Essex Farm 05/04/2025

 Last night we were present for the Menin Gate Ceremony, today we will visit the Essex Cemetery where 1200 of the Commonwealth soldiers are buried.  The cemetery was established next to a dressing station near the front lines.  As the soldiers were wounded in battle this was their first stop.  If the soldiers did not survive their wounds, they were interred at this location.  It was initially an unnamed  farmer's field, and it was named after the Essex Regiment when one of their soldiers was buried early in the conflict. As time passed, 28 members of the Essex Regiment were buried there in 1916.  The first aid station remained in service from early 1915 to 1918.  Of note in this cemetery there are 8 tombstones bearing the names of eight men from the same unit who were killed on the same day. Another grave holds the body of Valentine Joseph Strudwick.  Joseph was one of the youngest British soldiers killed in WWI.  He was 15 years old.  He lied about his age and joined the army at 14.  His mother had the following quote  engraved on his tombstone..."Not gone from memory or love".  Joseph's grave is one of the most visited in Essex cemetery.  When school children are on a field trip, they are taken to this grave.

The most famous poem of WWI , "In Flanders Field", was written by Lt Col J. McRae MD while on duty at the aid station in 1915.  He penned this poem shortly after a dear friend was KIA. Col. McRae served in the war through 1918 when he got extremely sick and perished.

After leaving the Essex cemetery we drove to another battlefield of note, "Hill 60" and next to it was the Crater.  Hill 60 was a manmade hill that was formed from the waste material of a cut made through a hill for a train track before the war.  Hill 60 swapped hands several times.  First the French, then the Germans, and then the British.  This was also the location that was used to tunnel under the German position and place enough explosives to take down a mountain.  The explosion was filmed and you can still see the results of the explosion as it occurred and the aftermath,  We walked around Hill 60 and around the Crater.

We went back into Ypres.  It was time for lunch. We decided to do Italian, which was very good.  We spent the next two hours in the Flanders Field Museum.  The museum is located in the restored (rebuilt) Cloth Hall.  It has artifacts, actual videos, personal histories, and just about every aspect off WWI and the Battle of the Somme. Very intense.  Our last stop for today was to visit the "Trench of Death" in Diksmuide, Belgium.  It was all about trench warfare. These trenches were the furtherest west for the Belgians.  It is still a military installation and the Belgian army provides support for the visitors. It was getting late, so we did not spend the time here we wanted.

This trip is winding down.  In the morning we will leave Ypres and return to Amsterdam to make our Delta connection and go home.  Delta is ready when you are and we are ready.


Valentine Strudwick 15 years of age KIA










The Crater




Trench of Death
                                    Placard tells about the trench
Essex Farm Cdemetery
Belgian Beer
                                   Belgian Waffle (underneath)

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