All quiet now on the western front

YPRES, Belgium — What strikes me most as I pedal my way into the village and then take a seat overlooking the surrounding landscape, is the silence. It’s a late Sunday afternoon in mid-September and other than a couple of folks chatting while out for a stroll and the faint sound of a dog barking in the distance, you can practically hear a pin drop in peaceful Passchendale. Of course, it hasn’t always been so quiet here on the western front.

I have cycled 14 kilometres from my home base in Ypres to visit one of the many First World War historical sites in the area. A portion of the road I ride is called Canadalaan and it leads to the Passchendaele Canadian Memorial, a piece of land that marks the spot where men of the Canadian Corps captured high ground after ferocious fighting in dreadful conditions in the Second Battle of Passchendaele — the culminating attack of the Third Battle of Ypres — from Oct. 2-Nov. 10, 1917.

More than 4,000 Canadians died in the battle and another 12,000 were wounded.

The memorial among the maples features a large block of Canadian granite set in a grove of trees and encircled by a low hedge of holly. It carries the inscription:

The Canadian Corps

in Oct.–Nov. 1917 advanced

across this valley – then

a treacherous morass –

captured and held the

Passchendaele Ridge

It’s an awe-inspiring and thought-provoking setting. If you look northeast up Canadalaan, you see the rebuilt church at the centre of Passendale (the Dutch spelling for the town that is now more commonly used). If you gaze down a long avenue of trees to the southwest, in the distance you can see the rebuilt spires of Ypres. In all directions you see pastoral farmland. It’s almost unfathomable to envision this was once a nightmarish battlefield of mud, craters and barbed wire that resulted in an estimated 200,000 to 400,000 deaths.

I sit at the site for a fair bit. I try to imagine the feelings, the fear, the anguish that men must have felt back then. Mostly, I try to imagine what my grandfather would have felt, endured, seen.

A veteran of the Second Boer War — he served in the British Army’s medical corps for two years — my father’s father enlisted again in 1915 at the age of 33, joining the Canadian Expeditionary Force that went off to do battle in Europe.

His service records state that he sailed from Halifax in April of 1916 and landed in France a few months later. From there, it’s hard to pin down exactly where he saw active duty, but an expert in these matters once wrote to me to say it was likely my grandfather was in the Ypres area at some point.

My grandfather was fortunate to come home from the war but died long before I was born; when he was just 63 — the same age I am now — and my father was 14. My dad never told me many stories about his dad’s time in the theatre of war. Mostly because his dad never told him much about it. My dad mostly describes his dad sitting in his chair sipping his Guinness and looking off into the distance. What has come to be called the thousand-yard stare.

Not knowing the exact area where he served is unimportant. If it wasn’t this spot, chances are it was a spot just like it. More importantly, I have come here to better understand who he was and what he went through. Why he was the way he was and how that perhaps influenced why my dad was the way he was — and maybe is partly why I am the way I am.

Routes to ride…

Ernest Hemingway once wisely said: "It's by riding a bike that you learn the contours of a country best.” The incredible network of trails in Flanders allows you to do just that.

The bike ride from Ypres to Passendale is a portion of the 14-18 Western Front Route, a 100-km cycling trail that passes through Flanders fields along the former front line. It’s one of many incredibly well-signed biking routes in the region that will lead you to place after place of remembrance and one of nine themed cycling routes in Flanders that stitch together the best of Flemish scenery.

Here’s a few details on the other eight:

Meuse Route: is a 63-km section of the International Meuse Route that follows the meandering River Meuse and passes through historic villages and along endless banks and shores;

Art Cities Route: covering 342 kms, it connects Brussels, Leuven, Mechelen, Antwerp, Ghent and Bruges, all the way to the coast at Ostend — and it allows you to explore cities rich in art and culture’

Kempen Route: covering 213 kms, it stretches between Antwerp and Maasmechelen and passes hrough woods, across expansive stretches of heath and past dunes you might expect in the Sahara Desert;

Scheldt Route: Following along the historic and impressive River Scheldt from its mouth near Antwerp, this 181-km path passes through varied terrain — and there are some spots where you can even cross the river on ferries;

