on. This phase would begin with the bombardment of the German trenches for five days before the explosion of land mines under German strongpoints facing the Irish troops at 4.10 a.m. on 7 June or Zero Day. Immediately after the explosion of the mines, the main infantry assault would follow, under a creeping .

2.3 The Spanbroekmolen mine The mine at the Spanbroekmolen windmill exploded later than intended – fifteen seconds after the other mines. Just to the right of the huge Spanbroekmolen mine, before Kruisstraat, T. Witherow, a in the Eighth Battalion of the Royal Irish Rifles, had moved forward with his company immediately after covering fire had begun. Many Irish , from both north and south, were killed by the Spanbroekmolen mine because of the delay.

Lieutenant T. Witherow, Eighth Battalion, Royal Irish Rifles, reported: We’d made it through the machine- fire and had almost got to the German positions, when a terrible thing happened that nearly put an end to my fighting days. All of a sudden the earth seemed to open and belch forth a great mass of flame. There was a deafening noise and the whole thing went up in the air, a huge mass of earth and stone. We were all thrown violently to the ground and debris began to rain down on us. Luckily only soft earth fell on me, but the Lance-, on of my best Section Commanders, was killed by a brick. It struck him square on the head as he lay at my side. A few more seconds and we would have gone up with the mine.

2.4 The outcome of the attack Despite the Spanbroekmolen mine crisis, the attack on Wijtschate was a success. Both the Sixteenth (Irish) and Thirty-sixth (Ulster) Divisions achieved their objectives according to the plan they had set out. The infantry attack in cooperation with the creeping barrage, notwithstanding tragic accidents, went according to plan. Steadily, targets were achieved according to schedule. By 8.50 am on 7 June 1917, the Irish had taken Wijtschate. When the infantry took their objective, they immediately began to consolidate their new lines. These men performed incredibly, occasionally under fire, considering what they had been through all day long. Behind them came the ‘moppers’, who cleared any residual German resistance. The Field Companies of Engineers followed behind with their mule trains and began to build

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Pagina 6 van 24 new strong points in Petit Bois, Wijtschate, Spanbroekmolen, and Kruisstraat. Wire was brought up and the whole work of consolidation went according to plan. What they captured, they held. The pioneers from both divisions cleared the tracks and roads into Wijtschate so the artillery could move up and facilitate the attack for the afternoon’s advance on the Oosttaverne Line.

3 THE AUSTRALIANS AND NEW-ZEALANDERS IN MESSINES

3.1 War underground

For two years Australian, British, and Canadian miners had engaged in subterranean warfare, digging an intricate tunnel system under the enemy’s front line. The Allies used these tunnels to further tactical advantage, packing massive charges of the to obliterate enemy defences. The main Australian effort was at Hill 60, where Tunnelling Companies worked for months, reinforcing and protecting the large mines in their zone. The professionalism and skill of all the Allies was demonstrated by the Germans’ inability to locate mines.

3.2 The ANZAC objectives

The ANZAC ( and New Zealand Corps) was responsible for the southern end of the attack, with the on the left and the Australian Third Division on the right. The New Zealand Division was responsible for taking Messines and pushing through to the Black Line behind it. The Fourth Australian Division was then to pass through them to carry on the second phase and take the Green Line some 2 km to the east of the front line.

Messines was the first time that Australians and New Zealanders had fought side by side since the of 1915.

After the detonation of 19 mines, British, Australian, and New Zealand soldiers of Godley’s II Anzac Corps climbed out of the trenches. Waves of attacking soldiers sought to capitalise on the shock of the explosions and the accompanying artillery barrage and occupy the enemy’s positions before they had the chance to form a new defensive line. The scale of the mine explosions both neutralised the enemy’s and disrupted their planned counterattacks.

One mine had detonated in front of the British Twenty-fifth Division’s sector, while three detonated in front of the Third Australian Division’s sector, with a fourth just to the right of that. A great artillery barrage was fired over the heads of the attacking infantry and pioneers as they moved forward in the pre-dawn darkness, with choking smoke and dust in the air from the great disturbance of the earth further hampering visibility. The Third Division’s objective was to push all the way through to the Green Line. This was achieved comparatively easily, especially in light of the AIF’s battle experiences on the Front, the growing tactical skills of the Australian infantry, and the overwhelming firepower of the Allied assault.

