Details: Talbot House Museum
In 1915, this large family home was opened as an “every man’s club,” a place for men of any rank to have some rest and relaxation during the Battle of Ypres. To the Senior Army Chaplain Neville Talbot’s protestations, this club was named after his brother Gilbert who was killed in action in July of 1915.
Details: St Julien Memorial
German soldiers fighting on the Western Front first used mustard gas during the Battle of Ypres, and the St Julien Memorial marks the spot where Canadian soldiers first confronted this new weapon of war.
Details: Ypres Salient Memorials visit
Three major World War I battles were fought outside Ypres. The First Battle of Ypres allowed the British to capture the town from the Germans in 1914. Five months later the Germans used poison gas for the first time on the Western Front and were able to capture the high ground nearby; in the famous Battle of Passchendaele in 1916, the British, Canadian, and ANZAC forces recaptured the area. During this last battle, one of the bloodiest in history, the British forces lost 300,000 soldiers, and the Germans lost 250,000.
Details: Hill 62 (Sanctuary Wood) visit
Before joining the Battle of the Somme, Canadian troops fought hard to defend this area, a small part of Belgium still controlled by the Allies. The advances made by these troops were an unqualified success, according the official British historical reports, but Canada suffered 8,430 casualties in the process.
Details: Passchendaele Canadian Memorial Park
In 1917, the Allies slogged through the swampy, rain-soaked, mud-drenched ground of Passchendaele toward heavily armed German troops, losing many lives and tanks in the process. Canadian troops were brought in at the end due to the difficult conditions -- their earlier victories had conferred an elite status -- and with their efforts the high ground was finally won. The battle was ultimately meaningless, however; the corridor opened by the action later proved unnecessary. Because of the horror of the Battle of Passchendaele, the name has come to symbolize the idea of war in its most brutal and senseless form.