Monument Francis Ledwige

This monument, where the Irish flag can often be seen flying, was erected to the memory of the Irish nationalist poet Francis Ledwidge. Ledwidge fought in the Galipolli campaign in Turkey in 1915, taking part in the landing at Suvla Bay. On 31 July 1917 he was in Flanders, helping to lay a new roadway close to the Poezelstraat, when a shell exploded almost alongside him, killing him instantly. The Welsh nationalist poet Hedd Wyn (E.H. Evans) was also killed nearby that same day.

They are now both buried a few hundred metres further down the road in Artillery Wood Cemetery; Ledwidge in plot II, row B, grave 5 and Wyn in plot II, row F, grave 11.

Ledwidge only published a single volume of poems during his lifetime, but many of his works appeared individually in newspapers and magazines. After his death, two further volumes were published, thanks to the generosity of a benefactor. In a war full of curious coincidences, the deaths of Ledwidge and Hedd Wyn on the same day, almost on the same spot, was one of the most curious of all. On 6 September 1917, Wyn was awarded 'the bard's chair' as the best poet at the Welsh National Eisteddfod. The entries were anonymous, so that the jury did not know he had already been killed. This honour is also mentioned on his headstone, which bears the inscription Y Prifardd Hedd Wyn (The Chief Bard, Hedd Wyn).

Both poets were 30 years old, died within hours of each other and are now buried just a few metres apart.

Vl. Toeristisch bezienswaardigheden