New Ypres League
You may be familiar with the original Ypres League, the First World War remembrance society which was founded in 1921 which grew rapidly to be the first remembrance organization of its kind In Ypres. Totaling around 35,000 members, the Ypres League published a journal, the Ypres Times, as well as guidebooks and maps to the Ypres Salient. Besides acting as a brotherhood for those who fought there, the Ypres League wanted to perpetuate the historical and symbolical significance of Ypres to the British Empire and believed it their sacred duty to maintain the memory of those who fought and fell in its defence.
Remembrance in the Ypres Salient of today presents us with a whole new set of unique challenges. The last veterans of the Great War left us a few years ago but remembering the fallen in the Salient is still as relevant today as it was in the 1920s and 30s. Although the Great War ended over 100 years ago, the Salient still regularly gives up its grisly harvest. The remains of over 55,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers lay unrecovered in the cold clay of Flanders, with many sets of these remains recovered each year in the Salient. Once the remains have gone through the identification process, they are reburied with military honours in one of the many CWGC cemeteries in the area.
These ceremonies and the sacrifice made by these soldiers require official recognition in the form of wreath laying and the attendance of a standard bearer. In addition to the burials there are many ceremonies that require official attendance, anniversaries of major battles, special Last Post ceremonies, visits from VIPS all of which require official attendance. However, as time marches on, there are fewer and fewer people and organisations available to perform these tasks.
Therefore, more than 80 years after the demise of its predecessor, it has been decided to found a New Ypres League. The founding members are British and Belgian residents of Ypres supported by a handful of regular British visitors to the city, all with a track record in enhancing the interest in the First World War, and remembrance. The New Ypres League is a registered ‘VZW’, a not-for-profit association according to Belgian Law, with Luitenant-Kolonel Isabelle Lahaye, Militair Commandant van de Provincie West-Vlaanderen graciously agreeing to become Patron of the organization.
The aims of the New Ypres League are based on the core values of the original Ypres League:
1. To continue our commitment and obligation to the fallen by commemorating all soldiers who lost their lives in the Ypres Salient during the Great War, by attending burial, rededication and memorial services with a standard bearer and a wreath layer.
2. To restore the historic relationship between the Ypres League and St Georges Memorial Church in Ypres.
3. To reinstate Ypres Day, October 31st as a commemoration day in the city of Ypres.
4. To monitor the condition and status of the Demarcation Stones funded by the Ypres League in the 1920s, and consider funding any restoration needed if possible. It especially hopes to establish the whereabouts of the ‘lost’ Demarcation Stone No 21 at Wieltje, which was funded by the Ypres League, and strives to have this re-erected at the original site.
5. To foster good relations between the people of Ypres and visitors from the Commonwealth.
6. To introduce a programme of information boards relevant to the Ypres League at relevant sites.
7. To build relationships with the city of Ypres, its surrounding towns and all our fellow remembrance organisations in the area.
Besides attending burial, rededication and other memorial services, the New Ypres League will honour the following remembrance dates with a standard bearer and a wreath layer:
October 27th - death of Prince Maurice of Battenberg, buried in Ypres Town Cemetery.
October 31st - Ypres Day as commemorated by the original league.
Nov 11th and 12th - Armistice Day and other commemorations.
Sep 6 – Liberation of Ypres in the Second World War.
May 8 – VE Day.
If you wish to find out more about the organization or financially support us by becoming a member or by donating, please visit the website.
Thank You for your support.
Kind Regards
Roger Steward/Dominiek Dendooven
Founders of the New Ypres League
www.newypresleague.com
email newypresleague@gmail.com
Remember to Help us Remember Them.