THE YPRES TIMES
147
of the League, conducted under the chairmanship of the Committee's indefatigable
Chairman, Major E. Montague Jones, O.B.E.
These annual concerts have proved extremely popular functions of the League's
activities in London and certainly this occasion was no exception, the usual excellent
attendance being recorded, and amongst those present wereHis Excellency The
Belgian Ambassador; General-Major A. Nyssens (Military Attaché Belgian Embassy);
General de Brigade R. Voruz (Military Attaché French Embassy); Lieut.-General Sir
W. P. Pulteney, G.C.V.O., K.C.B., K.C.M.G., D.S.O.Colonel G. T. Brierley, C.M.G.,
D.S.O., and Major W. H. Brooke, M.C.
His Excellency who, although so obviously indisposed, paid the following remark-
able tribute to the memory of his late King, Albert of the Belgians:
I should like to take this opportunity of prefacing my remarks to-night with a few words of
thanks, spoken from my heart, for the very real sympathy extended to the Belgian people by the whole
world, but by Great Britain in particular, at a time of deep and heartfelt mourning on the occasion
of the tragic death of Albert, King of the Belgians, last February. This was an irreparable loss for
my country, but it served to prove to us, yet once more, that our English allies are indeed our very
good friends, and that our loss was their loss too. We were specially touched by the messages of
condolence from the Ypres League, for we felt that, more than any other body, perhaps, it could
understand and take part in our national mourning.
Yet every sorrow, however black, is relieved by some ray of hope, and the ray of hope that
is now lighting our future is the knowledge that our King Leopold III is admirably qualified to follow
in his father's footsteps. He has already proved, on many occasions, that our high expectations will
be fully justified. With such a Sovereign at the helm, Belgium can look forward with confidence to
the unknown future."
All those present were impressed by the eloquence of the Ambassador's speech
which we report verbatim:
There is no deeper bond, between individuals as between nations, than the memory of sacrifice
shared, in the same cause. Quite rightly, that picturesque little town of Ypres, which was rased to
the ground during the War and was so miraculously restored to life in recent years, remains for you
an emblem of British effort. It represents for Great Britain what Verdun may represent for France
and the Yser Front for Belgium.
It is useful to remind ourselves sometimes of these early events. We were so much taken by
surprise in 1914 that we were unable to judge them in their true perspective. The fall of Liège, that
of Namur, and later that of Antwerp, appeared to meet the Belgians as so many unexpected catas
trophes. But if we study detailed accounts of the events, as recorded for instance in the book of
Lieut. General Galet, who was, at the time, King Albert's military adviser, the retreat of the Belgian
Army from Antwerp, and its stubborn resistance on the Yser, appear nothing short of miraculous.
This book, Albert, King of the Belgians in the Great War has been admirably translated by Major
General Ernest Swinton.
The Battle lasted from the 16th to the 31st of October, 1914, and was the fierce prelude to the
first Battle of Ypres, which was prolonged until November 17th. From that moment, the two armies
were in co-operation.
You have chosen as your Ypres Day the nearest Sunday to the 31st October. That is
to-morrow. .May I remind you that, on the same date, the battle of the Yser came to a successful
end, and the Belgian troops, which had fought valiantly and almost alone for three months, under
most difficult conditions, were at last allowed some respite to reorganise and recuperate.
While glancing the other day through the excellent review published by your League, the
Ypres Times," I found several articles referring to my country. One on Liège Twenty Years
After," recalling the staunch resistance of the forts in the very first days of the struggle, another on
a visit paid by His Majesty King Leopold III to the Ypres British School. His Majesty enjoyed his
visit, and you all know that King Leopold spent several years at Eton, going to our trenches in
Flanders for His holidays.
I was particularly pleased to hear that Countess Haig, Viscountess Plumer, Lieut. - General
Sir William and Lady Pulteney were among those who received the King on this occasion. A third
article refers to the unveiling of the 13th Belgian Field Artillery Memorial at Ypres. I should like to
be allowed to add a few details to the information given by the Ypres Times on this occasion,
because we were rather proud of this Regiment, and because many people in this country are still
unaware of the origin and activities of the 13th Belgian Artillery. After the Battle of the Yser, the
Belgian Artillery was sorely depleted and the very first work undertaken by King Albert and His
Minister of War was its complete re-organisation and re-equipment. Guns were purchased from France,
horses from Great Britain, and the number of batteries soon became more than adequate for Belgian
requirements. It was thus possible to lend a Be gian unit to the British forces in the Ypres Salient,
and the 13th Belgian Artillery thus remained attached to the British Army and took part in all their
operations. By the way, you will be interested to know that one of the Belgian Officers attached