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Pagina 7 van 24 Rigorous training on Salisbury Plain and in had prepared them as well as possible for the ensuing attack – including training in preparations for consolidating craters such as they would encounter at Messines.

The New Zealand Division was tasked with the capture of the village of Messines. Their battalions passed through and around the village ruins, subduing enemy activity where they found it. The Twenty-fifth Division on their left similarly achieved its objectives. The long halt in the middle of the day saw success throughout II Anzac’s sector.

Plumer planned to resume the attack at 1 pm. However, delays by the central IX Corps (to II Anzac’s left) in moving their troops up meant that the afternoon attack did not go in until 3 pm. When the attack was pressed forward again, two brigades of the Fourth Australian Division moved through the Twenty- fifth and New Zealand Divisions to the final objective (Green) line. Their success was only possible because of the successful capture of the ridgeline by the British Twenty-fifth, the New Zealand, and the Third Australian Divisions. The New Zealand Division had captured and held the village of Messines with comparatively little difficulty, with pillboxes being isolated and destroyed.

In the afternoon, the Twelfth Brigade of the Fourth Australian Division pushed up to the Oosttaverne Line, capturing and holding sections of it as the remainder of the attackers made their way to that objective. It was here that German resistance hardened significantly. The capture of the remainder of the Oosttaverne Line in II Anzac’s sector took another four days and nights of hard fighting.

3.3 The outcome of the attack

By the evening of 7 June, Plumer’s bite-and-hold attack to take the Messines Ridge line was a tactical and strategic success. In the II Anzac Corps sector, the Third Division had been ‘blooded’ in its first major battle of the war and the New Zealanders had confirmed their standing as one of the BEF’s best formations, while the Twenty-fifth Division too fought very well to achieve its objectives. In support, the Fourth Division had consolidated the ground already won and pushed on to hold the final objective.

Along the entire attacking front, the three-corps offensive had been a success and the salient south of Ypres had been eliminated. Two Australian Victoria Crosses were awarded for bravery in the Battle of Messines – to Grieve and John Carroll. Such a spectacular victory came at a price, with some 26,000 casualties sustained, with II Anzac suffering 13,500 of that total. The Germans sustained an equivalent number of casualties.

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http://www.army.gov.au/Our-history/History-in-Focus/The-Battle-of-Messines-1917 http://www.army.gov.au/Our-history/History-in-Focus/The-Battle-of-Messines-1917/The-Battle-of- Messines-1917-Part-Two

4 INDIVIDUAL STORIES

4.1 Fighting deep in the tunnels More dangerous setbacks were experienced as German countermining activities were stepped up. Attacks and counterattacks. Tunnels lost and new ones opened up. Sometimes, fighting took place deep within the actual tunnels. In the early days, it often happened in the tunnels closer to the surface that one side emerged by accident into an enemy tunnel.

Captain M. Greener, 175th Tunnelling Company, : One day we broke into the top of an enemy gallery, and as the enemy were heard close by, an emergency charge of fifteen pounds of gun cotton was tamped and fired near the hole. Actually, while the charge was being lit, the enemy were heard trying to enlarge the hole which they had discovered in their gallery. After the charge had gone up and the mine was reported free from gas, an explosion party was organized and an advance was made into the enemy gallery. This gallery was lit by electric light and when the Germans heard our party advancing they turned on the light. But our had foreseen this danger. He had run ahead and had cut the leads of the lamps well forward of the party, with the result that only the part of the gallery occupied by the enemy was illuminated. Two Germans were seen advancing, one of whom was shot. Both sides then retired, and after two attempts to destroy the gallery with small charges we eventually placed a charge of 200 pounds in position and exploded it, with the result that the German gallery was entirely closed up and the column of smoke

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Pagina 9 van 24 and gas of the explosion which arose from the shaft gave our gunners accurate information of its position, and very effective firing practice on the German trenches interrupted the German mining activity for some time. Our miners had been working for five days within twelfe feet of the German gallery and had not been heard.

