Lives of the First World War

By November, the war on the western front became the “infamous” trench war. Both sides dug in and fortified their positions. The front line position would change little for over two years. Military science had developed new weapons. Millions would die and the world would change forever. I am fully aware of the world-wide scale of the conflict, but I am only concerned in this document with the Western Front. This is the theatre of war where Jack served, so the Western Front is my main focus in the journal entries that follow. 6 June 1992 I woke up and decided that I wanted to go and see Jack’s grave. I still rack my brains to remember what prompted me to think of this, but what I remember is having had a couple of dreams about the war. I decided that I was going to go as soon as possible. I phoned the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) in Marlow who gave me the name of the cemetery, the town it was near, the row number and grave number. It turned out to be in Ieper, Belgium. The only information I had was his name and regiment. That’s what I call good service. Next, I checked my bank balance, the train times and the nearest town of interest. I thought Julie, my sister, may think that I was weird so I said that I was going to visit Gent for the weekend. After an eventful journey involving a train load of football fans and an escape from a weirdo in Calais, I arrived at long last in LiIle. I got to Ieper (Ypres) through my own devices, utilising a bus, tram and train. I rented a bike from Ieper and cycled to Vlamertinghe. I found the grave. My mission was over. I think I said a short prayer and signed the register. I thought “what a beautiful place”. Brandhoek New Military Cemetery No. 3, Vlamertinghe 13/6/92 Vlamertinghe is a village in the province of West Flanders, on the road and railway between Poperinghe and Ypres. Brandhoek is a hamlet on the road about 1 and a 1/2 miles from Vlamertinghe Station and 2 and a 1/2 miles from Poperinghe. During the war, Brandhoek was within the comparatively safe area which ended at Vlamertinghe Church and field ambulances (stationary medical units) were posted there continuously. Brandhoek Cemetery adjoined the dressing stations and was opened in early May 1915. It was filled in early July 1917. In late July, the casualties from the British Offensive in Flanders and the arrival of the 32nd, 3rd Australian and 44th casualty clearing stations made it necessary to open the new cemetery, which was filled by the middle of August. Cemetery No. 3 was opened and filled in May 1918. The cemetery contains the graves of 974 men : - 849 - UK 54 - Canadian 46 - Australian 18 - New Zealand 5 - British West Indies 1 - Chinese Labour Corps The cemetery covers an area of 3,500 square yards. Its boundary is marked by a low stone wall, a thorn hedge and, on three sides, a row of crab apple trees. It was an hour spent in complete peace. I stared for a long time at his headstone and wondered what kind of person he was. I walked along the rest of the 974 headstones and thought about whether any were those of his comrades. It was the most beautiful graveyard which I had ever seen. Although at peace, I felt low again and I realised that I could not stay in the area. I moved on to Gent and my spirits were lifted some. On my return from Belgium in 1992, I wrote to the MOD in Hayes concerning Jack’s service record. They wrote back to me explaining that the service records were incomplete due to an air raid in 1940 and that the surviving records were not open to the public. They would, however, search on my behalf for a fee of £15. Unfortunately, I didn’t have £15 to spare, so didn’t use their service at that time.

Created by: , Mike11837