In
the town of Ypres itself is a museum devoted solely to the horrors of
war, and showing in audio-visual form, and with hundreds of artefacts,
what war really meant.
Museums are often regarded purely as places to visit when it is raining. Not so this this museum. As the printed guide says:
"We want to show the war as it was experienced by ordinary soldiers, young men and women, mothers and fathers and the people of this region. Your visit to the museum will provide you with a clear account of the historical events, but more than that, you will share the company of people who were involved in one way or another in the Great War. They will walk beside you and tell you their moving stories. We have avoided the traditional lists of names, facts and dates. We want you to become actively involved and above all, to be touched as a human being. We hope that this emotional approach will help you to understand what it is you are really seeing, kindling a flame that will go on burning after you have returned home.Eighty years have now passed since the end of the Great War. The dozens of military cemeteries in this region remain as silent witnesses to what war has inflicted on humanity. We know that other, perhaps even bloodier wars have been fought since, and that every soldier who dies is someone's son. Everywhere we go, the blood of friends is the same red as that of enemies and the pain of losing a loved one is just as acute wherever it happens. The sense or senselessness of war remains as debatable as ever."
At
the entrance is a huge stone plaque, and on this are named cities that had
been destroyed in wars in the 19th and 20th centuries.
There are plenty of still and moving images to see, and visitors receive
a kind of swipe card to use various places in order to follow the story
of someone connected with Ypres.
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The form on the left is the type that all people in England and the Empire
must have dreaded receiving.
This may be difficult to read; the lighting was very subdued. It reads
as follows:
"It is my painful duty to inform you that a report has been received
from the War Office notifying the death of (No) 13396 (Rank) Private(Name)
Harold Thomas Boulstridge (Regiment) 1st Btn. Coldstream Guards which
occurred at a place not stated on the 10th October, 1917.
The report is to the effect that he died of wounds received in action."
Though an enormous amount of work has gone into the planning of this museum,
though the accent on the need for peace is laudable, and though there
are some poignant artefacts such as this notification of death on the
left, somehow this museum did not have quite the same impact on me as
did the more modest one at Sanctuary Wood. Perhaps it was just me; I preferred
on this visit to contemplate, more than to be entertained. That is a purely
personal view, which may not be shared by others. Despite this, a visit
is highly recommended.
By the way, Salient Tours offer a guided tour every day at 10am (long
tour) and 2.30pm (short one). That is, every day but Wednesday, which
would happen to be the day we visited Ypres! To book, 'phone 075 910
223 (or if you are out of Belgium, preface this by 0032).