Hair-raising adventures of this kind were a frequent occurrence in mine galleries that were relatively close to the surface – and those galleries, with listening posts at many points, were needed in order to detect German counterminers. What the Germans did not know, however, was that other, deeper tunnel systems were being dug far below the tunnels they had discovered. 4.2 General Herbert Plumer Field Marshal Herbert Plumer was commander of the Second Army in the Ypres Salient between 1915 and 1917. The success of the Battle of the Mines was mainly due to the excellent preparations by General Plumer, who was later made a field marshal. As an officer who had come up through the ranks of the infantry, Plumer had sympathy for the plight of the front-line troops under his command. He was popular among his men, who nicknamed him ‘Old Plum and Apple’ or ‘Daddy Plumer’. On the eve of the battle, he had told his staff: ‘Gentlemen, we may not make history tomorrow, but we shall certainly change the geography.’

4.3 Eyewitness accounts of the explosion Lieutenant J. Todd, Eleventh Battalion, Prince of ’s Own It was an appalling moment. We all had the feeling ‘It’s not going!’ And then a most remarkable thing happened. The ground on which I was lying started to go up and down just like an . It lasted for seconds and then, suddenly in front of us, the Hill 60 mine went up.

Second Lieutenant J.W. Naylor, Royal Our plunger was in a dug-out, and the colonel and I were actually standing outside the dug-out because we both knew what was going to happen and we wanted to see as much as we could. The earth seemed to tear apart, and there was this enormous explosion right in front of us. It was an extraordinary sight. The whole ground went up and came back down again. It was like a huge mushroom.

Captain M. Greener, 175th Tunnelling Company, Royal Engineers The earth seemed to open and rise up tot he sky. It was all shot with flame. The dust and smoke was terrific. And all this debris falling back.

Chaplain Achiel Van Walleghem described ‘Zero Hour’ as follows in his war diary: ‘It was just 4 am and the first daylight was beginning to glimmer, when I suddenly saw the most gigantic and at the same time the most hideously magnificent firework display that had ever been detonated in Flanders, a veritable volcano – it was as if the entire south-east was belching fire... A few seconds passed before we felt the shocks. That was a veritable earthquake that lasted at least a minute... Oh, if it wasn’t men being slaughtered, you would call it beautiful."

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Pagina 10 van 24 4.4 Congratulations from King George V King George V had wisely waited until the expected German counterattacks had been launched and had failed, before sending a congratulatory telegram to the commander-in-chief in the field. This message was sent to Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig on Saturday 9 June:

I rejoice that, thanks to thorough preparation and splendid cooperation of all arms, the important Messines Ridge, which has been the scene of so many memorable struggles, is again in our hands. Tell General Plumer and the Second Army how proud we are of this achievement, by which in a few hours the enemy was driven out of strongly entrenched positions held by him for two and a half years.

4.5 John and Willie Redmond The success of the Battle of Wijtschate was tempered by the news of the death of Major Willie Redmond MP, who was the younger brother of John Redmond. All his life, he had been a committed Home Ruler and devout Roman Catholic. At a time in life when some politicians are thinking of a place to retire, at 56 years of age, Redmond was killed leading his men in the 6th Royal Irish Regiment, some of whom were members of the Derry . In , he made a famous recruiting speech in when, standing at the open window of the Imperial Hotel and speaking to the crowd below, he shouted; ‘I do not say to you, Go – but’, and he took off his hat, ‘Grey-haired and old as I am, I say Come, come with me to the war.’ He strongly believed, naively some might argue, that if Irishmen, both Catholic and Protestant, could fight and die together, surely they could live together.

William Redmond was hit by splinters and was found by an Irish Protestant stretcher-bearer. Redmond was a well-known figure, probably known to the stretcher-bearer. Rather than leave his political opponent where he was, however, this man took Redmond on his shoulders and, even though he was later wounded himself, stayed with him until two other northern Irishmen brought Redmond on a stretcher to a casualty clearing station in Dranouter, where he died. To a younger man, the wounds Redmond received would not have presented any major problems. At fifty-six however, he was weak and died of heart failure.

The men of the Ulster Division made a donation to a memorial fund for Willie Redmond and formed a Guard of Honour at his grave. At 6.30 p.m. on the evening of 8 June 1917, Redmond was buried in the convent grounds outside the village of Loker.

