Day 27 - 23 April 2019 Tuesday - Ypres

A different day today, I visited some parts of the Belgium battlefields that have little association with the AIF, although one place I visited was the scene of an action that resulted in two Australians being awarded Military Medals (MM) in somewhat unusual circumstances.

First up I drove to the small Flemish town of Diksmuide that is about 15 kilometres northish of Ypres.  This was one of the front line towns on the small part of the Western front that was held by the Belgium army.  In Diksmuide there is a stunning memorial tower to the men of Flanders that served in the Belgium army in TGW.  This is a complicated story that not only involves the defence of Belgium but the nationalistic movement by the people of Flanders and their later collaboration with the Germans in the 2nd WW.  Rather than me try to explain all this, if you are interested have a look on Wikipedia on this intynet thingy.

A tower was built on this site after TGW but that was blown up after the 2nd WW as some thought that the Flemish got a bit too chummy with the German occupiers.  Not to be outsmarted the Flemish built another larger more dominant tower on the same site.

In very simple terms Belgium is comprised of two ethnic groups the Flemish, in Flanders who speak a form of Dutch and the Walloons in the rest of Belgium who speak French.  The Flemish have always thought that they were hard done by and that the Walloons sort of run the joint.  Due to this schism Belgium has been unable to form an effective national government for years.

Anyway, I digress, the tower is a massive concrete monolith 22 stories high with a viewing platform at the top.  You go to the top by lift (thank goodness) and then come back down the stairs, however at each level on the way down is a museum floor talking mainly about TGW experience in this part of Belgium.  The lower floors look at the building of the tower and the the Flemish nationalist movement.

After visiting the tower I headed off to the Belgium seaside town of Nieuwpoort, this town is at the mouth of the Yser river.  The Yser and its surrounds were flooded by the clever Belgiums hence stopping the German advance in 1914.  The British/Belgium lines occupied the western bank of the river and the German lines were some 100 metres to the west.  The lines remained relatively static for the balance of the war.

Now I can hear you all saying 'Graeme, what has this to do with the Australians in TGW?'  Well gentle reader read on and learn.  About 50 Australians from the 2nd Aust Tunnelling Company were based here digging a tunnel under the German lines.  On 10 July 1917 the Germans launched a surprise attack and along with 2 battalions of British soldiers they captured most of the Australians.  Four Australians escaped and one of the Australians swam across the Yser with a rope which allowed about 80 British soldiers to escape.  Sappers Burke and Coade were awarded the Military Medal for their role in this withdrawal.  Another Australian Sapper O'Connell was awarded the DSM for his role in rescuing a drowning British soldier.  

After a long walk I reached the end of the pier at the mouth of the Yser.  Whilst here I realised that I was also at the northern end of the Western Front.  The Western Front running from the French/Swiss border to this very point on the North Sea in Belgium.  I hadn't done this deliberately but I was pretty chuffed all the same.

Dinner tonight was a well deserved shrimp croquet and plaice.

To the guys and gals at the Shrine good luck for Anzac Day, I know that it is a long day for a lot of you but it is a very rewarding day as well.  I will ensure that I raise a glass (or two) of Passchendaele beer in respectful commemoration, Cheers!

Still experiencing dodgy Wi FI and causing problems downloading pics, will try and load some photos at another time.

Fun Fact: I still can't get a Belgium to smile (some readers of my earlier trip blogs will recall my daily efforts to get a Belgium to smile; it doesn't count if they are taking money off you).

Step Count: 11,886 (seems like heaps more)

Observation: EU subsidies must be up this year, it seems like every Belgium farmer is driving a very big new tractor and remember they have very very small farms.  No wonder the Poms want out.