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Lying
on the right of the road as you come out of Ypres towards
the front lines, past Hellfire Corner, near the junction
with Cambridge Road, Birr
Crossroads Cemetery is
the last resting place for 833 British soldiers. This was
a very hot spot, always within
range of German artillery and, when the lines pressed in
to Hooge, small arms too. This photo looks north across the
road towards Bellewaarde. |
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A
few hundred metres further along the road, again on the right
is a lane for Sanctuary Wood which terminates on Hill 62,
a spot dear to Canadian memory for the staunch defence there
in June 1916; the Battle of Mount Sorrel. This memorial is
on the summit. On a clear day when the tree growth is not
too dense, there are superb views back towards Ypres - this
splendid
point of observation was a German tactical objective. |
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A
relatively safe spot during the First Battle of Ypres, Sanctuary
Wood came under very heavy fire in the Second and later Battles. Sanctuary
Wood Cemetery is
largely a post-war battlefield clearance cemetery, the peace
of which is regularly shattered by coach
parties visiting nearby cafe, which sells
war souvenirs and has a preserved area of trenches. |
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Back
onto the Menin Road, another few hundred metres up the gradual
slope, lies Hooge
Crater Cemetery.
It is actually on the opposite side of the road to the the
great craters blown under the
chateau and stables in 1915, but their memory is preserved
in the symbolic architecture of the cemetery. There is an excellent
museum and busy cafe on the other side of the road. |
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The
cemetery has 6,324 British soldiers graves. A very high proportion
are 'Known unto God': this is a post-war battlefield clearance
cemetery. The slope down from the Menin Road (which is behind
the camera; this shot faces South towards Zillebeke) is clear.
Many British attacks were launched up this gradient towards
the chateau in 1915. It is also the area where the first flamethrowers
caused havoc among units of the 14th (Light) Division in the
same year. |
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From
the cemetery gate, the Menin Road falls away west towards Ypres.
The tactical advantage of holding this position is obvious.
Ypres is on the skyline. The whole area in this photograph
was one where raising your head above ground in daylight meant
certain death, for many months during the Great War. |
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Another
view of Hooge Crater Cemetery, this time from the lane between
Sanctuary Wood and the Menin road, looking north across the
killing fields of 1915. The upward slope to Hooge is clear. |