In his widow Eleanor visited the grave and was pleased with how it had been kept by the Sisters. When the War Graves Commission started to concentrate burials in the area they wrote to her asking for her permission to move him. Eleanor requested that his body be left where it lay in the care of the nuns of Loker. The local people of Loker continue to attend to his symbolic grave with great respect. Redmond's Bar, an 'Irish' pub in Loker is named after him. 4.6 Samuel Frickleton is awarded the Victoria Cross Samuel Frickleton was a New Zealand NCO who was awarded the Victoria Cross for bravery. The VC is the highest British military award, made in recognition of exceptional courage in the face of the enemy. It is rarely awarded. Since it was introduced by in 1856, it has been awarded 1,355 times.

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Pagina 11 van 24 Those recognised in this way receive a medal and may put the letters ‘VC’ after their name. The then 26- year-old Frickleton displayed great courage on 7 June 1917, when he put two enemy machine guns out of action, twice putting his own life in danger and protecting his comrades in arms from death and injury. Frickleton died in Wellington in 1971 after a protracted illness. There are several memorials to his memory; on 7 June 2007, a plaque commemorating his bravery was unveiled at Messines Church in in a ceremony attended by two of his granddaughters. There is also a plaque in his honour at the Messines Ridge British Cemetery.

4.7 Pte Alan Mather

On 8 June 1983 Pte Alan Mather of the Thirty-third Battalion was killed in action in Ultimo Trench, just north of Factory Farm. One of the only places of resistance along the Third Division’s front in the early phase of the attack was found on the extreme southern edge, where the Thirty-third Battalion (under the command of Lt Col Leslie Morshead) faced some determined German opposition from beyond the flank of the attacking line. Following some accurate sniping to keep the enemy back, the position was consolidated.

His remains were uncovered in 2008 by a British archaeological team led by Richard Osgood and Martin Brown, which was excavating trenches used during the Battle of Messines. Mather was eventually identified, mainly by DNA comparison, and buried with full military honours in July 2010. His uniform, rifle, and personal effects were returned to Australia, conserved, and, with the cooperation of Pte Mather’s descendants, now feature in the new Infantry Museum at Singleton

4.8 Audio stories

You can find several testimonies of New Zealand soldiers on the website of Ngā Tapuwae New Zealand First World War Trails, a WW100 legacy project that guides people through historic landscapes and sites of the First World War. http://ngatapuwae.govt.nz/

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Pagina 12 van 24 5 THINGS TO SEE RELATED TO THE BATTLE OF MESSINES

5.1 Sites

Messines

The New Zealand The statue in the centre of town is a memorial to all soldiers of the New Zealand Division who fought in the Battle of Messines Ridge.

Markt 8957 Messines

Messines Ridge New Zealand Memorial Located in the Messines Ridge British cemetery this Memorial to the missing commemorates over 840 New Zealand Expeditionary Force soldiers who were killed in Messines in 1917–1918 and who have no known grave.

Nieuwkerkestraat, a road leading from the Rijselseweg, N365 8957 Messines

Island of Ireland Peace Park The Peace Park with its traditional Irish round tower pays tribute to all Irish soldiers who fell during the war, regardless of their background. The nine talking stones tell their tale through , prayer, and diaries, while the Peace Pledge calls on Protestants and Catholics to forgive each other. Registers in the base of the tower list those commemorated. The park was officially opened on 11 November 1998 by Queen Elisabeth II and the President of Ireland.

Armentierssteenweg 8957 Messines

Memorials to the Sixteenth Irish Division and the Thirty-sixth Ulster Division These memorials, in the form of two stones, are set one on each side of the road. They are located roughly where the two divisions joined in their successful attack to take Wijtschate.

Island of Ireland Peace Park – on the right, at the end of the entrance path Armentierssteenweg 8957 Messines

The Peace Carillon The carillon in the Saint Nicolas church tower has 59 bells. The first bell of peace (weighs more than 280 pounds) was inaugurated on 17th May 1985 in Ypres by Pope John Paul II. The carillon can be heard every 15 minutes, ringing out hymns from the nations that took part in .

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Tourist Information point The exhibition in the visitor situated in the former town hall gives you a detailed overview of what happened during the First World War in Messines. www.messines.be

Heuvelland/Wijtschate

Bayernwald This unique German site is located between the villages of Wijtschate and Voormezele. The site consists of two mine galleries, a mine shaft, a trench system and five bunkers. It is accessed via a footpath which passes through the restored network of trenches. A series of information panels give details of the events which took place here and explain what life at the front was really like.

