South African National Memorial and Museum Delville Wood
Just to the east of the village of Longueval lies Delville Wood, soon known to the Allied soldiers who   fought here in 1916 as the Devil's Wood.      The South African National Memorial in Delville Wood was unveiled in 1926 and commemorates the   10.000 South African dead of the First World War. It is topped by a sculpture of Castor and Polloux   holding hands and was designed as a symbol of the unity of the English and Africans of South Africa.   " It is by far the most beautiful World War 1 Memorial. "    Webmaster René Brouwer

Thiepval Memorial to the Missing   Opened on 31 July 1932 by the Prince of Wales,   the Thiepval memorial was and remains the   largest British war memorial in the world. The   memorial contains the names of 73,357 British   and South African men who have no known   grave and who fell on the Somme between July   1916 and 20 March 1918.   The 150ft high memorial was designed by Sir   Edwin Lutyens.

The Ulster Tower Memorial   The Ulster Tower commemorates the men of the   36th (Ulster) Division who fought and died along   the Western Front.   The Tower was dedicated on 19th November   1921, and is a copy of St Helen's Tower at   Clandeboye, County Down, close to where the   Ulster Division did its training in 1914-15.   On Mondays the Tower is closed.

National Military Cemetery Notre Dame de Lorette
The hill of Notre Dame de Lorette, which rises 165 metres (500 feet) above sealevel, is situated   in Artois. It's close to the road which runs from Arras to Béthune.   The Battle of Lorette lasted 12 months from October 1914 to October 1915 and claimed numerous   victims. Over 100.000 people were killed and as many were wounded on both sides.   On the cemetery are more than 20.000 individual tombs. There are 8 ossuaries (the main one being   at the bottom of the Lantern Tower) where the bones of 22970 unknown soldiers have been   gathered. The Lantern Tower and the Chapel are in the center of the cemetery.

Canadian Memorial Vimy Ridge
The Canadian memorial on top of Vimy Ridge is Canada's most important   memorial to the fallen soldiers of World War I. The Memorial commemorates   Canada's role in the First World War with stone figures that symbolize the   values defended and the sacrifices made. The central statue of a woman   represents Canada - a young nation mourning her fallen sons. Canadian   architect and sculptor Walter Seymour Allward designed the monument.   The land for the memorial as well as the surrounding 100 hectares were   given to Canada by France in 1922 in gratitude for sacrifices made by   Canada in the First World War and for the victory achieved by Canadian   troops in capturing Vimy Ridge in April 1917.   The memorial was built by the people of Canada as a tribute to their   countrymen who fought in the Great War and, particularly, to the more   than 66.000 men who gave their lives to defend freedom.   Vimy Ridge is today wooded, each tree planted by a native of Canada and   representing the sacrifice of a Canadian soldier.

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Copyright © by R.Brouwer 2011  -  All rights reserved