This weekend we remember the thousands of soldiers who lost their lives in the Battle of Passendaele.
The Mud soldier erected in Trafalgar Square is made from sand and mud taken from Flanders fields. It is here as a reminder of the struggle and sacrifice made by all the men who fought in the battle. With the tremendous amount of rain we have had in the past 24 hours I doubt there is much of the soldier left.
The battle took place on the Western Front in Flanders, Belgium between 31st July and 10th November 1917 and was one of the deadliest clashes during the First World War.
In just over 3 months 500,000 soldiers fell or were wounded as incessant rain turned the trenches into a sea of mud. Men and horses drowned and tanks got stuck in the quagmire.
'Lest we forget'
Sharing with My world Tuesday
I rather like that it will decay quickly. There is analogy there somewhere but I can't put it into words.
ReplyDeleteAll those deads, always so sad to hear. A nice tribute this sculpture although it will have collapsed I am afraid too.
ReplyDeleteHow interesting, and sad as well. I think it's a wonderful tribute to those who died. Thank you for sharing this with me.
ReplyDeleteWouldn't you like to go back in time and try the officers for war crimes, who day after day ordered their men out of their trenches to run at machine guns? The definition of insanity. There was no one who asked, 'does this make sense?'
ReplyDeleteThat's a remarkable sculpture. Good to remember the horrors of war so they are not repeated.
ReplyDeleteI saw that on TV yesterday evening. The Royal couple is expected too and Prince Charles.
ReplyDeleteI caught a bit of it on television last night. I never heard of the mud sculpture though. I think it is even more poignant that its face is starting to slide off, as if he were deteriorating for real in the mud in Flanders.
ReplyDeleteWhat a poignant statue.
ReplyDeleteWorth a Thousand Words
What a perfect idea for a memorial statue for those soldiers.
ReplyDeleteWell done for posting about this. The mud sculpture is a brilliant idea and I hadn't seen photos of it before. I have visited the Ypres Salient several times; it is humbling and moving and - oh, so many things. Knowing about it's one thing; understanding is quite another. Passchendaele itself has been completely rebuilt. It was eventually taken by the Canadians and, I believe, lost in the German offensive the following March, before being retaken again...
ReplyDeleteVery interesting sculptures.
ReplyDeleteWhat an incredibly meaningful post! Thanks for sharing because it’s all too easy to forget.
ReplyDeleteWhat a wonderful sculpture to remember the battle. The fact that it's made out of mud and sand is so meaningful when you think of how soldiers fought in the muddy trenches and battlefields of that war, and how fleeting and fragile human life and our time on earth is. Gives me shivers!
ReplyDeleteAn amazingly creative way to remember this beyond-sad event. I'm fascinated that someone thought of this way to commemorate the battle.
ReplyDeleteI don´t want to remember, I don´t want war to exist in the first place.
ReplyDeleteSuch sacrifice and misery those poor men endured.
ReplyDeleteThat is such an incredible monument. What a terrible toll that was took.
ReplyDeleteI saw that on TV yesterday evening. The Royal couple is expected too and Prince Charles.
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It seems appropriate that it rained on the mud soldier just like it did in the war.
ReplyDeleteFound this post through Marianne's links. The centennial of that fight looms large for Canadians. I've featured something on it in my post for today actually.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing, good to see you are still blogging and travelling. Just enjoyed a catch up here.
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