Ypres 2016 - 50th (Northumbrian) Division Memorial

A memorial to the 50th (Northumbrian) Division is located in the hamlet of Wieltje, and the nearby Oxford Road Cemetery.

50th Northumbrian Division Memorial
Wieltje

The Northumbrian Division left the North East in April 1915, and was complete in Ypres on the evening of 22n April 1915, just as the Germans released gas and the Division was immediately called into action to block German attempts to break the British line. It became the 50th Division in May 1915.

The Division were enaged in the following Battles as part of 2nd Battle of Ypres:
The Battle of St Julien
The Battle of Frezenburg Ridge
The Battle of Bellewaarde Ridge

The 50th Northumbrian Division would return to the Ypres Salient in 1917 engaged in the 3rd Battle of Ypres:
Second Battle of Passchendaele

The memorial design was the result of a design competition in 1928. It records the units of the Northumbrian Division.

50th Northumbrian Division Memorial
Divisional Units form Great War

1st 2nd 3rd 4th Northumbrian Brigade RFA

Northumbrian Ammunition Column

The 50th (Northumbrian) Division would return to the Ypres area in 1940 where they were engaged in halting the German advance during the Withdrawal to Dunkirk. The losses of World War Two are also commemorated on the memorial.

50th Northumbrian Division Memorial
Commemorations from World War One & World War Two