Waterways on the Western Front

Waterways on the Western Front is a journey into a First Word War you never knew about. This exhibition is a chance to find out how canals in Belgium saved millions from starving and in France brought tens of thousands of wounded to safety. It explains how a tug boat owner stopped the Germans taking the channel ports. It reveals the secret munitions port of Richborough, built in just a few months on the Kent coast and never bombed. And it is a chance to remember those who lost their lives crossing the canals in the war’s decisive battles. Unseen film and photos, first hand testimonies and rare objects generate a lively recreation of the extraordinary events and sheer scale of what happened along the Waterways on the Western Front. The scale is hard to grasp. While many hundreds of barges took 5 million tons food to the flour mills of Belgium, across the front line an equally large fleet brought thousands of tons of munitions each day to the Ypres salient. Central to this were the Royal Engineers. Without them the waterways would not have worked. But they also had to blow bridges behind British retreats, and build the ones that took the tanks into the final offensive. The exhibition recognizes their core role, while highlighting the unexpected – the men billeted in empty lock chambers, the hospital barges for horses, and the canal water served up to troops to drink on the front line.

Suitable for
18+
14-15
16-17
11-13

Admission
Normal museum admission charges apply. Entry to Waterways of the Western Front only is free on the first Thursday or each month from 1630-1900

Website
http://www.canalmuseum.org.uk/whatson/exhibition.htm

Source: http://www.culture24.org.uk//se000031?id=EVENT499800