Welsh Sites in Flanders Fields

Welsh sites in Flanders Fields During the Great War, some 273,000 soldiers from Wales enlisted in the British army. Many more Welshmen enlisted in other (foreign) regiments or in territorial units. The below lists contains some of the main sites in the Ypres Salient linked to the Welsh who fought here during the Great War. Through this link, you can get an overview of the location of all these sites on a map. Ypres North Entry Point Ypres North at Zwaanhof is the ideal staring point to explore some of the Welsh sites in the Salient. Visitors get to watch an introductory movie and some of the finds from local excavations. A walking path takes you to Yorkshire Trench, some authentic restored trenches, just behind the visitor centre. It’s also the starting point of an interesting walk which takes you through bot the 1915 (2nd Battle of Ypres) and 1917 (3rd Battle of Ypres) battlefield. Especially in the first days of the 3rd Battle of Ypres, the 38th Welsh Division played a large part in this sector. We highly recommend going on this walk and downloading the digital application in the centre. The app helps brining the landscape to live with areal photographers and maps. Through the blue and red Remembrance Trees, you can follow the old frontlines in the landscape. Sites in this area with a Welsh connection include: Welsh Cemetery & Ceasar’s Nose Up to the 3rd Battle of Ypres, starting on 31/07/17, the cemetery lay in no man’s land between the two lines. As there were no troops here, it was less shelled which made it ideal for a cemetery once the battle had passed over it. The site is also known as Caesar's Nose as there was a curly shape in the German frontline. The 38th (Welsh) Division buried 23 of whose soldiers here. It was used until the following November. The cemetery contains 68 First World War burials. The cemetery was designed by A J S Hutton. Other cemeteries close by include Dragoon Camp Cemetery and Colne Valley Cemetery. Artillery Wood Cemetery At Artillery Wood Cemetery 1,307 First World War casualties are buried of whom 506 are unknown. Many of the headstones belong to the Guards Division from the opening days of the 3rd Battle of Ypres. There are also many Welsh burials, including that of the famous Welsh poet Ellis Humphrey Evans also known under his bardic name Hedd Wyn (blessed peace). Evans was conscripted in 1916 to prevent his younger brother from joining up. After his training, he stayed home and worked on his famous Yr Arwr (The Hero) poem. He stayed home a few days too long and was branded a deserter. On 15 July he sent home the poem to enter it in the National Eisteddfod. The next week he marched off to war again and was sadly killed on the opening day (31 July 1917). On 6 September 1917, the winner of the competition was announced. But after the trumpets were sounded and no one revealed himself, it was announced the author had been killed. The empty chair was then draped in a black sheet. Francis Ledwidge, a famous Irish poet who fell the same day, lies closeby. He has a memorial close to the cemetery. The Welsh Memorial Park A little bit further on the main road to Langemark, you will pass the Welsh Memorial Park on the Pilkem Ridge. From here, you have a magnificent view of the battlefield of the 38th Welsh Division. The Cromlech with the Red Dragon was put in place in 2014 to commemorate all the people with Welsh links who died during the Great War. The project was set up after several local and Welsh people realised that there was no specific national memorial to the Welsh in the Ypres Salient. The memorial stands close to the site where Hedd Wyn was killed and where two Victoria Crosses were awarded to Welsh soldiers. There is a separate memorial plaque for Hedd Wyn at the cross roads. A monthly ceremony is held here on every first Monday of the month. The Memorial is located on the Boezingestraat north west of Langemark. Other Welsh sites in the Ypers Salient 1st Monmouthshire Regiment Memorial After the first gas attacks on 22 April 1915, the beginning of the 2nd Battle of Ypres, the French & Canadians could only partly hold back the Germans and in the weeks to follow also the British troops had to retreat further to the Wieltje – Frezenberg – Bellewaerde line where the memorial stands. Between 8th and 13 May, the Germans launched another attack on the hamlet of Frezenberg (south of the memorial). On the 8th, the German artillery opened up after which the infantry outflanked the 1/ Monmouths. After noon, they had to retreat as no relief arrived. After the battle, only one in four of the men was still standing. Second Lieutenant Henry Anthony Birrell-Anthony, from the little town of Thame in Oxfordshire, was one of the many missing who’s remembered on the Menin Gate. His father Henry Birrell-Anthony Senior, the CO of the 2/1 Monmouths unveiled the memorial on the site where his son fell. It was later adopted as the regimental memorial and is maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves. The memorial is located on the Roeselare Straat south of St Juliaan. South Wales Borderers Memorial The memorial commemorates the actions of the South Wales Borderers who were, just like the Worcestershire Regiment, based in near the local chateau on 31 October 1914 during the First Battle of Ypres. A first German attack in the morning failed but by noon, the British resistance crumbled. And the German troops entered the chateau grounds. The right flank of the 1/South Wales Borderers was under considerable pressure after the 2/ Welsh were put out of action. The company of the South Wales Borderers was decimated and forced to retire. The survivors regrouped and joined a counterattack from the 2/Worcestershire & 1/Scot Guards, including many staff officers. By late afternoon, the order was given to retreat to the edge of Polygon Wood. Sadly, many badly wounded men were left behind. On 1 November, the Germans occupied the ruins of the chateau. The memorial was unveiled on 19 May 1929. The memorial is located on the Everzwijnhoekstraat on the market square near the church. The Worcestershire Regiment have their own memorial close by. .

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