2Xplore Flanders Fields

Major William Redmond (13 April 1861 – 7 June 1917) was an Irish nationalist politician who served as a Member of Parliament. At ten minutes past three on the morning of the 7 June 1917 Major Willie Redmond was once again in command of B Company of the 6th Royal Irish as the Battle for Messines Ridge erupted around him. Moving forward as part of the 16th (Irish) Division, and with the 36th (Ulster) Division to his right, he was hit almost immediately in the wrist and then in the leg. Sometime later he was found by Private John Meeke from the 36th Division and evacuated to the 108th Field Ambulance Station where he was administered to by Reverend John Redmond (no relation) from the 9th Enniskillen Fusiliers. Unable to withstand the shock of his wounds, later that evening he passed away.
Today Willie Redmond lies in a single grave which stands in its own plot outside the Locre Hospice Cemetery in Flanders.

Today’s rededication service at Bedford House Cemetery, lest we forget !

Francis Ledwidge, Irish nationalist and poet, killed on the 31st of July 1917, opening day of the Passchendaele Campaign

Retracing the footsteps of an ancestor, Pte Archibald Joseph McSPARRON, 18th Bn AIF, wounded during the Battle of Pozières , died of wounds 05 August 1916 , buried at Puchevillers British Cemetery

2025 !!! Wishing you all a Happy and a Healthy New Year , Best wishes from Flanders Fields !

We wish all of our followers across the world a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year !

Sinkhole reveals a WW1 German underground shelter near Ypres, the structure is exceptionally well preserved !

Detonator of World War I mustard gas bomb explodes in agricultural machine in Langemark !!!
A bomb containing mustard gas from the First World War has unnoticedly ended up in a bale of straw on a farm in Langemark, reports VRT NWS. When the farmer wanted to blow the straw into a barn, the detonator exploded.
"It must have been a powerful explosion because there was serious damage to the agricultural machine. There were no injuries. People were shocked, because it could have ended much worse," said captain of the Westhoek Fire Brigade Dirk Vandekerckhove to VRT.
The shell was then placed on the loading platform of another vehicle in the courtyard of the farm, but the bomb started to leak there. "A puddle of liquid formed around the bomb," the farmer testified.
It turned out to be leaked mustard gas, also called yperite after the nearby Ypres where the chemical weapon was first used on a large scale during the First World War. "Yperite is a very aggressive and dangerous product," says Vandekerckhove, who took no risks. "The contamination was neutralized by a specialized team from the Westhoek Fire Department."
"But if the entire bomb had exploded, it would have been a disaster." In addition to the chemical impact, the explosion would have caused greater damage. "We heard from the DOVO people who came to remove the projectile that part of the cowshed could have been gone," says the fire captain.
source : VRT news / Focus - WTV (Google translate)

While cycling the former battlefields of Messines, I saw a dump of artillery shells and a few unexploded stokes mortars next to the road, the surrounding fields have just been worked

Remembrance Sunday 10 Nov
- Armistice Day 11 Nov
On the 11th of November 1918, the guns of World War I fell silent as the Armistice was signed, marking the end of one of history’s most devastating conflicts. Lest we forget !

Jean’s pilgrimage as daughter of a First World War soldier !
Driver Joseph Reen , RFA,
Born 7 February 1895, Died 21 July 1957
and his brother Ruben Constance Reen,
RFA , died 1946. Joseph’s daughter Jean Cathrine (born 1956) came over from London on a pilgrimage to look for her father’s and uncle’s mates buried at Tyne Cot Cemetery. She brought a list with 48 names, looked for and found all their graves, and paid her respects to each one of those boys from the Royal Field Artillery, who served with her father and her uncle over here during the Battle of Passchendaele. Jean’s father suffered for the rest of his live because of the war, he was also blind in an eye. He passed away at the age of 61 and was buried on Jean’s first birthday. Her uncle passed away in his 40s, also never been able to recover from the war. Lest we forget ! 🌺

In honour of Lance Corporal Derwent Radcliffe VAUGHAN, 50th Bn Australian Infantry, died of wounds, 11th of June 1917, Battle of Messines.
Derwent joined the 50th Australian Infantry Battalion in March 1916 at the age of 35, having a wife and 3 children. In August 1916 he volunteered as a stretcher bearer and acted in that capacity until the time of his death. He was with his Battalion in the front line on the 10th of June 1917, attacking the German positions East of Messines late in the evening, and, according to the witness reports (Australian Red Cross files) was then wounded by a shell. His death was recorded on the 11th and he was buried at St.Quentin Cabaret Military Cemetery(II.R.20). Derwent is one of the many brave men who made the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom, lest we forget!

‘’Sacrificed to the Fallacy that War Can End War’‘, amongst the almost 12,000 burials in Tyne Cot Cemetery, this epitaph (message on the gravestone chosen by the family) stands out ! Arthur Conway, together with his family, was in fact a strong pacifist. He and his family were members of the South Place Ethical Society in London.
Why would a pacifist enlist? A letter to the Ethical Record following his death said: “like so many other good and peaceable men in these days, he deemed it his duty to take up arms to crush the demon of militarism which is in our midst.” #19141918 🇧🇪

In honour of Private James MALONE , 18th (Pioneer) Bn Northumberland Fusiliers, KIA 29th of July 1917, buried on Gwalia Cemetery, Poperinge

Retracing the footsteps of an ancestor - Research service