"We are the dead. Short days ago we lived, we felt dawn, saw sunset glow, loved, and were loved, and now we lie in Flanders fields."
The project
The Menin Gate commemorates more than 54,000 servicemen who died in Flanders. They have no known grave, either because their remains were not recovered or because they could not be positively identified. The Passchendaele Museum is attempting to give as many as possible of the 6.928 Canadians whose names are inscribed on the Menin Gate a tangible place in the landscape.
The First World War left its mark on Flanders in many ways. Monuments, cemeteries and bunkers are scattered all over the landscape. The online portal seeks out the silent witnesses of the war in an attempt to give missing Canadians a place in the landscape. Do you have unique stories, letters or pictures of a soldier? Then share them with the portal. You will be helping to build a platform for surviving relatives, interested individuals, researchers and museums. Help us to remember the missing and preserve their stories for the future.
Who were the Canadian volunteers?
In 1914, as a British Dominion, Canada was drawn into an unprecedented worldwide conflagration.
Canada had no army of its own. Its permanent militia had a total of only 3,000 troops. To swell the ranks, volunteers were recruited from all over the vast country.
