Trip Notes podcast: A pilgrimage to Belgium's World War I sites of remembrance

The Menin Gate, near Ypres, in Belgium. Photo / In Flanders Fields Museum

While we are in lockdown, we are taking a different approach to our Trip Notes podcast to keep your travel dreams alive. We are bringing back some of our best travel stories published over the years in a revamped edition of Trip Notes.

When soldiers ran on to Flanders Fields it was no game and no side won.

In this episode of Trip Notes, we revisit a story published by Herald journalist Nicholas Jones, about his trip to Belgium and the battle sites of World War I.

"A deflated rugby ball and a couple of plastic poppies mark Dave Gallaher's grave," writes Jones.

"Scrawls, handwritten in Vivid marker pens, make it look like a memento from a modern rugby match: the sort that a child hangs over the halfway tunnel, hoping his heroes will sign."

In his article, published in August 2017, Jones writes about his experience visiting Poperinge in Belgium, which is where Nine Elms Cemetery is located. Dave Gallaher, who captained the 1905 Originals All Blacks team, was killed in action on October 4th 1917 and is buried at Nine Elms Cemetery.

Trip Notes is available to download at iHeartRadio, or wherever you get your podcasts. Photo / Supplied

Gallaher was one of about 100,000 New Zealanders who fought in battles that sliced through Belgium in World War I.

Joined by tour guide Freddy Declerk, Jones explored several key sites of remembrance around Ypres to understand New Zealand's shared history with Belgium.

Sit back, relax and enjoy this reading of Field of Honour.

Go to nzherald.co.nz/tripnotes to catch up on any episodes you might have missed, and don't forget to subscribe to Trip Notes on your favourite podcast app.