Driving through Flanders Fields, you see tiny little cemeteries everywhere. They were built by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, and are maintained by them worldwide. It's quite an operation, with a wonderful office right by the Menin Gate. They take donations, but the 67% share the U.K. funds totals 66 million pounds! It's quite an undertaking, and clear that the British culture's attention to detail and care for the past has resulted in a spectacular assortment of cemeteries and monuments to the Great War. Yes, there are four German cemeteries and a few French only cemeteries in Flanders, but the Brits have the most impressive designs. Perfectly aligned plots, beautiful roses and native plants, a design that sits in the landscape like a Greek amphitheater- Tyne Cot is by far the most impressive cemetery I have ever seen. Arlington is a distant second, to be honest.
Driving through the countryside in Rennie, our little Renault with a troublesome clutch, we could see Tyne Cot from about 3 miles away.
There, our tour guide Will gave us the history of the architectural plans and construction of the massive site. The large cross in the center stands on a "pill box," the British name for a bunker. It was built by the Germans and cost thousands of lives to overtake. Tyne Cot has a special relationship to another massive monument, the Menin Gate in Ypres. In the post-WW1 plans, the British Government wanted to honor all of its men who died, but weren't found, after the war. They planned to carve 55,000 names into the wall, but soon realized they needed much more room. So, Tyne Cot includes not only 12,000 burial plots, but also an additional 35,000 names of those who had no recorded burial. Here, one truly understands Erich Maria Remarque's idea expressed in his novel All Quiet on the Western Front: an entire generation was destroyed by the war. 1.7 million lives lost.
Here's the headstone of a famous Canadian soldier. (next post) Under the Canadian maple leaf, there's a Victoria's Cross, the most prestigious battle award given to Commonwealth soldiers. James Robertson was huge - 6'3"- for a soldier. He was out in the trenches with his comrades, trying to figure out a way to take out a German machine gun site. No Man's Land was cleared of wire one night in anticipation of a raid, but there was still wire around the site. In the early morning hours, he spied an opening where the wire was only about 3' high. He figured he could jump over it with his long legs, and take out the shooter. So, off he went, armed only with a rifle and bayonet. He did overtake the gunman, and brought back his machine gun. His bravery saved the lives of many and allowed them to advance, if only slightly. He did the same thing a few weeks later, however, this time two comrades were wounded and lying in No Man's Land. He was able to carry back the first soldier, but he received a mortal injury while carrying the second to safety. After the war, relatives were asked if they wanted anything special on the headstone, so his mother wrote the message for him. For a bit of perspective, out of 12,000 graves, only 6 had the VC designation in Tyne Cot.
Tyne Cot was so overwhelmingly beautiful it both magnified and glorified the war, and I wasn't so sure how I felt about that. I had no spiritual connection to the place; perhaps it was too grand.
Fighting in Passchendale was particularly difficult during the battles of Ypres, and most likely the setting for All Quiet on the Western Front. There's a German cemetery nearby, and also a museum called the Passendale Experience, set in a Belgian chateau next to a lovely lake. Here there are demonstration trenches reflecting the different engineering methods of the corps. Also, dugouts that replicate the living conditions of those on the Western Front provide a close (claustrophobic, actually) view of living underground. The museum is actually in Zonnebeke, which was pretty but on a Sunday afternoon it was hard to find any food! Hot and tired, we drove into Ypres, not realizing we'd actually drive through the Menin Gate on our way to the city center.
To be continued - pictures later as internet is sketchy today.
No comments:
Post a Comment
Thank you for reading and commenting!