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Attention: the War Dead Register only lists Belgian fallen soldiers.  
The War Dead Register provides basic personal information (name, first name, date and place of birth, etc.) and does not contain military files (giving a complete overview of the military career). According to date of birth the files are kept either by the Royal Military Museum or by the Defence archives service. The files safeguarded at the Military Museum can be consulted on site (Parc du Cinquantenaire in Brussels). The files kept up till now by Defence are currently transferred to the General State Archives.
The date on which they will be once again available has not yet been determined.   

 

Archives of the Royal Military Museum 

Documentation Centre 
Parc du Cinquantenaire 3
1000 Brussels
E-mail : cdoc.klm-mra@warheritage.be   
Website: www.warheritage.be

Campaign information

What?
The last call
When?
ma 10/11/2025 06u00 - 09u00
Where?

Yzerdijk
8600 Diksmuide
Belgium

 

Exceptional discovery along the Yser embankment


On 23 September 2024, during the construction of a new walking and cycling path along the Yser embankment in Diksmuide, just a stone’s throw from the Trench of Death, the remains of a Belgian soldier from the First World War were found. This was not a field grave, but a soldier who fell on the spot.


The site of the discovery is located close to the Trench of Death, the only preserved Belgian trench system from the First World War. Here, Belgian and German troops faced each other for years, only a few metres apart. In and around the Trench of Death, around 250 Belgian soldiers lost their lives.

On Monday 10 November 2025, the fallen soldier will be commemorated during the Last Call ceremony.


In the early morning, at 6 a.m., a torchlight procession will depart from the site of the discovery at the Hoge Brug in Diksmuide and make its way to the Trench of Death (distance: 1.5 km). Upon arrival, a solemn candlelit ceremony will take place around the coffins containing the soldiers’ remains. Through music, stories and symbolic moments of light, the Belgian soldiers who fell in and around the Trench of Death will be commemorated.
At the end of the ceremony, the remains will be transferred with full military honours from the Trench of Death by a four-horse carriage to the Belgian military cemetery in De Panne, where the soldier will be laid to rest.

Take part on 10 November in a unique commemoration featuring a torchlight procession along the Yser, symbolic moments of light, musical accompaniment and breakfast. 
Free of charge; registration is required via this registration form no later than Wednesday 5 November. 
Places are limited.
 

Learn More

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