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Memorial for the executed soldiers. Photo: © WO1-archief Poperinge
The touchable authenticity of Poperinge TEXT: ELLA PUT
During the First World War, there was a small town where it seems as if the horrors of the war did not affect. A century later, the events of that time have been put in the past, but the stories are still very much alive in every corner of the Flemish town of Poperinge. Situated about eight miles in the west of Ypres, the picturesque town of Poperinge played an important role during the First World War. Being one of the only two towns in Belgium not occupied by the Germans, the town proved to be a beacon of rest and hope for soldiers who 20 | Issue 57 | September 2018
were going to the battlefield as well as those who had just left it. “Poperinge was unoccupied and therefore used as a safe area for British troops and field hospitals,” says Raf Craenhals, manager at Talbot House in Poperinge. Known by the English as Pop, the town formed an important link for soldiers and their families, especially in Talbot House. Craenhals explains: “Talbot House was a place for rest and recreation where soldiers of all ranks could unwind and forget about the horrors of the field. It was ‘joie
de vivre’ during war. One last time to enjoy life, because if you were sent into the battlefields the next day, it could also well be your last night.”
A place to reunite With its convenient location, Poperinge was a busy transfer station where hundreds of troops on their way to and from the battlefields of Flanders were billeted. It was the perfect place for the British Army to open a resting house. Most soldiers were situated in camps outside of the town, with Poperinge becoming the place-to-be for nightlife and pleasure. The