Lest we forget

13/10/2010 12:58:00 p.m.

Belgium Ambassador Patrick Renault.

Although there is no official commemoration of the deadliest battle (for us) of the first World War the visiting Belgian Ambassador took a moment on Tuesday to lay a wreath at the National War Memorial
More than 2700 New Zealanders who died at the battle of Passchendale were remembered by the Ambassador Patrick Renault as he laid it.
“ In terms of lives lost in a single day, this remains the blackest in New Zealand’s post 1840 existence” said Belgium’s honorary consul, Don Staples
Massey University lecturer John Moreman says the Wellington Battalion was involved in the battle, and on this day the objective was a position called Bellevue Spur, and turned into another costly failed attack which were really symptomatic of the campaign.
He says that although this date is not recognised as one of the bigger dates for remembering World War I, its significance is none diminished.
“We’re gearing up for the 100th anniversary of WWI. These commemorations will continue, but get bigger with the centenary. The thing to remember with Belgium is that in a sense they remember all year round on our behalf. Every day a bugle is sounded in Messines to remember the dead”

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