Commemoration ceremony at “forgotten” Belgian WWI cemetery in Neuville-sous-Montreuil

ATTENTION: This event is organized in France, but the intention is to carpool from Londerzeel around 6 o'clock in the morning to get there. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 📌 On April 27, 1915, 111 years ago now, five-year-old Anna LEGRAND from Elverdinge was the very first to be buried at the Belgian cemetery in Neuville-sous-Montreuil (Pas-de-Calais) during WWI. Admittedly, Anna had died on the sanitary train during the train journey between Hazebrouck and Etaples (“Malheureusement cette fillette est arrivée ici à l'état de cadavre.” we read in a later letter) , but that girl was still buried at the cemetery in the grave with no. 2. 📍 On Saturday, June 27, 2026, at 11:00, we will hold a memorial service at the "forgotten" Belgian cemetery with the laying of flowers and 1 minute of silence, after which we will walk in a group to the "Jardin de la Mémoire" where the memorial monument with the names of the deceased stands. 📢 At that Belgian cemetery, 605 people were buried from April 27, 1915, to April 20, 1919 (594 civilian victims and 11 Belgian soldiers) ; 600 of them had died in the Chartreuse. Alle Belgische soldiers who were buried in Neuville-sous-Montreuil (WWI but also WWII) were repatriated after the war to Belgian (military) cemeteries, but the remains of the civilian victims still lie under the sods of the cow pasture into which the cemetery has turned since the 60s. 👉 Most war victims came from the Westhoek (the only unoccupied part of Belgium during WWI) , including 99 people from Greater Poperinge and 95 people from Greater Ypres. Furthermore, also people from, among others, Londerzeel, Mechelen, Dendermonde, Diest, Werchter, Brussels, Antwerp, Hasselt, ... But also 15 people born in France and 2 people born in the Netherlands were buried at the Belgian cemetery. Wounded, sick, refugees (including 12 children, 1 of whom was stillborn) ; a total of 605 people, from newborns to 94 years old, were buried there. 👉 One does not have to register to participate in this memorial service, but to have an idea of the number of attendees, it is kindly requested to post a confirmation on Facebook or send an email to joris.saerens.wo1@outlook.com. A memorial program in the Chartreuse is not provided on that day, but interested parties can visit the Chartreuse on their own, where there was a Belgian military/civilian hospital with about 700 beds during WWI. [Attention: On June 27, the only guided tour in the Chartreuse takes place at 14:30.] 🙏 We hope to welcome many attendees to this memorial service on Saturday, June 27, 2026, at 11 o'clock at the Belgian cemetery in Neuville-sous-Montreuil so that we can show that we have not forgotten these compatriots who died abroad during the Eerste Wereldoorlog. ---------------------------------------------------- 💻 Website: www.londerzeelwo1.wordpress.com 🔍 The story with photos and text about the “forgotten” Belgian cemetery in Neuville-sous-Montreuil [nl.] : www.londerzeelwo1.wordpress.com/vergeten-begraafplaats/ 🎥 A fascinating and unique video about "a forgotten history" [nl. + fr.] [𝘊𝘰𝘳𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯: 𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘪𝘮𝘦𝘴𝘵𝘢𝘮𝘱 14𝘮22𝘴 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘷𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘰 𝘐 𝘴𝘢𝘺 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘊𝘩𝘢𝘳𝘵𝘳𝘦𝘶𝘴𝘦 𝘮𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵 𝘣𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘦 𝘢 "𝘩𝘰𝘴𝘱𝘪𝘵𝘢𝘭" 𝘪𝘯 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘧𝘶𝘵𝘶𝘳𝘦 𝘣𝘶𝘵 𝘐 𝘢𝘤𝘵𝘶𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘺 𝘮𝘦𝘢𝘯𝘵 "𝘩𝘰𝘵𝘦𝘭"]: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aRvQmWVlOvQ 🔍 Report of "Liste des Belges enterrés au Cimetière de l'Hôpital La Chartreuse" [nl. + fr.] : www.londerzeelwo1.wordpress.com/liste-des-belges-enterres-au-cimetiere/ 🔍 Reference work with information about "The 'forgotten' Belgian cemetery" and the Belgian presence in the Chartreuse during WWI [nl.] : www.londerzeelwo1.wordpress.com/de-vergeten-belgische-begraafplaats-in-neuville-sous-montreuil/