Voormezelestraat 8950 Wijtschate http://toerisme.heuvelland.be/tourism/799-www.html

The Pool of Peace The Pool of Peace (Spanbroekmolenkrater) is the location of the largest of the mines that were blown at the start of the assault on Messines Ridge. Before it was blown, the mine was 88 feet deep and contained 91,000 lbs of ammonal. Once it was blown, the crater was 250 feet wide and 40 feet deep.

Kruisstraat 8950 Wijtschate www.heuvelland.be

Ypres

Hill 60 and Caterpillar Crater Hill 60 was captured by the Eleventh Battalion West Yorkshire Regiment on 7 June 1917 during the Battle of Messines, when two huge mines were blown: one on the hill itself, with a charge of more than 53,000 lbs, was blown by the First Australian Tunnelling Company, whose memorial is on Hill 60. They also blew the neighbouring Caterpillar Crater (width 80 m, depth 15 m).

Zwarteleenstraat 8902 Zillebeke www.visitypres.be

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Pagina 14 van 24 5.2 Cemeteries

Messines Ridge British Cemetery In all, 1,503 soldiers are buried here: 985 British, 322 Australian, 115 New Zealand, and 56 South African soldiers. Only 549 bodies could be identified. In this cemetery you will also find a Memorial to the Missing, which commemorates over 840 New Zealand Expeditionary Force soldiers who were killed in Messines in 1917–1918 and who have no known grave.

Nieuwkerkestraat, a road leading from the Rijselseweg, N365 8957 Messines http://www.cwgc.org/find-a-cemetery/cemetery/55400/MESSINES%20RIDGE%20BRITISH%20CEMETERY

Lone Tree Cemetery The cemetery contains 88 graves (six of which are of unknown individuals). Nearly all the graves are those of soldiers of the Royal Irish Rifles who fell on 7 June, the first day of the Battle of Messines. Some of them were actually killed by the explosion of the Spanbroekmolen mine (which was blown around 15 seconds later than planned) as they advanced.

Kruisstraat 8950 Heuvelland http://www.cwgc.org/find-a-cemetery/cemetery/9202/LONE%20TREE%20CEMETERY

Grave of Major William Redmond MP Considering his age, Major William Redmond MP wasn’t even supposed to be on the battlefield during the Battle of Messines. After he was hit twice, he was carried off the battlefield by John Meeke, a Protestant soldier. They reached the Casualty Clearing Station at the Catholic Hospice at Loker, where Redmond died of his wounds. The nuns buried him in the grounds of the hospice; he was later moved to the Commonwealth cemetery, but at the request of his family he was moved again to a location outside the cemetery walls.

Godschalckstraat 8950 Heuvelland

Toronto Avenue Cemetery The cemetery contains the graves of officers and men of the (3rd Australian Division) who died in the Battle of Messines between 7 and 10 June 1917.

Plugstreet Wood Huttebergweg Comines-Warneton

Spanbroekmolen British Cemetery

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Pagina 15 van 24 The cemetery comprising 58 burials was almost exclusively used for burying some of those who fell on the first day of the Battle of Messines, June the 7th, 1917 (three graves are from June the 8th). All except one grave are those of men of the 36th Ulster Division (the Royal Irish Rifles and the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers), and this cemetery was actually lost in later fighting, and only rediscovered after the Armistice. The cemetert is close to the crater named Pool of Peace.

Wijtschatestraat Heuvelland

Wytschaete Military Cemetery

A post-war concentration cemetery where over two thirds of the 1002 buried or commemorated are unidentified. There are three sets of special memorial stones set behind the Stone of Remembrance to the right of the cemetery, commemorating soldiers originally buried in other cemeteries but whose graves were destroyed

Wijtschatestraat Heuvelland

5.3 Memorial ceremonies and events

25 2017 – Anzac Day (PM) New Zealand Memorial in Messines

Annual tribute to all the Australian and New Zealand soldiers who fought in WWI. A few officials will plant the first trees of the Wood of Peace. www.passchendaele2017.org

