Walking the Battle of Passchendaele with Mat McLachlan

"In a foreign field he lay Lonely soldier, unknown grave On his dying words he prays Tell the world of Passchendaele"

As a Belgian civilian, we visited the Ypres salient a couple of weeks back (it was my third time). We visited Commonwealth and German cemeteries. It's important to look back at the sad history and learn from it. What gets me is that there are always foreign people visiting our small country to pay respect to their fallen familymembers that they have never known ... That is, for me, a very big sign of respect that we all can learn from. Never forget all the fallen humans from this horrible war ❤

The Australians, Canadians and New Zealanders.... Forever together. We study this battle extensively in Canada.

I went to Tyne Cot commonwealth war cemetery, this year, along with two of my old RAF palls. We're in our late 60's the first grave I looked at was of an unknown soldier, a young lad, killed here, and doesn't even have his name on his headstone, 'known unto God'. Along with thousands of others. It was a lovely bright sunny day, and we three, had enjoyed a ride here on our motorbikes, and I thought, how many days like this, had this youngster sacrificed, and all the thousands, and thousands of others. Thank you.. RIP...

My grandfather was a machine gunner at Passchendaele. I never got close to him, and he died when I was 11, I remember him as a remote figure. It’s hard to say how much the battle caused that but many men came back from the western front damaged even if they were physically intact. Never forget them.

My granddad was a Kitchener volunteer and was injured here while serving with 11th bn Essex Regt at the age of 19. He survived the War and signed up for the Home Guard in WW2. He died in 1992 at the age of 94.

My great uncle was one of the last Australian casualties in this battle. Like many, he put his age up and enlisted at the beginning of 1917. In late October , he was posted to 2 Bn 1st Anzac Div. On the 5th November 1917, 1 Anzac Corp went into the line to protect the Canadian right flank, with 2 Bn linking up with the Canadians. When the ultimately successful Canadian attack began, German SOS fire fell heavily on both the Canadian and Australian lines, inflicting 30 KIA on 2 Bn. He is one of the many with no known grave.

My great grandfather was there he was in the Royal Engineers. He kept a diary. He writes about heavy fighting and shelling. He served the whole of the Ww1 from start to finish.

Well Done. Sadly, many today have little interest in what occurred in the 1914 - 1918 time.

The battle started on 31 July 1917. My great grandad, Alfred Jefferies, was killed on this day after going over the top with 1st Herts in the fighting near St Julian (not the local spelling). He is buried in Tyne Cot but the body recovery maps show he was originally buried near where he fell. The adhoc graves you refer to in Tyne Cot, I believe (could be wrong), were of soldiers that died whilst being treated at an aid post located within a block house that stood under what is now the cross of remembrance that is seen just behind you as you are talking about them.

when i was 16 and in basic training with the british army i was in ypres platoon, we visited all the locations shown in your video. Even at that young age it was a sobering experience for many of us interested in the great war. The last post being played every evening at the menning gate is very emotional. I would love to go back i'm 36 now

How can a man walk this green parkland without tears streaming from his eyes, blinding him? How can a man pass by these white stones without touching them, trying to comfort them? To be comforted by them with their solidity, in this place of nightmare? How can a man read the names, read the names, read the names until he curses his own eyes for seeing too much? How can he not feel the earth move with the impacts of mighty guns, even a century on? Can he hear the bullets whine on the breeze, the cries on the breeze, the curses, the death rattles? Why is this place not the only one? Why does it exist at all? Does the answer lie in yesterday, tomorrow, deep in our genes or deep in our spirits? The white stones are silent, the walls block the sun, only the broken bunkers speak about a moment in time, about savagery beyond Human comprehension, done with Human hands to Human things for some Human purpose. God had nothing to do with it. God wept and could do nothing but gather the dead and lay them to sleep, dreamless, until the day of rising. Would courage and honor be enough to make up for the sins of destruction? They may know, bye n bye, bye n bye. We can but walk and weep and ponder.

I visited Tyne Cot Cemetery and the Passchendaele Canadian Memorial by bicycle in 2014 - Marking the end of 3 weeks visiting commonwealth cemeteries and battle sites in France (Normandy & Somme), Italy and Belgium). It was almost overwhelming that day. I later discovered that my great uncle was buried in a cemetery just north of Ypres. Two weeks later we found his name is on a memorial plaque in the Parish Church of St Mary - Flint, Wales, where we also found my grandfather's name on the role of honour. My Grandfather emigrated to New Zealand in the 1920s.

A bit off from this video's subject, but my Dad's Dad fought at Gallipoli in a Irish Regiment of the British Army. He was a sergeant and ordered to take a squad of about 5 into No-Mans land to capture a "Johnnie Turk" and bring him back for interrogation. They were issued with pistols and grenades and went out. While crawling around out there they heard foreign voices. My grandfather told my Dad he sh1t himself but only a little bit then told his men we're going back. Luckily he survived Gallipoli and became Garrison Sergeant Major at Barry Island Fort in South Wales. My Mom's Dad fought in Burma in the Royal Artillery in WWII. He never told anyone anything

What a great job you did, making this video. As a Canadian, I appreciate the time you spent signaling out Canada's role in this battle. Passchendaele has a special place in the hearts of Canadians. I also found the mention of Hitler's visit very interesting. Hitler actually spent an entire day visiting almost all the large memorials, and was said to have displayed an almost reverence for the allied memorials. The fact that he would order Jewish commemorations destroyed isn't at all surprising, but he never considered destroying the allied memorials, even though they were memorials coinciding with the defeat of Germany...a defeat that disgusted Hitler.

My grandfather (South Wales Borderers Regiment) fought and was killed at the battle of Passchendaele in 1917. His name is now on the Menin Gate in Belgium.

I don't understand why this has not million's of views! Very well made So I say Thank you

Went to all of these places in April 2017. They do a wonderful job looking after our boys. 🍁

My great great uncle John Wallace 1st New Zealand division fought from 22nd June- Sunday 6th October where he was gassed at Spree farm. He was sent back to England to recover. I recently found my great aunts writing of some of his experiences, so it has mention of the dates his mates were wounded and when he first went over the top at. Lest we forget.

I've walked that lonely windswept hill to the memorial on the summit. It had been raining and the ground was heavy with mud. It weighed me down as if I were wearing those old fashioned deep sea divers lead boots. I didn't mind. It was just a taste of what those young men had to face. No bullets aimed in my direction, no shells, no gas. No shell holes to fall into and drown. I was going home at the end of my trip back to my family, back to my local and back to my mates. I walked through the fields of blood and bone and I felt the chill of sadness that echoed through the decades. I'm glad my generation never faced this we had The Falklands and Northern Ireland where I did wonder 'Will I get through this?' We never saw anything like the Somme or Passchendaele and for that I'm truly grateful.