Iper

Meinin Gate, Iper
see all photos »

Next we head off to Iper, formerly know as Ypres. On the way we pass by Hellfire Corner, a name I recognise, but I’m not sure why. My guess is that there must be a war film based on it. Another unobtrusive sight is a modern warehouse, surrounded by lots of barbed wire. This is the only facility in the world, capable of neutralising mustard gas canisters. Mustard gas never decomposes; it just seeps into the ground, poising the soil and anything it that comes into contact with. This makes archaeology a dangerous occupation in Belgium, but you should notice the skin irritation before you become seriously ill.

Meinin Gate, Iper
see all photos »

One of the lasting legacies of the First World War is the contamination of the land. It’s hard to imagine the lush countryside of today, as the muddy quagmire of 90 years ago. There were no buildings left standing, whole forests were snapped like twigs and the once rich earth was churned into a muddy, pock marked hell. After the war the ground was unworkable and had to be ploughed to 75cms to bring it back into use. But this hasn’t removed all the unexploded munitions. But farmers have a relaxed attitude to this. You simply gather up all the explosives and pile them beside the road. Then you ring up the army and they collect and dispose of them.

The whole town was raised to the ground, nothing remained and everything visible today had to be faithfully reconstructed.

Memorial in Iper Cathedral
see all photos »

On the outskirts of Iper, we stop for a few minutes at the Meinin Gate. This enormous monument commemorates 55,000 solders’ who have no recorded grave. Their names reach from waist height to the top of the arch and you can walk up stairways either side of it to see further names listed within and outside of it. However despite its size, there simply wasn’t enough room to fit all the names onto the Gate. That was why other memorials such as Tyne Cot were built.

The Gate forms part of the old town walls. These stand above a beautifully still and tranquil moat. Unfortunately these defences could not protect Ypres from 20^th Century warfare. The whole town was raised to the ground, nothing remained and everything visible today had to be faithfully reconstructed. I have to keep reminding myself of this, as we drive in towards the town centre. Here we are confronted by a large market place, the centrepiece of which is an impressive Cloth Hall, and yes it too is a modern reconstruction. Today it houses the Flanders Field Experience, which I must say is an extremely good museum.

As we enter the museum we are confronted by what I assume is some kind of art installation or political protest – or possibly both! We have to walk through what looks like a tent, where a young man is pegging out washing on a line. Around him are various painted plaques which look like they might have a message about war. However there are a few words that I do recognise and the message is clearly a pretty bluntly made one.

Although the overall affect of the museum is very good, I’ve already had a very healthy dose of reality today and really cannot find the enthusiasm for a modern, interactive experience. I therefore leave earlier that everyone else and decide to have a little look around the market place. However before leaving I do buy myself a British Legion poppy. I wander through the Cloth Hall to the Cathedral beyond (another reconstruction). Unfortunately the atmosphere is ruined by someone testing the organ. But I do spend a few minutes looking around and find a plaque commemorating the British war dead. Suddenly I know what I have to do with my poppy. Quickly I scribble William’s name on the leaf and I leave it with the other poppies and crosses.

We all meet up outside of the Cloth Hall and not for the first time find ourselves waiting for the Americans. Frank takes the opportunity to explain the strange modern sculpture of a skeletal cat that we had passed on the outskirts of the modern town. It is a warning to all cats, that Iper really doesn’t like them. Apparently there was once a tradition of throwing live cats from the top of the Cloth Hall tower. He couldn’t tell us quite why, but apparently it still continues in a more animal friendly way today, with toy cats being flung to the crowds below.