Green Belt Route: this 126-km ride circles around the beautifully forested area around the Belgium capital of Brussels, passing imposing castles, undulating pastures and impressive panoramas

Hilly Route: The name speaks for itself and this challenging 459-km ride in the south of Flanders crosses the hills of different regions such as Voeren, Haspengouw, and the Hageland, to the Flemish Ardennes and Heuvellandz;

Coastal Route: I rode part of this 85-km route from the beach resort town of De Panne to reach to start of the western front route in Nieuwpoort. Frankly, I had no idea the Belgium coast was so beautiful;

Flanders Route: A best-of-all-routes ride that covers nearly 1,000 kms, capturing a fusion of rich and varied activities and sites on the Flemish iconic cycling routes.

You can find details and download GPX maps for all the routes here.

Additionally, the Westhoek region of Flanders has an 1,100-km network of cycling paths that pass over rolling hills, through historic towns and picturesque villages and help you explore an abundance of World War One artefacts. Its wide selection of themed routes can be seen here.

And, you can also make use of the area’s clever numbered nodes system that is known as the fietsroutenetwerk to create your own route. Designed by a mining engineer who was fed up with having to pull out a map at each crossroads to check where he was going, his scheme involved giving a number to each bicycle path across the region and creating a web of nodes. It’s positively brilliant.

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City of Peace…

Flanders became a part of Belgium through a series of historical and political developments. In the early 19th century, the region was part of the United Kingdom of the Netherlands that was formed in 1815 after the defeat of Napoleon. Cultural, linguistic and economic differences between the Dutch-speaking north (including Flanders) and the French-speaking south led to tensions; that still exist today, by the way. In 1830, the southern provinces, including Flanders, revolted against Dutch rule and declared independence. This led to the establishment of the Kingdom of Belgium in 1831, following negotiations and the approval of major European powers. Flanders, however, clings to its distinct identity within the Belgian state. Over the years, Belgium evolved into a federal state, granting regions like Flanders more autonomy in cultural and economic matters while remaining a cohesive part of the broader Belgian framework.

From 1914 to 1918, Flanders was a major battle theatre on the Western Front during the First World War. A million soldiers from more than 50 different countries were wounded, missing or killed in action. Entire cities and villages were destroyed, their population scattered across Europe and beyond. The destruction of the city of Ypres and the brutal conditions endured became worldwide symbols for the senselessness of war. Today the peaceful region still bears witness to this history through its monuments, museums, cemeteries and the countless individual stories that link it with the world. Of note, while I was visiting the area in September of 2023, 139 grave and memorial sites from the First World War in Belgium — 27 in Flanders — and France were added to UNESCO's World Heritage list.

What was once a medieval metropolis renowned for its linen trade, the historic city of Ypres gained infamy during WW1 due to the intense battles that took place in the region. It stood in the path of Germany's planned sweep across the rest of Belgium and into France — the Schlieffen Plan — and the Ieperboog (Ypres Salient) wound up being one of the bloodiest battlefields on the western front, with more than 50 nations involved in trench warfare that dragged on for nearly four years within a three-mile radius of Ypres.

Remarkably, it is today known as the City of Peace due to its remarkable post-war recovery and its dedication to peace and reconciliation. After the war, the city was meticulously rebuilt to its medieval glory, becoming a symbol of resilience and hope.

I had planned to visit the area known as the Ypres Salient for a few days, but I eventually stayed for eight nights; there is so much to see and learn about. Other than Canada, of course, there is no place in the world have I ever travelled where I have encountered so much information about Canadian history: it’s really a pilgrimage all Canadians should make.

Here are 10 places I suggest all Canadians visit when they come:

• Tyne Cot is the largest cemetery devoted to Commonwealth war dead. It’s filled with nearly 12,000 headstones, with about 70 per cent of them unidentified. Approximately 1,000 of them are marked with a maple leaf to signify their Canadian roots. The row upon row of white headstones is a poignant reminder of the devastating cost of war. While I had previously seen images of war cemeteries, nothing quite prepares you for the sense of solemnity, reflection and reverence you feel actually being in such a place of remembrance;

