LORD FRENCH TO THE NATION. 22 The Ypres Times. This month, the seventh anniversary of the birth of the Ypres Salient, has been signalized by the following letter to the Press by F.-M. Earl French, the President of the Ypres League. To large numbers of men who served in France and Flanders during the Great War, and to the relatives of many who fell in action, the name Ypres holds the most tragic and heroic memories. The defence of that old Salient, which was the way to the coast, cost the lives of 250,000 British soldiers, and in the three great battles of Ypres our liberties and honour as an Empire were saved by the supreme courage of our hard-pressed men. At all times, and especially in the rainy seasons (which lasted so longthe Ypres Salient was a hard place for men who served there. In mud, in water-logged trenches, under continual gunfire which reached far behind the lines, it demanded a grim ordeal of service, so that ex-soldiers who say to each other now I was at Ypres" have said enough. They understand each other. What Verdun means to France, Ypres means to us. It is for that reason that an Ypres League has been formed. Its membership is open to all who served in the Salient, in order that they may have a record of that service for themselves and their descendants, and belong to the comradeship of men who understand and remember all that Ypres meant in suffering and endurance. The Ypres Scroll, beautifully designed, is issued as a Certificate of Membership to those who pay a small subscription, and may also be obtained by relatives as a memorial of honour to those who fell in the Salient. The Ypres League has other objects which should have, I think, a permanent interest. Preparations are already in hand to preserve Ypres, a Roll of Honour recording, if possible, the name of every soldier who fell in the defence. It is also proposed to establish a Hostelry, where accommodation may be provided for those who wish to visit the graves and battlefields in the Salient, and where maps, information concerning historic sites, and guidance of every possible kind will be available, the hostelry to be endowed with free beds for those who cannot afford a hotel. It is suggested that this Hostelry should become a special memorial of the Ypres League, its panelled walls recording the names, in Divisions, of those who fell in action thereabouts, and in other ways serving as a reminder of what happened on that ground. For the purpose of founding that Hostelry funds will be needed beyond the annual subscription of membership, and I hope they may be generously forthcoming'as a tribute to the spirit of the Ypres defence. Membership of the League is a privilege of which, I think, no soldier, of whatever rank, who served in the Salient should fail to avail himself, and I shall be very glad if any word of mine may assist the League to get that large membership by which alone its spirit and purpose may be fulfilled. Contributions to the erection of the Hostelry snould be thus ear-marked, and sent to the Secretary. THE PRINCE OF WALES, as a soldier who knew the Salient well, and as a Patron of the League, has written to say that he warmly supports the appeal which is being made, and trusts it will meet with a generous response. FRENCH OF YPRES.

HISTORISCHE KRANTEN

The Ypres Times (1921-1936) | 1923 | | pagina 22