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

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

situated alongside the Guards Chapel at

Wellington Barracks Wellington Barracks is a military barracks in Westminster, central London, for the Foot Guards units on public duties in that area. The building is located about from Buckingham Palace, allowing the guard to be able to reach the palace very q ...

in Central London, England. The garden was opened by Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom 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 19219 April 2021), was the husband of Queen Elizabeth II. As such, he was the consort of the British monarch from h ...

and

Prince William, Duke of Cambridge William, Prince of Wales (William Arthur Philip Louis; born 21 June 1982), is the heir apparent to the British throne. He is the elder son of King Charles III and Diana, Princess of Wales. William was born during the reign of his pat ...

were also in attendance, alongside soldiers of the

Household Division The Household Division forms a part of the British Army's London District (British Army), London District and is made up of five regiments of foot guards#United Kingdom, foot guards and two Household Cavalry regiments. The division is responsible f ...

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 ( or ; ) is the Dutch language, Dutch-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 culture, la ...

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 ...

" 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 th ...

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

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

. 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 Prince Laurent of Belgium (Laurent Benoît Baudouin Marie de Saxe-Cobourg; born 19 October 1963) is the second son and youngest child of King Albert II and Queen Paola, and younger brother of King Philippe. Currently, he is 15th in the Belgi ...

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 of Nations, Commonwealth and Veterans Day in the United States, is commemorated every year on 11 November to mark Armistice of 11 November 1918, the armistice signed between th ...

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

, who loaded the soil onto a

gun carriage A gun carriage is a frame or a mount that supports the gun barrel of an artillery piece, allowing it to be maneuvered and fired. These platforms often had wheels so that the artillery pieces could be moved more easily. Gun carriages are also use ...

of the King's Troop. From Belgium the soil was transported by sea by the

Belgian Navy The Belgian Navy, officially the Naval Component (, ; , ; , ) of the Belgian Armed Forces, is the Navy, naval service of Belgium. History Early history The Belgian Navy was created as the ''Marine Royale'' () on 15 January 1831. This force ...

'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 cruiser (1936), 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 ...

. 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, London 2014 in London Buildings and structures in the City of Westminster Centenary of the outbreak of World War I Gardens in London World War I memorials in London 2014 establishments in England

Design

See also

Gallery

References

External links