On Tuesday the West Flemish municipalities of Ieper and Langemark-Poelkapelle commemorated the first gas attack during WWI. It happened exactly 110 years ago in the hamlet of Steenstrate, on the border of Bikschote and Zuidschote.
During the attack, the Germans unleashed chlorine gas for the first time. The victims were French troops. In the process, thousands were killed. Many relatives of victims attended the commemoration including Dominique. This 78-year-old Frenchman is the grandson of one of the soldiers killed.
Grandson donates letters to In Flanders Fields
To mark the occasion, Dominique donated dozens of letters to the In Flanders Fields Museum in Ieper, including several from his grandparents. The museum previously had the digital versions of the letters, so now it is also receiving the originals.
‘They are letters from two lovers, Angèle and Georges,’ explains Annick Vandenbilcke, who works at the museum. 'A couple who clearly loved each other. They had 3 children. The husband signed up for the army and went off to war. It is mainly Angèle's letters to her husband that have been preserved.'
'There are fewer letters from her husband. But then communication falls silent and Angèle's long search follows. Desperate, she writes to several different agencies hoping to get some news of her husband. It’s heart-wrenching stuff. You sense in her letters that against her better judgement she keeps hoping he will turn up."
The museum tries to respond to people's personal stories as much as it can. To this day, they still receive letters, diaries, photos, and the like.
Special Last Post at Menin Gate
The gas attack was commemorated at several places including at the Cross of Reconciliation in Steenstrate and the Brooding Soldier war memorial in Langemark-Poelkapelle. The Last Post at the Menin Gate was also dedicated to this darkest of anniversaries.