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The Great War (1914-1918) Forum

Remembered Today:

'Passchendaele': world famous?


greatspywar

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Jan - have sent you a bigger version of the picture by email.

Menin Road is rather a narrow street in a small housing estate built in the 1930s. There are no other Great War street names in the area.

Tom

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Guys

There is suburb called Delville in Germiston about 18 kms east of Johannesburg (South Africa) where all the streets are named after battles and places made famous in WW1 eg Arras road, Ballieul road, Menin Road, Menin square, Menin circus, Ostend road, Passchendaele road, St Omer, Verdun road, Verdun cicus, Vimy ridge etc etc.

As Gr Britain is cursed with statue melters and book burners, so has South Africa name changers and we often have historical names changed to suit some other view of history and this is not helped by having 11 official languages (ask the Belgians about ABN and French).

Thanks

Carl Hoehler

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Guys

There is suburb called Delvillein Germiston about 18 kms east of Johannesburg (South Africa) where all the streets are named after battles and places made famous in WW1 eg Arras road, Ballieul road, Menin Road, Menin square, Menin circus, Ostend road, Passchendaele road, St Omer, Verdun road, Verdun cicus, Vimy ridge etc etc.

As Gr Britain is cursed with statue melters and book burners, so has South Africa name changers and we often have historical names changed to suit some other view of history and this is not helped by having 11 official languages (ask the Belgians about ABN and French).

Thanks

Carl Hoehler

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Jan - while driving through the North West part of Derby this afternoon, I spotted this:

post-7-1152048267.jpg

And the very next street had this sign:

post-7-1152048338.jpg

Hope they will be of interest.

Tom

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Hello Tom,

Keep on driving... :)

Thanks, absolutely Fabulous! It's getting better and better.

Is there any online road atlas for the UK?

regards,

jan

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hello everybody,

I have done a quick internet research, and some interesting things popped up...

There are

- 2 street named Zonnebeke in Australia

- 13 streets named Menin in Australia

- 7 street named Passchendaele in Australia

- 4 streets named Ypres in Aus

- 5 streets named Polygon

- 7 str named Passchendaele in Canada

- 6 str named Menin

- 4 Polygon

- 12 streets Ypres in UK

- 21 st Menin

- 2 streets Ypres in New Zealand

Can anyone provide me with photos or details on some of the streets?

regards,

jan

- 4 Menin Road in New Zealand

- 2 Polygon Road in New Zealand

regards,

Jan

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Hi Jan

Info on Victoria, Australia:

Menin:

There are 2 Menin Roads in the outer Melbourne suburbs - 1 in Nunawading & 1 at Monbulk - both these areas are places I frequent at times - so chances are I'll be able to get you some shots in the the next month or so.

There's also a Menin Ave in Warracknabeal (NW Victoria)

Passchendaele:

There's a Passchendaele Street in the Melbourne suburb of Hampton

[different spelling below]

A Paschendale Avenue in Mildura (NW Victoria)

And a Paschendale Road in the Shire of Glenelg, near the town of Merino (SW Victoria)

Happy hunting, Frev :)

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Great idea Jan.

I wonder were you got it from ;)

unfrotunally you make a classical mistake... :ph34r: think very hard. B)

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Hi Frev,

I'm already looking forward to the photos!! I wish I could do it myself, but that's not on this year's programme.... :huh:

cheers,

Jan

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Jan

There was a WW1 Soldier Settlement Scheme in the Hamilton area in the western region of Victoria.

The Soldiers Memorial Hall, now on a rather desolated country road, was the starting point from which a Victorian Schoolteacher traced the stories of some Victorian servicemen with their families for the 75th anniversary of the Anzac Landings. The ABC produced a video called "Somewhere in France" and I think the teachers was Gurrie or Guthrey. [spelt Pashendale I think]

In Queensland there was another SSS in a fruitgrowing district. This was famous for a railway branch or feeder line from Amiens to Passchendaele through several other western front named sidings. A folk song tells a story of this, the "Amiens Branch Line".

