Ceremony in Belgium to remember Passchendaele

New Zealanders and the people of Belgium will come together at a series of memorial services to mark the 90th anniversary of the Battle of Passchendaele in Belgium from 4 – 12 October.

Two official ceremonies will be held at ‘s Graventafel and Tyne Cot in Belgium on 4 October. New Zealand representatives at the ceremonies will include the Prime Minister supported by Chief of Defence Force Lieutenant General Jerry Mateparae, Chief of Army Major General Lou Gardiner, New Zealand Defence Force personnel from the United Kingdom and New Zealand, veterans, and Government officials. Australian and Belgian representatives will also attend the ceremonies.

“The Battle of Passchendaele was one of the bloodiest of World War I,” said Lieutenant General Jerry Mateparae.

“October 12 1917 is the most disastrous day in our military history. In just two hours more than 2800 men were killed, wounded or listed as missing in action.

“The name Passchendaele conjures up images of stinking mud, shell holes filled with water, a desolate wasteland. The courage under fire exhibited by the men who fought here provide an example to us all.”

The first ceremony on 4 October will be held at ‘s Graventafel at 9.30am and will be followed by an ANZAC service at Tyne Cot Cemetery at 11.00am. Two further ceremonies will be held on 12 October.

ENDS

Background
The Third Battle of Ypres, also known as Passchendaele, was one of the major battles of World War I, fought by British, ANZAC and Canadian soldiers against the German Army in 1917. The aim of the battle was to break through the German defences and capture Passchendaele Ridge then drive north to the Belgian coast and capture the German submarine bases there. After three months of fierce fighting the town was finally taken by the Canadian forces, but the allies suffered almost half a million casualties, and the Germans almost a quarter of a million.

Allied soldiers who lost their lives at Passchendaele are commemorated at the Menin Gate Memorial in Ypres, the Tyne Cot Memorial to the Missing and at the Tyne Cot and neighbouring Commonwealth War Graves cemeteries. Tyne Cot is the largest Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery in the world with nearly 12,000 graves, including 519 New Zealanders, 322 of them unidentified.