Ceremony to remember the centenary of the end of WWI
The West Flemish villages of Houthulst and Passendale are joining forces with the Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917, the Defence Ministry and the Federal and Flemish authorities in organising an event to commemorate the centenary start of the final offence of the Great War. The commemoration will take place on Friday 28 September with events in both villages.
The programme of events was announced during a press conference at a local primary school. 28 September 1918 marked the end of the First Battle of Ieper.
Early in the morning British, French and Belgian forces launched an offensive at the crest of the hill at Zonnebeke. Despite heavy losses the offensive was a success and the entire Flemish front was no longer static.
At Houthulst where there is a Belgian military cemetery, the focus will be on the military side of the story with event in the morning and early afternoon.
The ceremony in Passendale will take place in the evening and concentrate on civilians. Meanwhile, the seventh garden of remembrance will be officially opened in Zonnebeke Park. A Belgian pavilion will be added to the pavilions already in existence to remember the British, Australian, Canadian, New Zealand and American soldiers that died in Flanders Fields.