The August Pilgrimage to Ypres.
118
THE Y PEES TIMES
baggage. Sleeping accommodation for the party had been arranged in four
different hotels, all situated in the Grand' Place, and meals were served in the large
dining-room of the Hotel Splendid and Britannique, where the pilgrims assembled.
On Sunday morning our first thought was the Menin Gate, on which the many
inscriptions sought for were found without difficulty and wreatbs deposited. Those
pilgrims who had not brought floral offerings with them made purchases at a local
nursery-garden, and were thus able to lay their tributes with the rest. While the
making of these wreaths was in progress, the gardener, hospitably inclined, invited
his customers to feast off his excellent crop of currants and gooseberries.
After an early luncheon the photograph here shown was taken. The party
then proceeded by cars to Tyne Cot, where an hour was spent for the benefit of
those who had names of relatives inscribed on the Memorial. Next followed a
short itinerary of the battlefields, made by request of the pilgrims themselves.
Among the places of historical interest visited wereSt. Julienhere the British
line was established in November, 1914, and in April, 1915, the Germans launched
the first gas attackBroodseinde, Kruiseecke and Gheluevlt, famous for the 2nd
Worcesters' gallant and successful charge on October 31st, 1914 (this date has
been chosen as Ypres Day, the day on which the Ypres League holds its annual
commemoration at the Cenotaph)Inverness Copse, Clapham Junction, Sanctuary
Wood and Hoogewhere on July 30th, 1915, the Germans used liquid fire for the
first timeBirr Cross-roads, Hell Fire Corner, where we crossed the Ypres-Roulers
Railway to Zillebeke, which remained in British hands until the withdrawal in
1918; Hill 60, the scene of some of the most desperate fighting of the war (a large
mine crater was exploded here during the attack in June, 1917, on Messines);
Railway Dug-outs, Shrapnel Corner, making our entry into Ypres by the Lille
Gate.
The pilgrims were deeply interested in all they had seen and greatly
impressed by the magnificence of the Menin Gate and Tyne Cot Memorials.
The beautifully-kept cemeteries made a specially touching appeal to many.
A service, largely attended by the pilgrims, was conducted by the Rev. G. R.
Milner, M.A., in the Church Army Hostel, at 6.30 p.m. Thus came to a fitting
close a day consecrated to the memory of Sacrifice.
On July 2nd we turned our faces homewards and again fine weather favoured
us, adding another happy memory to an experience which is always one of
commingled feelings of pain and pleasure.
Many of those who took part in this free Pilgrimage have since written appre
ciative letters, the dominant note of which is gratitude for the comfort and
consolation the visit has been the means of bringing to their lonely and grieving
hearts.
I ALWAYS had an inclination to revisit Ypres, and to see it once more in its new
form, but, being a very bad sailor, I thought twice, or rather three or four
times, before facing so unpleasant an ordeal as crossing the Channel!
However, I decided to risk it, and, armed with my little green booklet of
tickets of many colours, and a box of peace be still" tabloids, hoped for the
best while expecting the worst, in which I was justified, and I must draw a veil
over the rest of the voyage.
From Ostend we jogged along merrily in the Rapide and had a most
enjoyable journey to our destination. On our arrival at Ypres station rain was
