New CWGC exhibition at the Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) has installed a new exhibition, telling the story of how our first cemeteries were created, at the Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917 in Zonnebeke, Belgium.

The museum, close to Tyne Cot Cemetery, reopens its doors to visitors on Saturday 1 February after renewing its offering and creating a family trail to help explain the Battle of Passchendaele to a younger audience.

The CWGC exhibition, “For Evermore: The Commonwealth War Graves Commission” tells the story of the recovery and burial of the bodies from the battlefields and how the cemeteries and memorials, spread across the world in over 23 000 locations, were designed, built and will be cared for in perpetuity. The CWGC’s contribution includes a notebook from one of our first gardeners and items from the Commission’s archive that have never left the UK before.

The Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917’s own displays now also include a diorama of the Belgian Army’s role in the First World War and an exhibition that highlights how they care for the 12,000 objects in their collection.

The family trail tells the story of two young children learning about the war through their grandad’s stories, guided by a character called Maurice the rat.

Geert Bekaert, director of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) for Western Europe Central, said: "The Commonwealth War Graves Commission has had a close collaboration with the Memorial Museum Passchendaele 1917 for many years.”

“As early as the expansion of the museum in 2013, we had the opportunity to highlight our workings with an exhibition. We are delighted to have been able to completely renew our installation this year.

“A number of the newly exhibited objects left our archives in the United Kingdom for the first time to be shown to the general public here.”

Further details can be found at: www.passchendaele.be