SteveMarsdin Posted 12 August , 2014 Share Posted 12 August , 2014 As we approach the centenary of the Battle of Mons which I am sure will be widely covered by the British media (and rightly so) please remember those 26,000 Frenchmen who were killed the day before in the Battle of the Frontiers, along with an estimated 15,000 of their German foes and several thousand Belgian civilians executed around the same time. Each year I attend a commemorative walk in Ethe and several of the other events of remembrance. This year the week from 17 - 24 August* is full of events. Calendrier-commémorations-2014.pdf This calendar has a list of most of the commemorative events for 2014. * Apart from the Troupes de Marine who hold their commemorations during the second weekend of September (Rossignol, Neufchateau, Bazeilles) If anyone is in the South of Belgium on Sunday, I can highly recommend the walk. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveMarsdin Posted 17 August , 2014 Author Share Posted 17 August , 2014 I've changed the thread title as we approach the centenary. I attended the commemorative walk in Ethe to day; I'll post some photos later. In the meantime these are some of the other local events: And Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Martin Bennitt Posted 17 August , 2014 Share Posted 17 August , 2014 Hi Steve We had hoped to be back in this beautiful and historic region this year but afraid we will be elsewhere in France instead. Looking forward to your posts. cheers Martin B Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveMarsdin Posted 17 August , 2014 Author Share Posted 17 August , 2014 This is the programme for Virton: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveMarsdin Posted 17 August , 2014 Author Share Posted 17 August , 2014 And the "Pays Frontalier": Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
David Ridgus Posted 17 August , 2014 Share Posted 17 August , 2014 Steve Having just reread 'The Guns of August', the calamity of the Battle of the Frontiers is fresh in my mind. A comparison with the numbers and significance of Mons in the overall scheme of things is always a useful antidote to too Anglocentric a view of the war in 1914. David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveMarsdin Posted 18 August , 2014 Author Share Posted 18 August , 2014 Thanks Martin, David, The walk at Ethe took place yesterday, the first time it hasn't been held the same day as the official commemorations at the various cemeteries and monuments. Normally they're all held on the nearest Sunday to the 22nd but this year most will take place on the centenary of the day itself (the notable but usual exception is the Troupes de Marine at Rossignol and Neufchateau, which will be held over the weekend commencing 12 September). I'll post photos of the official ceremonies that I attend but for now here are some of the walk, which is organised by a local association of volunteers dedicated to keeping the memory of what happened in their area alive for future generations. Many dress in period costume or uniforms, mostly home-made; it is all about participation rather than 100% accuracy so you have everyone participating; all ages from young children to old men, more female hussards than male. Each year they follow a different route, featuring different aspects of the battle and its aftermath. Several hundred take part each year, in small groups setting off every 30 minutes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveMarsdin Posted 18 August , 2014 Author Share Posted 18 August , 2014 This year the 14e Hussards and Lt.Col.Hauteclocque were one of the topics covered: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveMarsdin Posted 18 August , 2014 Author Share Posted 18 August , 2014 Local schoolchildren took part in various ways: There's wasn't the only musical accompaniment Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveMarsdin Posted 18 August , 2014 Author Share Posted 18 August , 2014 Many British think of Belgium as being flat like in Flanders but the Ardennes region is very hilly (technically Ethe is in the Gaume just south of the main Ardennes massif). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveMarsdin Posted 18 August , 2014 Author Share Posted 18 August , 2014 For the centenary all the major sites have had information panels added, like this at the site of the execution of the wounded French soldiers at Gomery. There are also more temporary posters, giving an overview of aspects of the war, displayed for this summer only Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveMarsdin Posted 18 August , 2014 Author Share Posted 18 August , 2014 The narrator at Gomery had an equine audience to start with ! The inscription behind was, not surprisingly, removed during WW2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveMarsdin Posted 18 August , 2014 Author Share Posted 18 August , 2014 On the return to Ethe we passed the site of the old cemetery at Bois des Rappes We learnt about the civilians killed in the adjoining village of Belmont, before hearing of the 211 killed from Ethe itself and the 71 from the nearby hamlet of Latour Many of those executed from Ethe were shot in the field just behind (note the symbolic white crosses) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveMarsdin Posted 18 August , 2014 Author Share Posted 18 August , 2014 At the end there was an exhibition of contemporary postcards and artefacts. Please excuse the reflections of the protective glass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveMarsdin Posted 18 August , 2014 Author Share Posted 18 August , 2014 This French kepi was recovered from the battlefield by a villager And this obtained from the family of Lt.Col.Vicq Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveMarsdin Posted 18 August , 2014 Author Share Posted 18 August , 2014 There was also an illuminated diorama with commentary that told the story of the battle. As well as smaller dioramas depicting scenes from the fighting (and other aspects of WW1) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Milan Posted 18 August , 2014 Share Posted 18 August , 2014 Nice photos! Thanks for sharing. Wish we in Serbia had something like this planned for tomorrow, for the centenary of the battle of Cer ( http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Battle_of_Cer ), the first Allied victory in WWI, apart from the divine liturgy & evening academy with a concert... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveMarsdin Posted 18 August , 2014 Author Share Posted 18 August , 2014 Thanks Milan, Today I visited some of the sites where the local council has spent money tidying up various monuments. The Colonial Corps memorial has been cleaned (although the rain obscures their work !) and the area behind cleared, although I'm not sure about the peace symbol immediately behind. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveMarsdin Posted 18 August , 2014 Author Share Posted 18 August , 2014 A monument marking the site of the old Colonial Corps' cemetery at Breuvanne, which was removed into safe-keeping when the site was redeveloped for housing, has now been sensitively repositioned. And the site of the old cemetery at La Chamberlaine, Virton has been refreshed too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveMarsdin Posted 18 August , 2014 Author Share Posted 18 August , 2014 The cockerel at the top of the column there is harder to make out than the panel advertising the funding of the works ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveMarsdin Posted 18 August , 2014 Author Share Posted 18 August , 2014 Passing through Tintigny (where the freres Collard were from, executed in Liege as members of the Dame Blanche), there is an evocative tableau of their civilians killed in August 1914. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveMarsdin Posted 18 August , 2014 Author Share Posted 18 August , 2014 I also visited the exhibition of the work of local artist Nestor Outer. The exhibition also included many contemporary artefacts belonging to the museum and local collectors (including an impressive display of uniforms). Unfortunately several items were stolen just after the exhibition opened and now everything is behind glass. Nestor Outer was a prolific painter and diarist, although it should be remembered that most of his paintings are based on how he imagined the actual fighting or scenario to be; although he was a resident of Virton he didn't actually witness the fighting only the aftermath. For example in some works he depicts the Germans as been in trenches (albeit shallow ones) which they weren't. His works are complemented by those of other local artists, like this first one The outbreak of war is announced The next three are by Nestor Outer Sheltering in the cellar The aftermath Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
healdav Posted 18 August , 2014 Share Posted 18 August , 2014 Steve, Do you have any info about the Dame Blanche? I have heard that there was a thesis done on the subject, but have no details. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteveMarsdin Posted 18 August , 2014 Author Share Posted 18 August , 2014 Sorry Dave, I don't. I was surprised to find that there were British agents this far South. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Robert Dunlop Posted 18 August , 2014 Share Posted 18 August , 2014 Thanks for posting the photos and the information, Steve. I saw the commemorative walk advertised in Dormans when I was there recently. Robert Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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