“The war to end all wars”, that was what they had sworn in 1918. Reality is however different. A few weeks ago I went to the ‘Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917’, a museum that will give you a good insight in what happened in the neighbourhood during WW I. In the museum they have recreated a ‘dug out’ an a series of trenches, so you can literally experience part of the war.
Somewhat astonishing is the collection of ammunition: incredibly colourful… Vibrant colours that we would associate with toys, not with the horror of war… And the collection of the first gas masks looks more like masks of primitive tribes than an effective protection from a gas attack.
Eddy
PS: the museum is located near Tyne Cot cemetery, so it is easy to combine both.
