The Flanders Fields Memorial Garden is a monument dedicated to the participants of

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

situated alongside the Guards Chapel at

Wellington Barracks Wellington Barracks is a military barracks in Westminster, central London, for the Foot Guards battalions on public duties in that area. The building is located about three hundred yards from Buckingham Palace, allowing the guard to be able to ...

in Central London, England. The garden was opened by

Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...

and King Philippe of the Belgians on 6 November 2014.

Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh (born Prince Philip of Greece and Denmark, later Philip Mountbatten; 10 June 1921 – 9 April 2021) was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he served as the consort of the British monarch from E ...

and Prince William, Duke of Cambridge were also in attendance, alongside soldiers of the

Household Division Household Division is a term used principally in the Commonwealth of Nations to describe a country's most elite or historically senior military units, or those military units that provide ceremonial or protective functions associated directly with ...

Design

The garden was designed by the Belgian architect Piet Blanckaert. The garden features a 'circular grass bed' which holds soil collected from

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to cultu ...

in Belgium, the site of many battles in the Western Front of World War I and trees native to Flanders. The grass bed is inscribed with words from the poem "

In Flanders Fields "In Flanders Fields" is a war poem in the form of a rondeau, written during the First World War by Canadian physician Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae. He was inspired to write it on May 3, 1915, after presiding over the funeral of friend and ...

" by

John McCrae Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae (November 30, 1872 – January 28, 1918) was a Canadian poet, physician, author, artist and soldier during World War I, and a surgeon during the Second Battle of Ypres, in Belgium. He is best known for writing the ...

. A stone bench is also situated in the garden made from Flemish

bluestone Bluestone is a cultural or commercial name for a number of dimension or building stone varieties, including: * basalt in Victoria, Australia, and in New Zealand * dolerites in Tasmania, Australia; and in Britain (including Stonehenge) * fe ...

. The curator of the memorial garden, Andrew Wallis, said that the garden's design was "...full of meaningful features" and it was a "...wonderful fusion of Belgo-Anglo craftsmanship." The soil held in the grass bed was collected by children from 70 war cemeteries and battlefields in Flanders in 'ceremonies of remembrance'.

and

Prince Laurent of Belgium nl, Laurens Benedikt Boudewijn Maria ger, Laurentius Benedikt Balduin Maria , image = Prince Laurent of Belgium (2015 F).jpg , caption = Prince Laurent in 2015 , birth_date = , birth_place = Belvédère Castle, Laeken, Brussel ...

were present for the ceremony in Ypres to hand over the sandbags of soil for the memorial on

Armistice Day Armistice Day, later known as Remembrance Day in the Commonwealth and Veterans Day in the United States, is commemorated every year on 11 November to mark the armistice signed between the Allies of World War I and Germany at Compiègne, Fran ...

in 2013. The soil was carried by Belgian and British schoolchildren and soldiers from the British

, who loaded the soil onto a gun carriage of the King’s Troop. From Belgium the soil was transported by sea by the

Belgian Navy The Belgian Navy, officially the Belgian Naval Component ( nl, Marinecomponent; french: Composante marine; german: Marinekomponente ) of the Belgian Armed Forces, is the naval service of Belgium. History Early history The Belgian Navy w ...

's frigate ''Louisa Marie'' (F931) and was given to the British Army on 29 November 2013 while alongside

HMS Belfast } HMS ''Belfast'' is a Town-class light cruiser that was built for the Royal Navy. She is now permanently moored as a museum ship on the River Thames in London and is operated by the Imperial War Museum. Construction of ''Belfast'', the ...

. The sandbags were then transported through London on the original gun carriage to the memorial garden.

Gallery

File:Flanders Field Memorial Garden London 8.jpg File:Flanders Field Memorial Garden London 7.jpg File:Flanders Field Memorial Garden London.jpg File:Flanders Field Memorial Garden London 10.jpg File:Flanders Field Memorial Garden London 2.jpg File:Flanders Field Memorial Garden London 9.jpg File:Flanders Field Memorial Garden London 3.jpg File:Flanders Field Memorial Garden London 6.jpg

References

External links

* *
Flemish Government
{{Portal bar, Belgium, United Kingdom, War, London, World War I 2014 in London Buildings and structures in the City of Westminster Centenary of the outbreak of World War I Gardens in London Monuments and memorials in London World War I memorials in the United Kingdom

Design

See also

Gallery

References

External links