Passchendaele, November 1917

Squire nagged and bullied till I went to fight, 
(Under Lord Derby’s Scheme). I died in hell— 
(They called it Passchendaele). My wound was slight, 
And I was hobbling back; and then a shell 
Burst slick upon the duck-boards: so I fell 
Into the bottomless mud, and lost the light. 
....
From Memorial Tablet a poem by Siegfried Sassoon

Yesterday marked the 100th anniversary of the end of the Battle of Passchendaele, when the 1st and 2nd Canadian Divisions captured their objective,  the village of Passchendaele. The battle had begun in July 1917 and by the time it was over, the casualties numbered around 260,000 on each side. the

This copy of a famous photograph shows most vividly the utterly appalling conditions suffered by the soldiers. Taken in early November, 1917 it shows men of the Canadian 16th Machine Gun Corps. The man closest to the camera was Private Reginald Le Brun; he was the only man in the photograph who was to survive the battle, living to the age of 87.

On a happier note, a huge thank you to you all for the many kind words on yesterday's 2,500th blip. I am very grateful.