• The Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917 is on the grounds of Zonnebeke Chateau, about three kilometres from Tyne Cot. The museum vividly and expertly tells the story of WW1 in the Ypres Salient, with special emphasis on the Battle of Passchendaele 1917. There are numerous interactive exhibits dedicated to Canada’s role in the war and there is an impressive dugout tunnel experience showing how soldiers had to live underground like moles. There are seven remembrance gardens, each in the symbolic form of a poppy and each designed by one of the nations that took part in the battle. The Canadian garden features a species of plant from each region of the country, including a swath of purple coneflowers from Manitoba;

• Not really a place, but extraordinarily noteworthy and a must-visit: Launched at the museum in 2023, Names in the Landscape is an online geoportal program that identifies the locations where approximately 1,400 missing Canadian soldiers fell or were initially buried during the First World War. The portal is participative, allowing users to add information, stories, anecdotes or photographs of soldiers and to contribute to the online platform for relatives, interested individuals or museums. Five themed hiking loops through former Canadian battlefields have been mapped out where you can learn about the Canadian soldiers who lost their lives here;

• St. Julien Memorial, also known as The Brooding Soldier is a towering 11-metre-high stone statue erected in 1923 to commemorate Canadian casualties suffered during 1915’s Second Battle of Ypres. The looming stone soldier, with downward-cast eyes, marks the four-day skirmish during which one-in-every-three Canadian soldiers died. This was one of the first places I visited in the area: it’s quite imposing and I’m glad I also took time to sit quietly and reflect;

• Hill 62 (Sanctuary Wood) Canadian Memorial: Once again, an impressive block of white granite marks the spot where the CEF captured high ground, denying the Germans a commanding view of Ypres. Visitors can walk among recreated trenches and peer into the dugout, constructed using original materials from the era;

• Talbot House was founded by two army chaplains in the town of Poperinge — about 10 kms from Ypres — as a place of respite and recreation for soldiers, regardless of their rank. It became a symbol of hope and humanity during a time of great suffering. Today, it is a museum and guesthouse — and just like thousands of other pilgrims, you are welcome to stay the night. I like to envision my grandfather having a pint or two here;

• John McCrae Memorial Site is named after the Canadian military physician and poet who wrote the famous war memorial poem In Flanders Fields. The site also includes the Essex Farm Cemetery where red poppies grew amid the graves of soldiers and inspired McCrae's words;

• In Flanders Fields Museum is located in Ypres’ impressive Cloth Halls and named after the poem written by McCrae. The recently renovated museum offers a deep dive into the story of WW1 with excellent exhibits, video projections and state-of-the-art multimedia applications that immerse you in the story of what life was like on the front — for soldiers and civilians. With a break for lunch, I spent an entire day exploring the museum and left with a much better understanding of what took place in and around Ypres;

• It’s a little over an hour drive from Ypres to the Vimy Memorial in Givenchy-en-Gohelle, France — and while I debated whether or not to make the trip because I didn’t have a vehicle and it’s a pretty long bike ride (haha), I am so glad I found a way to get to this majestic monument, which is the dominant feature of the landscape and visible from miles around. Inscribed on the monument are the names and ranks of the 11,285 missing Canadians who died in France during the Great War and it is situated on land granted by France to the Canadian people, the memorial towers over the scene of Canada’s most recognizable First World War engagement, the Battle of Vimy Ridge, fought from April 9-12, 1917. Along with the monument, the Vimy Ridge National Historic Site of Canada consists of several other components, including two Commonwealth War Graves cemeteries, reconstructed trenches, the Grange tunnel, and an informative visitor’s centre that is staffed by young Canadians who are Parks Canada employees. It’s all pulled together by a landscape of a pine tree forest, allées, maple trees and connecting paths and roads. It’s literally like being in a Canadian national park.

