Pervijze

This is an old observation tower that was increased in height during the Second World War (red brick). Throughout the First World War Pervijze was very close to the front line. It remained in Allied hands until the Armistice, by which time the village had been almost completely destroyed.

Pervijze became internationally famous thank to the exploits of Mairi Chisholm and Elsie Knocker, two Red Cross nurses who turned a cellar in the village into an aid post just behind the first line of trenches. Almost single-handedly, these two redoubtable women filled in the gaps in the medical care provided by the Belgian Army at the front. The army command was not keen to have women so close to the firing line, but their work - often using scrounged cars and lorries - undoubtedly saved many lives.

The pair quickly achieved considerable fame and were frequently visited by journalists, both domestic and foreign. Later in the war, Elsie Knocker married Baron ’t Serclaes. To make this marriage possible, she concealed her divorce from her first husband. When this became known, it not only ended her marriage but also her friendship with Mairi Chisholm. The two barely spoke again.

Chisholm and Knocker were not the only nurses in Pervijze. Helen Gleason also worked here for three months.

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