Address: Nieuw Zeelandersstraat, 8957 Messines

7 June 2017 – International Remembrance Ceremony, Centenary of the Battle of Messines Messines and Heuvelland

National Remembrance Dawn Ceremony New Zealand (8:30 am) Remembrance Ceremony Australia (10:30 am) National Remembrance Ceremony Ireland and UK (2 pm) Closing Ceremony Ireland and UK – Rememberance W. Redmond and J. Meeke (4 pm)

10 June 2017 (after dusk) – Crater Front – Soundscape and light installation Kemmelseweg, Heuvelland

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Pagina 16 van 24 One hundred years after the Battle of Messines, on 10 June 2017, the ‘Crater Front’ will be held: an event incorporating images and sound in the middle of the historical crater landscape of Heuvelland. During a live soundscape by the Canadian band Godspeed You! Black Emperor, light and historical and contemporary images will be integrated into the landscape by the artist Shelbatra Jashari. Thousands of candles, created by the senior years of the primary schools in , will further illuminate the environment. Fluorescent blue, white, and yellow candlelight, historical images, and the scarred landscape form the basic elements of this installation and an ode to how light can give new life to the region’s landscape. Free access www.gonewest.be

5.4 Exhibition: Total War in Flanders

FROM 3 JUNE 2017 TO END 2017

In 1917, the Great War escalated in Flanders into a Total War. Science, technology, industry, economy, and society were the cogwheels of a war machine operating at full speed. At the front, the scope and the severity of the violence defied all imagination. An unprecedented number of troops, modern , and new technologies formed the machinery of armies that could no longer afford to lose. The huge destructive power of the artillery wreaked havoc in the landscape. Behind the front, the whole society was mobilised to keep the war industry going. Daily life became bleaker and the image of the other side was reduced to that of ‘the enemy’. Today we still see the scars in the landscape and the places of remembrance and commemoration. The ‘1917: Total War in Flanders’ project connects these various locations in a route of exhibitions and information points:

 In Flanders Fields Museum, Ypres The thematic exhibition in the Royal Hall of the In Flanders Fields Museum gives the visitor a general introduction to the Mine Battle of Messines and the Third . There is an important place in the exhibition for the work of the Australian war photographers Frank Hurley and Hubert Wilkins and the re-worked contemporary photographs of Ian Alderman. www.inflandersfields.be

 Three information modules in the Ypres Salient, Ypres

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Pagina 17 van 24 Each of the three modules explains the position of the Allied armies on the eve of the Third Battle of Ypres. At each location, reflect on the terrible storm that would soon break; a storm that was destined to dramatically reshape the landscape around Ypres. www.visitypres.be

 Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917, The imposing ‘Villa Zonnedaele’ mansion is the setting for a thematic exhibition about the crucial role played by the devastated landscape during the Battle of Passchendaele. Both armies were forced to adjust their tactics, their methods of attack, and their logistical systems. The impact on ordinary soldiers, too, both physically and psychologically, was immense. www.passchendaele.be

Cemetery Visitors Centre, Zonnebeke An information module in the visitor centre next to the imposing Tyne Cot Cemetery tells the story of the landscape. Using an interactive panorama panel, the visitor will learn how to read the different layers of this landscape: what was the effect of the Third Battle of Ypres and what traces can we still find today? www.passchendaele.be

 Heuvelland Visitors Centre, Heuvelland (Kemmel) The thematic exhibition 'Zero Hour 07-06-1917: The Archaeology of a Battle' in the Heuvelland Visitors Centre (currently under construction) illustrates the material heritage left behind by the Mine Battle of Messines. A selection of excavated artefacts occupies a central position. The visitor will learn about the function of these objects during the battle and how they were rediscovered many years later. The exhibition also demonstrates how the wartime heritage has been dealt with in the years since the Great War came to an end. www.toerismeheuvelland.be

 Sint-Laurentius (St. Laurence's) Church, Heuvelland (Kemmel) The church in Kemmel is the setting for the thematic exhibition 'Irish Blood on Flemish soil'. Ireland has had a troubled history. Yet during the Mine Battle of Messines the Sixteenth (Irish) Division and the Thirty-sixth (Ulster) Division fought side by side. In view of their underlying political differences, it is justified to regard this as a unique act of partnership and cooperation. Even today, this collaborative participation in the battle has a strong symbolic value. www.toerismeheuvelland.be

