Darranda in the 'Yorkshire' trenches.
These trenches were excavated in the 1990's by an archaeological team and have been left as representation by the town of Ypres. These really are the trench lines during the battle. There are deep tunnels leading off these trenches that were excavated and 'pumped' dry during the dig. The artifacts recovered are part of the tremendous 'In Flanders Field' museum in the Cloth Hall in Ypres. Worth a trip on it's own - there is an astonishing interactive map on which you can superimpose images from the war over 'google earth' type views. The destruction is immense.
Darranda in one of the Hooge bunkers. This is the sight where flamethrowers were first used. Words cannot describe what this place must have looked like. In front of this bunker are two enormous mine craters - now filled with water.
You can make out another bunker, submerged in the water. These craters and bunkers were fought over for months and went back and forth between the sides. It was here that a truly exceptional person won a military cross for his work as a medical officer. He went on the become one of only three people to ever win the Victoria Cross twice. His life up to that point was just as exceptional/ Cambridge First, Surgeon, representing GB at the Olympics!
Stand up Noel Chavasse.
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