WORLD WAR I: Belgium and the Western Front Photo Blog Posts

List of World War I sites in Belgium

Use the links below to see photos and texts about these Western Front sites.

I toured The Western Front in 2018, 100 years after the end of fighting in World War I. I began by crossing from England to Calais, France as my Grandfather Frederick Charles Sutton did in August 1914.

1. Nieuwpoort Belgium

See the Nieuwpoort beaches were the British stood with the Belgians as part of holding the line against the German Race to the Sea.

2. Yser Museum – Flanders Fields

See the World War I memorial site and excellent 22 floor Yser Museum within a tower that has views of the area.

3. Hooge Crater Cemetery and Museum, Belgium

Hooge is a village about two miles east of Ypres, Belgium. The Hooge Crater was the result of a blown mine 19 July 1915. British Tunnellers dug beneath the German concrete structures in about 5.5 weeks.

4. Hyde Park Corner Cemetery and Memorial Belgium

The Hyde Park Corner (Royal Berks) Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery in the Hainaut Region of Belgium. It is close to Ploegsteert Wood.

Connections

My Page    www.suttong.com

My Books   AMAZON     GOOGLE PLAY STORE

FACEBOOK   Geoff W. Sutton

TWITTER  @Geoff.W.Sutton

LinkedIN Geoffrey Sutton  PhD

Publications (many free downloads)

     

  Academia   Geoff W Sutton   (PhD)

     

  ResearchGate   Geoffrey W Sutton   (PhD)

This Blog is Sutton Travels

The Windmill—Pozières France

The Windmill—Pozières, France is an area of the Somme important to Australians who sacrificed so many here in 1916 during the seven weeks Battle of the Somme.

Of the 23,000 Australian Imperial Force casualties, 6,700 died.

Here's a short video clip I took at The Windmill Cemetery and Memorial 21 October, 2018.

The Windmill Site is close to Pozières on road D929 to Bapaume.

See More of My World War I Travels

Guide to World War I in France

Guide to World War I in Belgium

Connections

My Page    www.suttong.com

My Books   AMAZON     GOOGLE PLAY STORE

FACEBOOK   Geoff W. Sutton

TWITTER  @Geoff.W.Sutton

LinkedIN Geoffrey Sutton  PhD

Publications (many free downloads)

     

  Academia   Geoff W Sutton   (PhD)

     

  ResearchGate   Geoffrey W Sutton   (PhD)

Tank Corps Memorial Pozières France

Tank Memorial Pozieres/ G Sutton 21 Oct 2018

The Pozières Tank Memorial commemorates the tank corps. Tanks were first used in this area of the Somme in September 1916.

The memorial was officially unveiled by Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas L. N. Morland, July 1922.

Early tank models surround the obelisk. 







The Tank Corps Memorial is on road D929 from Albert to Bapaume. It is approximately 6 K northeast of Albert, France.


Here's a video clip I took of the memorial.

See More of My World War I Travels

Guide to World War I in France

Guide to World War I in Belgium

Connections

My Page    www.suttong.com

My Books   AMAZON     GOOGLE PLAY STORE

FACEBOOK   Geoff W. Sutton

TWITTER  @Geoff.W.Sutton

LinkedIN Geoffrey Sutton  PhD

Publications (many free downloads)

     

  Academia   Geoff W Sutton   (PhD)

     

  ResearchGate   Geoffrey W Sutton   (PhD)

HYDE PARK CORNER CEMETERY & MEMORIAL BELGIUM

The Hyde Park Corner (Royal Berks) Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery in the Hainaut Region of Belgium. It is close to Ploegsteert Wood. 
The cemetery was first used in 1915. 

Nearby is an extension and the Ploegsteert Memorial honoring 11,000 World War I commonwealth servicemen who died in this area.




























My photos are from 21 October, 2018

See More of My World War I Travels

Guide to World War I in France

Guide to World War I in Belgium

Connections

My Page    www.suttong.com

My Books   AMAZON     GOOGLE PLAY STORE

FACEBOOK   Geoff W. Sutton

TWITTER  @Geoff.W.Sutton

LinkedIN Geoffrey Sutton  PhD

Publications (many free downloads)

     

  Academia   Geoff W Sutton   (PhD)

     

  ResearchGate   Geoffrey W Sutton   (PhD)

HOOGE CRATER CEMETERY AND MUSEUM BELGIUM

Hooge is a village about two miles east of Ypres, Belgium. The Hooge Crater was the result of a blown mine 19 July 1915. British Tunnerlers dug beneath the German concrete structures in about 5.5 weeks. The crater and pillboxes are still visible, though the crater has been filled with water. In the same area, on 30 June 1915, the Germans first used a flame thrower as a weapon.