 Tourist Information Point (TIP), Messines The thematic exhibition '100 New Zealand Faces of Messines' focuses attention on the enormous impact of the First World War on New Zealand. From a population of barely one million

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Pagina 18 van 24 inhabitants, almost 10% travelled to the other side of the world to fight in the Great War. Using the stories of 100 individuals, the dramatic effects of the war on this small country are explored. www..be

 Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery Visitors Centre, An information module in the visitor centre next to the imposing Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery tells the story of the preparation of this hospital site in the run-up to the Third Battle of Ypres. Nothing was left to chance, resulting in a tangible sense of 'the calm before the storm'. The full ferocity of this storm, when it finally broke, is best evidenced by the sheer scale of the site, the number of casualties it dealt with, and the growing size of the neighbouring cemetery in the terrible summer of 1917. www.lijssenthoek.be

 Guynemer-Pavilion, -Poelkapelle (Poelkapelle) The Guynemer Pavilion (currently under construction) houses a two-part exhibition, which tells the stories of the role of military in the war and of the French participation in the Battle of Passchendaele. The part played by the French Army in this largely British and Commonwealth offensive was crucially important. Although that army was in a state of crisis in 1917, it was still able to make a cautious but significant advance towards Forest. Increasing use was also made of military aviation throughout 1917, evolving from a purely observational role to become an integral part of the war machine. www.langemark-poelkapelle.be

 Belgian Military Cemetery, Houthulst An information module at the Belgian Military Cemetery in Houthulst highlights the impact of munitions on the region in 1917. During the Third Battle of Ypres the concentrations of artillery fire were much heavier than anything previously seen. The number of shells fired by the guns reached staggering new levels. Even today, these munitions are still being found and their effects are still being felt. www.houthulst.be

 Drie Grachten (Three Canals) site, Houthulst (Merkem) This information module tells the story of the destruction of the Drie Grachten site by French artillery prior to the opening of the Third Battle of Ypres. The module also focuses on the storming of the position by the Fusiliers Marins Battalion (French Marines). Autochrome colour photographs – which were very rare at that time – illustrate various aspects of this local victory. www.houthulst.be

http://www.visitflanders.com/en/passchendaele/total-war-in-flanders/

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5.5 Guided tours/routes/itineraries

Car or coach itineraries

The Battle of the Mines Heuvelland – Komen – Wijtschate – Messines

- Visitor centre, Heuvelland: 10 am* - Bayernwald in Heuvelland: 11 am - Lunch in Heuvelland**: 12 noon - Pool of Peace in Heuvelland: 2 pm - Tourist Information Point Messines*, Irish Peace Park and Peace Tower in Messines: 3pm

*From June to December, extra temporary exhibitions about the events of 1917 ** For lunch suggestions have a look at the website www.heuvelland.be

The Irish in Messines

- Tourist Information Point: 10 am - Irish Peace Park: 11 am - Lone Tree Cemetery and Irish memorials: 11.30 am - Lunch in Heuvelland**: 12.30 pm - Redmond grave: 2 pm

** For lunch suggestions have a look at the website www.heuvelland.be

The New Zealanders in Flanders Fields Messines – Zonnebeke – Ypres

DAY 1

- Tourist Information Point, Messines: 10 am - New Zealand soldier statue: 10.45 am - New Zealand Memorial, Messines: 11 am - Messines Ridge British Cemetery: 11.30 am - Peckham Farm Crater, Messines: 12 noon - Lunch in Ypres***: 12.30 pm - In Flanders Fields Museum: 2 pm - : 4 pm

***For lunch suggestions have a look at www.visitypres.be

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Pagina 20 van 24 DAY 2

- Nine Elms British Cemetery in Poperinge, where 270 New Zealanders are buried, including the All Blacks captain : 10 am - Memorial Museum Passchendaele: 11 am - Lunch in Zonnebeke****: 12.30 pm - Polygon Wood, Zonnebeke: 2.30 pm - New Zealand Memorial at ’s Graventafel: 4 pm

