Mons 14/18 : The First and the Last

Three plaques commemorate the sacrifice made by Irish, Canadian and American soldiers. The fourth plaque was presented in thanks by the town of Douai whose inhabitants found refuge in Mons in September 1918.

It is located in the South-East transept. To the left of the porch looking from inside.

The names of 133 soldiers from Mons and 30 civilians who died for their country are engraved in the stone. The 2.30 metre high bronze figure symbolises victory and glory.

The plaque unveiled on 9 April 1939 commemorates the bravery of two members of the 4th Royal Fusiliers, Maurice James Dease and Sidney Frank Godley, who both enabled their battalion to withdraw on 23 August 1914 by continuing to man their guns despite being wounded .

This commemorates German atrocities in the Mons region where ambushes led to bloody reprisals. 22 civilians were killed in Nimy, and Quaregnon (66 civilians killed), Ville-Pommeroeul (14). Flénu (12) abnd Jemappes (11) also were not spared.

There was a swing bridge here. On 23 August 1914, Oskar Niemeyer committed a heroic act which led to his death: he operated the mechanism under fire and was killed, but he prevented the Germans from crossing the canal.

There was a swing bridge here. On 23 August 1914, Oskar Niemeyer committed a heroic act which led to his death: he operated the mechanism under fire and was killed, but he prevented the Germans from crossing the canal.

The German military command decided in 1914 to establish an extension to the north of the Mons communal cemetery. After the war all the soldiers’ remains would be brought to this cemetery. 74 Russian soldiers, 9 Romanians, 2 Belgians, 3 Germans and 393 soldiers from the British Empire.

The civilian victims of the First World War are also commemorated in the cemetery; most were captured and sent to Germany to strengthen the labour force.

This crossroads was one of the strategic locations in the battles of 23 August 1914. This monument was inaugurated in 1923 to commemorate the bravery of the Irish soldiers who fell in the first and also the second battle of Mons in 1918.

The two battles of Mons in August 1914 and November 1918 were the first and last engagements by British Empire troops in the First World War. Winston Churchill personally wrote the English text engraved on the monument.

Bois-là-haut and Mont Panisel are two hills overlooking Mons, which provide excellent observation points, particularly in the direction of Saint-Symphorien. These hills were the scenes of fierce fighting during the two battles of Mons.

A unique and highly symbolic site: this is the place where the remains of the first and last British soldiers to die in the First World War are buried. It is also unusual in that it has an almost equal number of British and German graves.

Place for reflection, museum, opportunity to question, interpretation centre, … This new museum to be opened in 2015 will invite visitors of all ages to examine and question the multiple, complex realities of the phenomenon of war.

There was a swing bridge here. On 23 August 1914, Oskar Niemeyer committed a heroic act which led to his death: he operated the mechanism under fire and was killed, but he prevented the Germans from crossing the canal.

Charles Simonet worked for British intelligence. He was betrayed and arrested by the German police on 20 June 1915. He was executed on 6 November 1915 at the National Shooting Range in Brussels. The allegory of freedom erected in the centre of this small square pays homage to him.