The Messines Ridge (New Zealand) Memorial is a

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...

memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or works of ...

, located in Messines Ridge British Cemetery, near the town of Mesen,

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

. The memorial lists 827 officers and men of the

New Zealand Expeditionary Force The New Zealand Expeditionary Force (NZEF) was the title of the military forces sent from New Zealand to fight alongside other British Empire and Dominion troops during World War I (1914–1918) and World War II (1939–1945). Ultimately, the NZE ...

with no known grave who died in or near Messines in 1917 and 1918.Messines Ridge (New Zealand) Memorial
Commonwealth War Graves Commission, retrieved 22 February 2011 This period included the Battle of Messines.

History

The memorial, designed by the English architect

Charles Holden Charles is a masculine given name predominantly found in English and French speaking countries. It is from the French form ''Charles'' of the Proto-Germanic name (in runic alphabet) or ''*karilaz'' (in Latin alphabet), whose meaning was " ...

, is one of seven such memorials on the

Western Front Western Front or West Front may refer to: Military frontiers * Western Front (World War I), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (World War II), a military frontier to the west of Germany *Western Front (Russian Empire), a maj ...

to the missing dead from New Zealand. The others are located at

Buttes New British Cemetery Buttes New British Cemetery is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission burial ground for the dead of the First World War located in the Ypres Salient in Belgium on the Western Front. History Many of the men buried in the cemetery died as a result o ...

Caterpillar Valley Cemetery Caterpillar Valley Cemetery is a World War I Commonwealth War Graves Commission cemetery in Longueval, France. The cemetery is named after Caterpillar Valley which was the name given by the British army to the long valley which rises eastwards t ...

, Grevillers,

Tyne Cot Tyne Cot Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery and Memorial to the Missing is a Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) burial ground for the dead of the First World War in the Ypres Salient on the Western Front. It is the largest cemetery for Common ...

, Cite Bonjean, and Marfaux. The land on which the cemetery and memorial were constructed had been the site of a mill (the Moulin d'Hospice) belonging to the Institute Royal de Messines (a Belgian orphanage and school, itself formerly a Benedictine abbey). The mill dated from 1445, but was destroyed during the war, with the memorial erected where the mill once stood. Other memorials in the Mesen area to the forces of New Zealand include a white stone obelisk a short distance to the south. This obelisk, one of several National Memorials erected by New Zealand, was unveiled by

King Albert I of Belgium Albert I (8 April 1875 – 17 February 1934) was King of the Belgians from 23 December 1909 until his death in 1934. Born in Brussels as the fifth child and second son of Prince Philippe, Count of Flanders and Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-Si ...

on 1 August 1924. This obelisk is now part of the New Zealand Memorial Park.The Western Front Today - New Zealand Memorial and Park/Bunkers
firstworldwar.com, retrieved 22 February 2011 Annual remembrance services take place at the memorials in and around Mesen on

Anzac Day , image = Dawn service gnangarra 03.jpg , caption = Anzac Day Dawn Service at Kings Park, Western Australia, 25 April 2009, 94th anniversary. , observedby = Australia Christmas Island Cocos (Keeling) Islands Cook Islands Ne ...

Footnotes and references

{{Reflist

External links

Commonwealth War Graves Commission details of the MemorialMessines Ridge (New Zealand) Memorial
(Belgian heritage register)
Catalogue entry for the Memorial register
(National Library of Australia)
Photograph of the memorial
(CWGC) Commonwealth War Graves Commission memorials World War I memorials in Belgium World War I cemeteries in Belgium New Zealand military memorials and cemeteries Charles Holden buildings

History

Footnotes and references

Further reading

External links