New ceremony @ Passendale this Year

[serreroad]

I believe that there was a public ceremony in Passendale this year on the 11th? (There may always be one for all I know, but I read somewhere that they were planning something more elaborate this year.) Did anyone go? I dearly love the Ypres ceremony but it just gets so busy on the 11th I wouldn't mind trying something a little more "low key".

Mike

[BatterySergeantMajor]

I was there and indeed it was a serious improvement compared with earlier ceremonies. At last Passendale does realise its unique position in the Salient history.

I am convinced that the curator of the new (and very interesting) Zonnebeke museum, Franky Bostyn, plays an important role in this. I understood he is making plans for the future to make these commemorations, which used to be rather old-fashioned, even more interesting in the forthcoming years.

There had been a beautiful concert on the evening of the 10th, an exhibition about local soldiers in the war, a WW1 bookfair, a mass and a kind of parade to Crest Farm, including a Canadian delegation. There were also guided walks along the battlefields which attracted a few hundreds of people.

In my opinion the town council will be tempted to double their efforts if foreign interest is increasing.

I heard rumours that the new museum tries to develop a series of activities for the future years, not only on the occasion of the 11th of November. This even if their possibilities are rather restricted compared with the In Flanders Field Museum, which has a much larger staff. Taking in account that the community of Zonnebeke has not the same resources as Ieper I have the impression that they are working very hard to offer something wortwhile to the serious battlefield visitor.

(contact them at: toerisme@zonnebeke.be)

[serreroad]

Thanks - I agree its about time they made a bit more of their history.

I ventured up there on the night of the 10th in time to see them removing the piano into a large van ! Presumably that was as close as I got to the concert. I also returned on the afternoon of the 11th to visit the bookfair & the new museum, but there was no sign that anything much had happened.

What did the 11/11 ceremony consist of? Religious, historical, bugler(s), wreath laying??? Bilingual? What time did it start & end?

Unfortunately having found no info on the ceremony or the walks I decided stick with good ol' Ypres. Might be tempted to give it a go next year though.....

Thanks

Mike