World War One battlefields : the Irish Peace Tower of Messines (Mesen) under cloudy sky
(Browse the collection : West Flanders Province time lapse and video stock footage)
The Irish Peace Park in Messines has been a national memorial for Ireland in the Westhoek since 1998. The round rough stone tower, 30 meters high, is a typical Irish symbol and commemorates all Irish soldiers who died during WW I. The tower contains the ‘war memorial books’ by John French (1922) with the names of ca. 49,000 Irish casualties.
The Peace Park also refers to the 1917 Mine Battle when the Catholic “16th (Irish) Division” and Protestant Irish soldiers “36th (Ulster) Division” fought side by side.
In the Irish Peace Park in Mesen, a round tower serves as a memorial in honour of Irishmen of all denominations who died during the First World War. The tower transcends religious and political differences, aspiring to be a symbol of reconciliation, not only for the past, but also for the present and the future. During the Battle of Messines, which started on 7 June 1917, the Catholic and Protestant Irish divisions fought side by side to gain the ridge on which the village of Wijtschate and the town of Mesen stand.
This was the second time I visited the WW1 Irish Peace Park at Messines, or Mesen as it is now known in Flemish, not far from Ieper. The first occasion was to commemorate the centenary of the start of the Battle of Messines on 7th June 2017.
File names, codec and sizes | ||
mespea01_fhd | mespea01_5K+ | mespea01_web |
Mov ProRes 422 HQ | Mov ProRes 422 HQ | H264 Mp4 |
121 Mo | 1,14 Go | 5,43 Mo |