And while there is a galaxy of sites to see about Canadian history, here are five other spots I recommend being worthy of your time and attention:

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• Inaugurated in September 2022, the Brothers in Arms Memorial, just outside the village of Zonnebeke, is dedicated to the story of two Australian brothers who fought together in the area only to have one die in the arms of his brother. It also commemorates all siblings who fought together in the First World War and hopes to inspire people to reflect on the impact of war on families worldwide;

• Most of us have heard the legendary story of the Christmas Truce that saw soldiers on opposing sides lay down their weapons for a brief few hours to sing carols together, play football in no man's land and exchange gifts and greetings in December of 1914 and there is a small, but poignant memorial to the event in a farmer’s field near Comines-Warneton — about 15 kms southeast of Ypres that has a sample trench system and a football memorial covered in team scarves;

• A pretty medieval city on the Yser River that became a front line throughout the First World War, Diksmuide had been reduced to rubble by the time the fighting has ended and was completely rebuilt in the 1920s. There are several worthwhile sites to visit including the 275-foot-high Yser Tower that houses a 22-floor, highly-regarded museum and the Trench of Death, an evocative reminder of the war that has a kilometre-long network of revetments, saps and dug-outs. Situated just 55 yards from a German bunker, it was subjected to almost constant fire from German snipers and machine guns;

• Located in the Island of Ireland Peace Park near the town of Mesen — 10 kms south of Ypres — an impressive 34-metre tower known as the Irish Peace Tower commemorates the Catholic and Protestant Irish divisions that fought side by side during the Battle of Messines and is meant as a symbol of reconciliation. As someone whose ancestry traces back to Northern Ireland and who has heard all about the Troubles of the Emerald Isle, I very much appreciated reading the poems and letters from fellow Irishmen that are sculpted in nine stone tablets and provide inspiration for both today and the future;
• There are four German cemeteries in Flanders; the two most noteworthy being the Vladso German Military Cemetery near Diksmujide where you can see the world-famous sculpture The Grieving Parents by Kathe Kollwitz, whose son Peter Kollwitz, age 18, a volunteer in the German army lies amongst the 25,000 German soldiers buried here and the German Military Cemetery in the village of Langemark, where behind the monumental entrance lie more than 44,000 soldiers, half of them in a mass grave. The bronze statue of four grieving soldiers, by Emil Krieger, is very impressive. (I asked a few locals whether or not German tourists visit Flanders: I was advised they do, but are typically unassuming and don’t draw too much attention to themselves.)

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Two terrific tour guides…

• Biking Box: Whether you just want to rent some wheels to tour around on your own or arrange a guided tour of the area, Kurt Titeca is the go-to guy in Flanders. Located a few hundred metres from the Menin Gate on Menenstraat in Ypres, Titeca’s bike shop has a wide selection of rentals, including a large inventory of e-bikes. It’s also home to the Biking Bar, where a good Belgian beer rewards many a cyclist after a day in the saddle. Titeca’s family goes back many generations in Ypres and the gifted raconteur has a wealth of knowledge about the area. Kurt is also the founder of the MakePeaceFoundation and designer of the poppyshirt, a cycling jersey that carries the message of remembrance;

• Sit back and rest your legs: Along with being owner/operator of the British Grenadier Bookshop, also located on Menenstraat, Canadian Steve Douglas and his staff at Salient Tours provide memorable battlefield tour experiences of the Ypres Salient and trips into France to visit Vimy, the Somme and Fromelles. Also of note, Douglas is the man behind the Maple Leaf Legacy Project, a virtual national war cemetery that’s goal is to procure a photograph of each and every Canadian War Grave from the South African War (1899-1902), World War 1 (1914-18), World War II (1939-45), Korean War (1950-52) and all United Nations Peacekeeping Missions. Not everyone can make the pilgrimage to see their fallen loved one’s grave, but Douglas and his army of volunteers have now posted over 100,000 photos that can be searched and see on the MLLP website.

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Where to stay…

There is a wide selection of quality hotels in Ypres, including the family-run Albion and Ambrosia hotels and the Hotel New Regina, a beautifully-renovated property ideally located in historic Grove Markt. My top choice is the Ariane Hotel Ieper that has repeatedly been voted best hotel in Belgium. The staff is extremely friendly and helpful, the rooms are modern, the breakfast buffet is spectacular, there are numerous displays of WW1 memorabilia from a private collection — and there is a bike storage room that is always a selling point when I’m renting wheels for multiple days.

And finally, this…

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved, and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, through poppies grow

In Flanders fields.

Lest We Forget

I hope this information is helpful to you when planning a trip to Flanders. If you have any questions or would like some other suggestions, feel free to drop me a line. I’m happy to help.

Steve

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