Thursday

What I forget that we did on Wednesday was that we went to a cemetery for the British Commonwealth, the Kemmel Chateau Military Cemetery.

Can you spot the difference between the other one from Wednesday?   This one is just a bit smaller than the German one and it contains 1157 graves in it rather than the 25,000 is the German one.  They are obviously well taken care of in neat rows with .  There is no grass growing up near the headstones like at Vladslo.  Not even that, they contain more than just the most basic of information on each man in addition to a symbol representing their religious affiliation.

Here is one that was obviously meant for a Jew since it has the Star of David and not a cross on it. 

These three marker are above the remains of four different men.  All of them died on the same day.  The graves are situated above the remains of the people and the ones who died on the same day were often buried closer to each than otherwise.  The two people on the middle headstone were likely close to a shell that went off so that they could not differentiate between the body parts of the two men but they knew who they were.

Thursday morning, we woke up and went upstairs for breakfast.  What I forgot to say yesterday was that we had entered another time zone and into the Eastern Hemisphere so that was new for me.  They had frosted flakes for breakfast which I was very excited about and partook generously of them.  They also had this chocolate cereal that was like mini bowls so all of their cereal was very sugary.  They had these large rolls that were like burger buns in size with some meat and cheese both for breakfast and for us to pack for lunch.  I made two cheese sandwiches along with the apple, apple juice, and candy bar that was in the grocery bags that they had out for us.  Then we packed the stuff we brought along with us, stripped the beds, and got back in the van with our stuff.

We went to the Kemmel American Monument first that was set up for the Americans who died there.

These men mainly fought here so that the general could begin to understand what was expected of his men in this war.  Most other Americans who died in Belgium were already pushing the Germans out of Belgium so that they were nowhere near where we were.

As we drove to the next sight, I could not help but take some pictures of the beautiful, Belgium countryside.

It is hard to believe that just under a hundred years ago, almost all of it was a barren battleground.  A lot all of the trees and buildings we visited were built after WWI because they had been destroyed by shells and mortars while trenches used to fill the landscape.

The next place we visited was the Spanbroekmolen.  By July 7, 1917, the British army had successfully planted 21 mines deep under the German lines and set them all off at the same time though 2 did not explode.  People in London could hear the detonation.

This was the crater that was created by one of the explosions.  Having dug deep into the clay and dug across the clay to the German lines, it formed a large pond.  I cannot imagination how terrifying that would have been for the German army to just suddenly have a hole, this big, where a trench used to be.  And not only that, there were men who looked perfectly fine without a scratch but were dead to due to the concussion of the blast.  While we were still discussing what was there, it started sleeting.

So we huddled under a tree and finished our discussion.  One of the undetonated mines has not yet exploded.  But the other, while they were putting some electricity lines in the ground, they unknowingly but one in the ground near the mine.  The next time that lightening struck, it detonated.  It only killed a few cows but it must have been frightening.

We then proceeded to rush back to our van in order of who was getting in first before we drove to the next sight.  The rest of the day was characterized by it raining at random points throughout it. though it wasn't as bad as it could have been.

We next went to one of the sights of the Christmas truce.

Men were rumored to have played football (soccer) there so many people had stuck soccer balls at the foot of the cross alongside the Christmas ornaments on the cross.  Some people had even put cigarettes in plastic containers there to remember how they had traded them about.

Next, we went to Ypres again.  It marveled me to look around that town which looks so old and gorgeous and remember that it had to be entirely rebuilt after WWI.  With all of the shells going off, only a few bricks were left standing on top of each other by the end of the war.

We went there specifically though to get some Belgium waffles and more Belgium chocolate. 

Oh.  My.  Goodness.  The waffle was so freaking delicious!  From what I understand, they put crystallized sugar but in the waffle and outside of it so that when a cooks at a very high temperature, they caramelize.  So good!

Next we went to the Essex Farm Cemetery

and Flanders Field. 

It was a medical area there and John McCrae, the author of "Flanders Fields" had been caring for a friend there who died.

