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Commemorative plaques
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Place Charles Simonet
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Commemorative Plaque of Place des Martyrs
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Mons Memorial Museum
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Saint Symphorien Military Cemetery
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Battlefield site of Mont Panisel and Bois-là-haut
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British and Canadian memorial to the two battles of Mons
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The municipal cemetery in Mons
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Obourg station memorial
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The Pont-Rail (railway bridge)
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Place de Nimy Plaque
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14-18 Monument
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The Pont-Route (road bridge)
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Monument to the Dead at Place du Parc
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Memorial plaque – Saint Waltrude Collegiate Church of Sainte Waltrude
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Commemorative plaques
Three plaques commemorate the sacrifice of Irish, Canadian and American soldiers. The fourth plaque embodies the town of Douai recognition, whose inhabitants found refuge in Mons in September 1918.
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Place Charles Simonet
Charles Simonet worked for the British intelligence services. Betrayed, he was arrested on 20 June 1915 by the German police and executed on 6 November 1915 at the National shooting range in Brussels. The symbol of freedom erected in the centre of this small square pays tribute to him.
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Commemorative Plaque of Place des Martyrs
Once at the centre of the village of Nimy, German troops took civilians hostage and used them as a human shields to cross Mons. Once on this square, exchanges of fire sowed confusion, and four hostages were killed instantly.
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Mons Memorial Museum
A place of reflection, a museum, a space for examination, an interpretation centre, and more. This museum space invites visitors of all ages to ponder the many complex realities of wartime events.
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Saint Symphorien Military Cemetery
A unique and highly symbolic place; here the remains of the first and last British soldiers who died in the First World War are buried. This cemetery also stands out for containing an almost equal number of British and German graves.
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Battlefield site of Mont Panisel and Bois-là-haut
Bois-là-haut and Mont Panisel are two raised areas overlooking the city of Mons offering excellent observation points, especially towards Saint Symphorien. During the two battles of Mons, these hills would play host to some violent battles.
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British and Canadian memorial to the two battles of Mons
The two battles of Mons in August 1914 and November 1918 are the first and last battles by British Empire troops during the First World War. Winston Churchill personally wrote the English text engraved on this monument.
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The municipal cemetery in Mons
As early as 1914, the German military authorities decided to create an extension north of the Mons municipal cemetery. After the war, all the soldiers’ remains would be gathered in this cemetery. This includes 74 Russian soldiers, 9 Romanians, 2 Belgians, 3 Germans and 393 soldiers of the British Empire.
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Obourg station memorial
At this point, on the morning of 23 August 1914, the first shots of the Battle of Mons were fired on either side of the canal. A total of 353 soldiers and 15 British officers were wounded or killed in this clash.
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The Pont-Rail (railway bridge)
At the railway bridge, lieutenant Maurice James Dease V.C, the only able-bodied man left in his machine-gun section, had to use the weapon himself. He was wounded five times and finally evacuated to the ambulance where he died. The private Sydney Frank Godley volunteered, took the weapon and was left alone, thus securing the retreat of his comrades-in-arms. He was wounded, destroyed the weapon and threw it into the canal.
Under the arch of the railway bridge, a plaque is affixed with the following inscription:
“To the glorious memory of the Officers, NCO and men of the 4th BN Royal Fusiliers who held this sector of the British Front in the defense of the town of Mons. August 23/8/1914. This memorial marks the M.G. position where the first V.C.’s awarded during the war 14-18 were gained by Lt M.J. DEASE and Pte S.F. GODLEY.”
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Place de Nimy Plaque
It commemorates German acts of violence in the Mons region where sniping triggered bloody reprisals. In Nimy, 22 civilians were killed. Quaregnon (66 civilians killed), Ville-Pommeroeul (14), Flénu (12) and Jemappes (11) were not spared.
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The Pont-Route (road bridge)
You are on the left side of the salient, defended by the 4th Royal Fusiliers. The salient was created by the bend in the canal.
The 4th Royal Fusiliers defended positions between Nimy road bridge and Mons station, which included four bridges: the road bridge of the park entrance, the drawbridge of lock n° 6, the railway bridge of the Paris-Brussels line and the road bridge of the Chaussée de Bruxelles.
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Monument to the Dead at Place du Parc
Just under a month after the city was liberated in 1918, the mayoral body examined the issue of building memorials. This involved erecting three monuments, the first to commemorate the battle of Mons of 23 and 24 August 1914, a second for the battle of 10 and 11 November and the last in memory of the Allied soldiers and those of Mons who died for their country, with reference to their names. The latter is visible at Place du Parc.
Then go down Place du Parc via rue du Parc. At the traffic lights, continue to the roundabout. Then turn right towards Ghlin – le Grand-Large. Follow the right bank of Canal du Centre as far as Avenue de la Sapinette.
Go past the Grand-Large pool and continue along Quai des Anglais towards Nimy.
Then go down rue des Viaducs on your left.
You’ll arrive near the railway bridge. A plaque is affixed under its arch, bearing an inscription in English.
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Memorial plaque – Saint Waltrude Collegiate Church of Sainte Waltrude
In the southern transept, you’ll discover the memorial plaque to British troops, the most vivid reminder of this First World War.
On 21 February 1926, Bishop de Croÿ reported to the Fabrique Council on a proposal by the British Government to install a commemorative monument in Collegiate Church of Saint Waltrude. Based on the presented documents, the Council definitively adopted the proposal at its meeting of 21 May 1926. A supervisory authority, the Body of Mayors and Aldermen of the City of Mons in turn authorised the placement on 7 June 1926.
The official inauguration took place on 11 November 1926 “inside the church, on the left as you enter the door looking onto Place du Chapitre”. The plaque was later moved to the west entrance of the Collegiate (under the organs) probably between 1951 and 1956 (during works on the interior porches of the Collegiate). It was repositioned in the south transept, where it is found now, on the right as you enter this time.
Exit rue du Chapitre, then go down rue Notre-Dame Débonnaire on your right. Continue straight up to Place du Parc.