20 September 2023 is a date which will live in our collective memory.

That day, the Unesco World Heritage Committee inscribed 139 First World War memorial sites on its list during its 45th session in Riyadh.

Sixteen Walloon sites have received global recognition, including 9 in Comines-Warneton:

The Memorial to the Missing in Ploegsteert.

Eight Commonwealth War Graves Commission military (CWGC) cemeteries:

Berks extension, Hyde Park Corner, Strand, Prowse Point, Mud Corner, Toronto Avenue, Ploegsteert Wood and Rifle House cemeteries.

The result of a joint application by France, Wallonia and Flanders, the inclusion of these 14-18 sites on the UNESCO World Heritage List is a remarkable endorsement of the work done to preserve these military burial grounds and the exemplary duty of remembrance performed by various associations over the years.

Cultural and geographical broadening

This recognition also pays tribute to the action of Comines-Warneton, which was profoundly marked by four years of military occupation during the First World War.

It will strengthen the image of our town both from a geographic and cultural point of view and will emphasize the remembrance of a past that is still present – and here to stay.