This cemetery was probably the most unorganized of cemeteries.  Possibly because the people were buried as they died here of their wounds because they were too far gone to be sent back to a better medical area.  It was there that we saw the grave of a fifteen year old

and of a man who was awarded the Victorian Cross.

We also saw a temporary marker where the stone had been removed due to damage and they were going to make a new one and install it.

Then we went to Tyne Cot cemetery for the Batttle of Passchendaele.  People often said that if Somme was a mistake, then Passchendaele was a crime.  It was a hopeless battle that many men were sent to their death for almost nothing.

There are almost 12,000 commonwealth soldiers buried there along with almost 35,000 more names of soldiers who they don't know where they are buried along the wall in the back

They were working in this cemetery fixing some of the headstones.  some were being re-engraved.

While others were being replaced.

There were a lot of graves there were they knew about the soldier but not who the soldier was.

Also, you can see the difference between a newly engrave headstone and one that needs work.  At each common wealth cemetery, they have the sword of sacrifice with the sword on it which is the only military symbol in each of these cemeteries.

And if the cemetery has over 1,000 graves or names in it, they also have a block memorializing them.

For the most part, these items are uniform to each cemetery just like there is a uniformity to the headstones and how they look and are arranged.  But at Tyne Cot, it did not follow this normality.  First, the Cross of Sacrifice is placed on a much higher platform than any other.

This is due in part to the fact that King George III said that he thought it was a good idea to put it there when he came to visit while it was being constructed.  Then, each of the headstones face the Cross of Sacrifice.

Also, there are German pill boxes there where the Germans set up their machine guns to mow down the soldiers who were trying to push them back.  We could still see a bit inside of them from the observation rooms out of which they could look.

You can still see what little damage was done to them by the Allied forces as they shot their shells at the enemy.

Just looking at the uphill battle the Allied soldiers struggled on, we can see why so many died there and why it was considered a crime.

The final thing that we did was go to Talbot House in Popperinge.  Unlike all the other places we had been, this town was never destroyed by the troops and was in fact where the men stayed when not working.

The Talbot House was where any soldier could go without being turned away because of rank or anything else.  It even admitted people of any race because it was every man's club.  This was a place that the soldiers often went to relax.  There was a place where they would put on plays and shows for the men.  Some of the last veterans of WWI went there and said that the reproduction of a show that may have gone on was really accurate and they enjoyed it.  It also had a small chapel that was often filled going down the stairs of people

Where our organ major, Nick, played on the old pump organ.

They also had a garden that looked so fantastically green and alive to the men who had been living in mud and death for who knows how long.

The house was named after George Talbot who was the younger brother of one of the founders.  He died in one of the battles nearby in No-Man's-Land.  His older brother went to retrieve his body and it took two days.  The way that he knew it was his brother lying there is the field was that he recognized the lay of his hair on the back of his head.  As he told this story, I was not the only one who got a bit misty-eyed.  They have the cross from the man's grave marker before they got more permanent ones.

Before we left, we had tea and a picture taken.  Then it was off to catch our train.  But, due to the recent beheading of a soldier by some Muslim extremists, they were being more strict at Passport Control.  Mark said that it was the first time that they had us empty out the van after taking our passports and made us go through the lines.  It wouldn't have been so bad if there hadn't been buses of schoolchildren going through.  And then, they didn't tell us that we had to fill out these cards before we went through so we had to go to the end of the line.  If that wasn't bad enough, they didn't even have pens back there and we ended up stuck between two different schools of elementary kids going through.  I'm not saying that they were wrong to be careful but really?  Elementary kids?  They were young enough that they many of them only had these little official papers to send them through.  then they were asking the little kids questions without any adult by them.  The one poor kid was so nervous that he forget the year he was born. 

Needless to say, we were all very annoyed and we missed our train and had to wait a half hour for the next one.  Though Dr. Airhart gave us 10 pounds each to buy dinner when we got back, D'Layna and I had been eating all throughout the day and weren't that hungry.  There was a bit of an issue with room assignments but it was quickly resolved.  D'Layna and I got the same room and, thank goodness, we think our rude neighbor is gone!  Yes!  I am all caught up!