Goosefoot: drainage system of Veurne-Ambacht Canal

The Goosefoot
From here, the water level of the behind polders is managed.

October 29, 1914
Due to the slow flooding from the Kattesas, the Belgian military command decided to implement the first proposal from Karel Cogge. The discharge sluice of the drainage channel "Veurne-Ambachtvaart" and the Grote Beverdijkvaart would be used for this purpose.

Hendrik Geeraert (1863 - 1925) found the cranks. He, along with four engineering soldiers, opened the eight double sluice gates of the discharge sluice on the Veurne-Ambachtvaart. In an abandoned café, they waited until the tide began to lower the sluice gates again.

From here, the Yser plain, between the railway embankment of Nieuwpoort to Diksmuide and the Yser river, would remain flooded for the further course of the First World War. It ensured a "stable" Belgian front.

PaulDenis