War Memorial Hamme

The war memorial at Hamme commemorates the military and civilian victims of the First and Second World Wars. The text on the monument:
Front: ‘ON OUR HELDEN’.
Reverse: ‘TO OUR ANIMAL HERBARIES/ OUR CRIMINATED SOLDATES/ OUR DEATH-MARTELED OPGEËISCHTEN/ REMOVED 1914-1918’.

The latter group was the largest, over 120 victims against 54 fallen soldiers. The monument was the result of a competition launched in 1919 among Belgian artists with the following brief:

‘The memorial, forming a monumental whole, shall be a glorification of our soldiers, of our fallen warriors and of our dead martyred claimed workmen.’

The winning design was by artist Karel Scheurmans (1869-1955) and it was realised by Brussels bronze caster Verbeyst. It consists of a bronze sculpture group around and on a central obelisk. The unveiling took place on 14 August 1921.

In 1951, the memorial was expanded to include a statue commemorating the victims of World War II with the names of civilians and soldiers who died.

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Source

• Text: TracesOfWar
• Photos: Luc van Waeyenberge
• - Het Heldenplein