Plugstreet Interpretation Centre

You are now close to Ploegsteert Woods - or Plugstreet, as the English used to call it. It is worth taking your time to explore a little. In the wood itself there are a number of small British cemeteries. Nearer the village there are a number of larger cemeteries and the Ploegsteert Memorial to the Missing. But if you want to learn about the story of the place before you start, you first need to visit the Plugstreet Interpretation Centre.

This centre will tell you everything you need to know about the lives of soldiers and civilians in Ploegsteert during the First World War. Personal testimonies, authentic photographs, films, maps, newspapers and artefacts are all used to give a realistic impression of the war years in this quiet corner of Belgium. You will learn more about the Mine Battle of Messines, the Christmas Truce, the famous football game between the British and the Germans, the underground complex at the Catacombs. The centre also plans to hold a number of temporary thematic exhibitions in the future.

The Memorial to the Missing, the Catacombs and the cemeteries in the wood can all be visited on foot from here. For the Khaki Chums Cross it is advisable to take your car.

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