by Janis / 0 comments - Orginally published:31st August 2018

Memories of No-man’s-Land …

During our visit to Ypres in 2018, we discovered a commemorative installation in Palingbeek Provincial Park. This area was once no-man's-land on the frontline of the First World War battlefields.

Whilst aspects of the installation and memorial have altered, elements still remain. If you find yourself in this region of Belgium, it may be worth adding it to your itinerary.

As you may expect, you are a short distance from Passchendaele and the Tyne Cot Cemetery, and there is a lot of history from what was once dubbed 'The Great War.'

The pin image of our post - 'Belgium’s Centenary Tribute'
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Where is Palingbeek provincial park ?

How to get to Palingbeek provincial park

- By Bus
You can catch a bus from Ypres that takes around 30 minutes, and then it's a 10-15 minute walk to the park

- By Car
There is a car park at Palingbeek with the What3Words address of ///tinted.multiplies.forbidding

A memorial to the fallen in Belgium

ComingWorldRememberMe

We were intrigued to learn more about this temporary tribute in the Ypres Salient as it sounded incredible.
 
There were 600,000 clay sculptures paying homage to the victims of WWI in Belgium who died 100 years ago.

The poster for the CWXRM - Expo, also known as the coming world remember me installation at the Palingbeek provincial park in belgium
CWXRM - Expo, Belgium

The installation is called ComingWorldRememberMe and opened on 1st April 2018 and remained until the centenary on 11th November 2018.

However, the heart of the display, with the egg and the tiny clay soldiers, is still there to see, albeit on a smaller scale.

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The landscape of World War One

Forgotten Memories
We were one of the first to arrive, so we knew it would be peaceful; however, the spring morning was damp, and a mist hung over the park, giving quite a haunting atmosphere.
The punched out rusted steel sign for the bluff in the Palingbeek provincial park in belgium
The Bluff
A grey gravel pathway leading between rows of trees in the former world war one battlefields of belgium
Between the Lines
We strolled along the tree-lined walking route, dodging the slugs as we went and arrived at the pavilion, a stop prior to the main exhibit. Here is a visual story of how the surrounding lands were fought over and the horrendous conditions the soldiers had to bear.
A large glass tanks featuring a selection of pressed steel dog tags for the CWXRM exhibition with the inscription the future depends on forgotten memories
The Future Depends on Forgotten Memories

Tourist information

For more information then why not check out the 'de Westhoek' web-site, they have a page on the Palingbeek walking route.

Those that fell in The Great War

Dog Tags

However, I didn’t realise that the tribute included the 600,000 clay-crouched soldiers and individual dog tags for every one of these 600,000.

The project had taken four years to complete, and each of the statue ‘makers’ or the ‘godparents’ that had created this venture had their name included on a dog tag along with a soldier.

A closeup of a selection of pressed steel dog tags for the CWXRM exhibition in belgium
CWXRM Dogtags
A bronze egg sculpture named ‘Remember Me’ was opened on the 11th of November 2018, and 600,000 dog tags were placed in the egg, permanently sealed, and left as a remembrance in no-man’s-land.
The remember me installation at the CWXRM exhibition of a bronze cracked egg, wrapped in claws
Remember Me

Touring Flanders Fields

Discover more of Belgium and create your own memories of the Ypres Salient. You can do it all on a road trip, Rental Cars searches multiple well-known car hire brands and discover the deals that suit you the best.

The scale World War One in Belgium

CWXRM
We continued along the trail, and the tiny clay-crouched men emerged before us; it was amazing. I visited the poppy memorial a couple of years ago at the Tower of London, and these tributes to the fallen are very poignant.
A path between the thousands of the miniature clay soldiers spilling out of a giant egg at the coming world remember me exhibition in belgium
The path to the egg
What amazed me was that this installation was within touching distance. You stroll through the middle with thousands of crouched little figures at your feet, some with their own individual marks from their makers.
A close up of a selection of tightly packed little terracota figurines of crouched world war one soldiers at the Coming World Remember Me installation at the Palingbeek provincial park in belgiu
All crouched together
The centre tribute is a giant egg at the point of hatching, and the hunched soldiers have come tumbling out. Which then represents the pre-history supercontinent (Pangea). The predominant backbone of some of the figures almost makes them look pre-historic.
The the miniature clay soldiers spilling out of a giant egg at the coming world remember me exhibition in belgium
Spilling out
We wander out of the gate and around to the viewing platform at the end of the tribute, where you can see the whole sculpture from an aerial view.
The view from the elevated viewpoint to the thousands of the miniature clay soldiers spilling out of a giant egg at the coming world remember me exhibition in belgium
From the view point

