A special exhibition is commemorating the sacrifices of Nottinghamshire men in one of the First World War’s bloodiest and most tragic engagements.
The battle of Passchendaele, also known as the third battle of Ypres, raged in Belgium for more than three months in 1917 and led to around half a million deaths and injuries on both sides.
On the first day, the second corps of the Sherwood Foresters Regiment suffered a 70-80 per cent casualty rate.
Now a special exhibition at Nottingham Castle’s Museum of the Mercian Regiment tells the story of regiment members who took part in the battle – including two who won the Victoria Cross, the highest award possible in the UK.
“The stories we are trying to convey are about how brave these men were,” said Jennifer Brookman, curator of the Museum of the Mercian Regiment.
“There’s a famous quote I always remember – ‘those who forget history are condemned to repeat it’.
“I just don’t think we should forget what’s happened in the past. We should remember the sacrifices – those who were killed for us to be here today.”
In 1970 the regiment was amalgamated with the Worcestershire Regiment to form the Worcestershire and Sherwood Foresters Regiment.
In 2007 this was amalgamated with the Cheshire Regiment and the Staffordshire Regiment (Prince of Wales’s) to form the present Mercian Regiment.