**** For lunch suggestions have a look at www.toerismezonnebeke.be

The Australians in Flanders Fields

DAY 1

- In Flanders Fields Museum: 10 am - Menin Gate: 12 noon - Lunch in Ypres***: 12.30 pm - Hill 60 and Caterpillar Crater: 2 pm - Avenue Cemetery: 3.30 pm

***For lunch suggestions have a look at www.visitypres.be

DAY 2

- Memorial Museum Passchendaele: 10 am - Lunch in Zonnebeke****: 12 noon - Polygon Wood: 2 pm - Tyne Cot Cemetery: 3.30 pm

**** For lunch suggestions have a look at www.toerismezonnebeke.be

The British and the of 1917

DAY 1

- Tourist Information Point, Messines: 10 am - Messines Ridge British Cemetery: 11 am - Peckham Farm Crater: 11.30 am - Pool of Peace: 12 noon - Bayernwald: 12.30 pm

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Pagina 21 van 24 - Lunch in Heuvelland**: 1 pm - Hill 60 and Caterpillar Crater: 2.30 pm - Menin Gate: 4 pm

** For lunch suggestions have a look at the website www.heuvelland.be

DAY 2

- Memorial Museum Passchendaele: 10 am - Tyne Cot Cemetery: 11.30 am - Lunch in Zonnebeke****: 12.30 pm - Polygon Wood: 2.30 pm

**** For lunch suggestions have a look at www.toerismezonnebeke.be

Guides and organised tours

For guides, contact the tourist offices: in the Ypres or Messines area: www.visitieper.be in the Zonnebeke/Passchendaele area: www.mmp.zonnebeke.be in Heuvelland/Wijtschate: www.heuvelland.be

If you want to book an organised battlefield tour, please have a look at the list of suppliers on http://www.flandersfields.be/en/inspiration/battlefield-tours

6 FURTHER INFORMATION

6.1 Websites

Interesting websites for a visit to Flanders Fields are: www.flandersfields1418.com www.flandersfields.be

6.2 Pictures

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Pagina 22 van 24 On our Flickr page you will find pictures of Flanders Fields. All images may be freely used, provided copyright is acknowledged. www.flickr.com/photos/visitflanders/sets/72157625168448934

If you have any problems, please contact Kanittha Paksee: [email protected], + 32 2 504 03 06.

6.3 Interviews

Franky Bostyn Coordinator, Historical Section, Ministry of Defence, and former curator of Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917 [email protected]

Simon Louagie PR & education Peace Village Independent guide in Flanders Fields [email protected]

6.4 Visit Flanders contacts

If you want more information about visiting Flanders, you can find it on our website: www.visitflanders.com.

You can also contact the press manager of Visit Flanders in your country.

ASIA – Nico Peeters – [email protected] AUSTRIA, SLOVAKIA, and SWITZERLAND – Susanne Gosh – [email protected] BRAZIL – Katrien Dejonghe – [email protected] – Corine Maclellan – [email protected] – Li Xin- [email protected] FRANCE – Pascale Kotlarski Schuddings – [email protected] – Christopher Philipp – [email protected] – Dheera Majumder – [email protected] – Irene Ghezzi – [email protected] JAPAN – Tomomi Tsukakoshi – [email protected] RUSSIA – [email protected] SCANDINAVIA – Lynn Dauwe – [email protected] SPAIN – Angeles Alonso-Misol – [email protected] THE – Edith Andriesse and Natalie Siereveld – [email protected] and IRELAND – Anita Rampall – [email protected] USA – Marcos Stupenengo – [email protected]

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Pagina 23 van 24 AUSTRALIA and NEW ZEALAND – Anna Mansfield – [email protected]

6.5 Sources - Thematic cycle route 'De mijnenslag van 1917' – Westtoer - Autoroute Pionier – Duitse betonmeesters in de loopgraven – Westhoek - Wherever the Firing Line Extends: Ireland and the Western Front – Ronan McGreevy - The Sixteenth (Irish) and Thirty-sixth (Ulster) Divisions at the Battle of Wijtschate-Messines Ridge, 7 June 1917 – Tom Burke MBE - In the Footsteps of the New Zealanders at the Battle of Messines – Messines (app) - They Called It Passchendaele: The Story of the Third Battle of Ypres and of the Men Who Fought in It (1983).– Lyn Macdonald

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