Close to the crater is a private museum containing a variety of war-related artefacts. The displays include uniforms, weapons, and personal items.

 

Behind the museum are reconstructed British and German trenches.

A storage room contains weapons, including an Enfield rifle.

Across the street from the museum is the Hooge Crater Cemetery where 5,916 are buried. Some markers honor several unidentified soldiers.

The museum makes for a good lunch stop with both inside and outside seating.

Short Video Clip of the Hooge Crater dated 21 October 2018.

See More of My World War I Travels

Guide to World War I in France

Guide to World War I in Belgium

Connections

My Page    www.suttong.com

My Books   AMAZON     GOOGLE PLAY STORE

FACEBOOK   Geoff W. Sutton

TWITTER  @Geoff.W.Sutton

LinkedIN Geoffrey Sutton  PhD

Publications (many free downloads)

     

  Academia   Geoff W Sutton   (PhD)

     

  ResearchGate   Geoffrey W Sutton   (PhD)

Yser Museum Belgium and World War I

A 275-foot tower rises above Flanders Fields. I was there on a clear day, which affords broad views of the old battlescape ––Nieuwpoort, Passhendaele, Ypres, Poperinge, Ploegsteert.

There are 22 floors in the museum, which help visitors thinks about the people and the land, which experienced so much destruction. In between the carnage and memories of lost loved ones, are photos of those who offered sustenance and messages of peace.

The size of some displays provokes the sort of thinking that’s hard to experience when reading a book or glancing at an old photo.

Shells as Urns

In addition to lessons of war and peace, we can learn about Flemish culture (Read More).

See More of My World War I Travels

Guide to World War I in France

Guide to World War I in Belgium

Connections

My Page    www.suttong.com

My Books   AMAZON     GOOGLE PLAY STORE

FACEBOOK   Geoff W. Sutton

TWITTER  @Geoff.W.Sutton

LinkedIN Geoffrey Sutton  PhD

Publications (many free downloads)

     

  Academia   Geoff W Sutton   (PhD)

     

  ResearchGate   Geoffrey W Sutton   (PhD)

NIEUWPOORT BELGIUM and The Western Front

After crossing the English Channel from Dover to Calais as my grandfather did in 1914, I headed north to De Panne, Belgium, a town in the Flemish Province of West Flanders—part of Flanders, one of three Belgian regions.  The next morning we went a short distance to the North Sea port, Nieuwpoort. Here we stood on the beaches, close to the northern point on the western front of World War I.

Following the German attack on Belgium, 4 August 1914, Nieuwpoort was part of the area still under Belgian control after the October Battle of the Yser. The German “Race to the Sea” had been thwarted by the allies. The Battle of the Yser is part of the defense of Flanders and the Battles at Ypres (called “Wipers” by the British).  Nearby is the first available Demarcation Stone. These small stones mark the battle line of the Western Front from Belgium to Pfetterhouse on the French-Swiss border. Each of these 119 monuments are one metre high and topped with a laurel wreath and a soldier’s helmet. The helmets represent the troops—Belgian, French, or British.

A memorial to King Albert, near the Yser river, recalls national pride in the Belgian resistance. The King had opened the sluices allowing the land to be flooded and ending the German advance. 

Nearby is a memorial remembering the British Expeditionary Force, which landed later in August.

Before leaving the Nieuwpoort area, we stopped at the Ramscappelle Road Military Cemetery. Here, 841 Commonwealth soldiers are buried or remembered: UK 830, Canada 2, Australia 8, South Africa 1.

See More of My World War I Travels

Guide to World War I in France

Guide to World War I in Belgium

Connections

My Page     www.suttong.com

My Books    AMAZON     GOOGLE PLAY STORE

FACEBOOK   Geoff W. Sutton

TWITTER   @Geoff.W.Sutton

LinkedIN  Geoffrey Sutton  PhD

Publications (many free downloads)

     

  Academia   Geoff W Sutton   (PhD)

     

  ResearchGate   Geoffrey W Sutton   (PhD)