Where to stay in Ypres

Novotel Ieper Centrum
The hotel is located just a short stroll from the city centre, Cloth Hall and the Menin Gate. This friendly hotel is perfect for touring the surrounding battlefields and war cemeteries and is ideal for a road trip, as they had onsite car parking.

The human side to The Great War

‘Ode to the War Poets’
There are plenty of walking routes to follow through the park; however, one we took was ‘Ode to the War Poets’. This wooden walkway leads you through ‘The Bluff, ’ an area of land aggressively fought between the Allies and Germany.
A wooden path past a giant cone shaped wooden speaker in the woodland around the bluff in the battlefields of belgium
A path amongst the poems
It was quite strange wandering through this piece of battleground, which was once no-man’s-land. You’ll notice craters and hollows in the landscape where the bombing took place, which have now turned into eerie misty ponds.
A dark deep pond in the woodland around the bluff in Palingbeek Provincial Park, carved out of the remains of world war one
A pond in a crater

The raised platform that winds through the Bluff took you past large wooden speakers that almost appear to look like gramophone speakers. Respectfully, you could read or listen to ten poems inspired by the works of war poets.
 
It was not until you were upon a speaker that you could hear the recitals; it was really quite touching.

A giant cone shaped wooden speaker next to a pond in the woodland around the bluff in the ypres salient
The speaker
However, after researching for the update, I am not sure if the audio part of the installation is still in place - if you know either way, then please let me know in the comments below.

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Reminders of World War One

Hill 60

We jumped in the car for the short drive to Hill 60. You can, of course, walk, it from the Palingbeek Provincial Park, but we had further plans for the rest of the day.
 
The Hill 60 area of the Ypres Salient was bitterly fought for years, regularly passing between both sides. At the time, this was one of the few pieces of high ground, so it was important to all.

A strip of steel marking the allied front line in january 1915 in the battlefields of belgium
The Allied frontline
Underground tunnelling was undertaken, and fierce fighting and explosives were used to force each other out. Frontlines on both sides are marked out on the ground so you can see the close proximity of hostilities between each side.
A strip of steel marking the german front line in december 1914 in the battlefields of belgium
The German frontline
Hill 60 is effectively now a mass grave with tunnels collapsing on Allied and German troops. After the Great War, the trenches were filled in, and the burial ground is now taken into the hands of nature and preserved as it sees fit, along with sheep.
Sheep grazing next to the queen victorias rifles memorial on Hill 60 on the battlefields of belgium
Queen Victoria's Rifles memorial on Hill 60
There’s a wooden boardwalk that you follow across the battlefields; however, it is so easy to see the battle scars today of the craters and bunkers.
A grassy trail between mature trees and an undulating landscape carved out of the battlefields of world war I.
Hill 60
Monuments of the Allied troops are preserved here, one of which is for the 1st Australian Tunnelling Company. Bullet holes can be seen on the plaque, which is from WWII, as this area was fought over again.
A stone monument featuring a brass plaque riddled with bullets to the australian tunnelling company the battlefields of belgium
Monument to the Australian Tunnelling Company
As Gary and I stood admiring the wild poppies in a field just opposite the memorials, which are synonymous with remembrance today, a postman stopped on his bike and chatted with us—explaining that the poppies were one of the first things to grow after the Great War.
Wild bright red poppies against a background of desaturated green grasses
Poppies - the everlasting symbol of blood spilt on the field

More trips of remembrance

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Honouring the sacrifice of ‘their today’
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Aug. 17, 2018

Remembering Ypres, Belgium

They’re Proud & Honoured to be the bearers …
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Our Passchendaele Poppies

Lest we forget…

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