Both of the above can be located on www.whereis.com

In Melbourne the Drill Hall in Pascoe Vale is still called Menin Barracks in memory of the many men of the local prewar Militia unit that fought with Australia's 7th Battalion in the Battle across the Menin Rd and the other 3rd Ypres Battles.

There is also a poem about the Menin Gate which starts

What are you guarding Master at Arms

Why do you watch and wait

I guard the graves said the Master at Arms

I guard the graves by the Flanders Farms

Where the dead will rise at my call to arms

and march to the Menin gate

The poem has been posted to the web at http://www.peoplesvoice.gov.au/stories/qld/roma/roma_w.htm

Jan, you may find the story of Roma (Queensland) 's tribute to the Roma Men on the Menin Wall

more interesting than the poem. If the link wont work a google of Roma men etc will

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Jan

Have just read the discussion on Gordon Kemp.

Co-incidently a relative had the memorabilia of an Australian 6th Division Kemp who was killed on the Menin Rd on 20/9/17. Amongst them was a receipt for the purchase of a booklet containing the names of those appearing on his panel of the Menin Gate. That booklet and the memoabilia are now held by a Mornington Peninsular RSL Club.

On the TV proram mentioned above, Kemp's daughter-in-law and 2 of his grandsons were shown laying a wreath under that panel. Its a small world.

And have also just realised the Paschendale Rd in the Shire of Merino would be the locatiion of the Memorial Hall featured in the TV show.

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There is a hamlet in Nova Scotia (Canada) which is still named 'Passchendaele".

Erwin

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I passed through Derby (UK) over the weekend noticed there was a housing estate called IIRC 'Memorial Estate' and I saw a 'Menin Road' and a 'Somme Road'...

Regards,

Neil

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Great idea Jan.

I wonder were you got it from ;)

unfrotunally you make a classical mistake... :ph34r: think very hard. B)

We are all anxious to know Kristof. Release us from our pain and agony... .

What classical mistake are we making?

greets,

Jan

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi Jan

This is the photo of the Menin Rd sign in Nunawading, Victoria - it's a residential street. I'm curious to know if there's an interesting story behind its naming - but too busy at the moment to be too curious - sorry.

post-4363-1154949952.jpg

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New Zealand:

Somme Street, Christchurch

Somme Crescent, Hamilton

Somme Parade, Wanganui

Somme Road, Wellington

Flers Street, Wellington

Ypres Street, Napier

Menin Road, Napier

Menin Road, Wellington

Messines Road, Wellington

Messines Avenue, Upper Hutt, Wellington

Messines Street, Leeston (runs parallel to Gallipoli Street)

Verdun Street, Riverton

(But there are 30 roads/streets etc with 'Anzac', and 4 named 'Gallipoli'.)

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hi Frev,

Can you send me the photo by email?

Thanks a lot! I hope there is more to follow? :unsure:

regards,

Jan

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Not WW1 but in the next street to Coronation Street in the soap is Inkerman Street.

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Inkerman is Crimean War isn't it? I think I have read something about that battle whilst studying, but I can't remember... . Crimean War is not something we learn in Belgian schools... .

regards,

Jan

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  • 2 months later...

I was in Napier (Hawkes Bay, New Zealand) this weekend and took the following photo. The 'No Exit' is strangely appropriate, dont you think?

post-13541-1161722108.jpg

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Hi there,

Thank you for the photo! No exit is unfortunatly very appropriate... .

More photos and info on streetnames etc are always welcome!

regards,

Jan

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  • 13 years later...
On 27/06/2006 at 15:04, frev said:

Hi Jan - haven't checked out whether 'Zonnebeke' is still named so today - it would probably depend on whether any of John Catto's descendants carried it on after his death in 1972. Will look into it ...... eventually! So, don't have any photos of the orchard (or it's name) - but have a photo of John (in uniform) if that's of interest. Will send it with my research just incase.

Cheers, Frev

The orchard no longer remains. It was sold in 1981. The property is still called Zonnebeke. 

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