WW1 Museums on the French Flanders & Artois Battlefields, France
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Lens ' 14-18 - Centre d'Histoire Guerre et Paix
102 rue Pasteur, 62153 Souchez
50.400825
2.739796
A new 1914-1918 museum and interpretation centre opened in June 2015. Exhibitions are in French, English, Germand and Dutch.
Free admission (except for a pre-arranged guided visit for an individual or a group)
Audioguide at Euros 3,00 per person
Opening Hours:
- 1 April - 31 October: Tuesday to Sunday 10.00-18.00 hours
- 1 November - 31 March: Tuesday to Sunday 10.00-17.00 hours
Closed January, 1 May and 25 December.
Groups must make a reservation. A guided visit (there is a fee for the guided visit) lasts 1 hour 30 minutes. To make a group reservation email/telephone the Tourist Office:
Email (group reservations): groupes@tourisme-lenslievin.fr
Telephone (group reservations): +33 - 3 21 67 66 62
Telephone (enquiries): +33 - 3 21 74 83 15
Email: lens14-18@tourisme-lenslievin.fr
Website: www.lens14-18.com
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Interpretive Centre Vimy Memorial Park
Vimy Memorial Park
50.372314
2.770116
Under redevelopment: A new Visitor Centre will open on 10 April 2017. The current interpretive centre at the Canadian Memorial Park Vimy has information boards and display cases to explain the April 1917 Battle on the Vimy Ridge.
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Jean & Denise Letaille Museum — Bullecourt 1917
Bullecourt
50.19299188227931
2.9294738173484802
The collection of fascinating displays of equipment, memorabilia, photographs and document was built up as a private collection by the late Monsieur Jean Letaille and his wife Denise. Jean had been a former mayor of the village.
Jean donated his magnificent collection to the community and his small private museum was redeveloped during 2011-12. The redevelopment was funded by the French authorities, the Conseil Régional Nord-Pas de Calais and the Australian government. In June 2012 the museum opened as The Jean and Denise Letaille Museum - Bullecourt 1917. Very sadly neither Jean nor his wife lived to see the opening of this new Australian museum housing their wonderful collection.
The museum features stories and memories of the men who fought in the Battle of Bullecourt during April 1917, when the Australian and British troops attacked the German defenders in the newly constructed Hindenburg Line (known as the Siegfriedstellung to the German Army). Tanks went into the attack and the museum collection includes many parts of these tanks salvaged from the battlefield.
The village of Bullecourt, and most especially M. Lataille, forged a special bond with Australia due to the tremendous sacrifice of several thousand casualties killed, wounded and missing here in the spring battles of 1917.
Opening Hours:
- 1 April - 30 September: Tuesday to Sunday 10.00-12.30 & 13.30-18.00 hours
- 1 October - 31 March: 13.30-17.30 hours
Closed: mid December to mid January.
Admission (cheque or cash):
- Adults Euros 3 - Youth Euro 1,5
- Group Euros 2 (10 or more persons)
- Education group Euros 1,5
- Under 12 years free
Address: 1 bis, Rue d'Arras, 62128 BULLECOURT, France
Telephone: +33 3 21 55 33 20
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Musée 14/18 Alexandre Villedieu
Loos-en-Gohelle
50.457689
2.792346
Open by appointment, this museum has a collection of objects related to the First World War and Loos-en-Gohelle.
The museum is hosted by the association “Sur les Traces de la Grande Guerre” - “Loos in the footsteps of the Great War”. The collection illustrates the life of soldiers in the trenches here and the life of the inhabitants of this area who lived in the German occupied territory. The battles which took place in this part of the Western Front are featured here too.
The museum is named after a French private soldier, who was posted missing in action on 8 October 1915 and whose remains and personal effects were discovered in 1996.
Guided visits can be arranged and guided battlefield walks in the area can also be arranged.
Hours of Opening
- Open daily by appointment - see contact details below.
Admission charge & Groups
- Please enquire about charges and rates for groups and school groups.
Address: Association "Sur les Traces de la Grande Guerre" - Foyer Omer Caron - 1er étage - Place de la République - 62750 Loos en Gohelle
Telephone: +33 6 09 46 48 65
Fax: +33 3 21 69 88 79
Email: a.villedieu@wanadoo.fr
Website: www.tourism-lenslievin.co.uk
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Musée de la Bataille de Fromelles
Fromelles
50.607900
2.850507
A museum located next to the site of the new British Fromelles (Pheasant Wood) Military Cemetery. The museum opened on 18 July 2014.
Hours of Opening
- Monday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday: 09.30-17.30 hours
- Saturday, Sunday and public holidays: 09.30-17.30 hours
- Closed on Tuesdays. Annual closure 26 January to 10 February.
Admission charge
- Adults Euros 6,50; reduced rate Euros 4,00
- Please enquire about concessionary free admission, rates for groups and school groups.
Address: Musée de la Bataille de Fromelles, Rue de la Basse Ville, 59249 Fromelles
Telephone: +33 3 59 61 15 14
Website: www.musee-bataille-fromelles.fr
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Musée Militaire de la Targette
Neuville-Saint-Vaast
50.3544004226854
2.748027741909027
The museum contains many items on display including uniforms, helmets, documents and gasmasks.
The museum is located on the D937 road which runs between Bethune and Arras, close to the large French and British military cemeteries at La Targette village. It The visit will take approximately 30 minutes to see the displays.
The museum owner, David Bardiaux, also owns the Musée Vivant 1914-1918 located at the Notre Dame de Lorette French military cemetery.
A small shop sells souvenirs, books and postcards.
Open: Thursday-Sunday 09.00 to 17.30 hours
Admission fee.
Group Visits
- Group rates available.
- Free entry for the coach driver and two couriers per bus.
- Reception area for groups.
- Reception area for groups.
- Food and drink distributors.
- Picnics possible (reserve by arrangement with the museum)
Address: Musée Militaire de la Targette, 48 Route National, 62580 NEUVILLE-SAINT-VAAST, France
Telephone: +33 (0)3 21 59 17 76
Fax: +33 (0)3 21 59 17 76
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Musée Vivant 1914-1918: Notre Dame de Lorette
Souchez
50.40184140885615
2.715735286474228
There are over 3,000 items on display in the museum, showing life in the French Army and its costly battles in Artois. An area of original battlefield trenches is situated immediately behind the museum.
The museum is located on the summit of the ridge at Notre Dame de Lorette, next to the French national military cemetery.
The exhibition of items includes equipment, uniforms, documents, photographs and a walk-through reconstructed trench and bunker system animated with lasers. A commentary to accompany your visit can be selected in French or English. A diaporama (photographic slide show) presents 400 rare stereoscopic (3-D) images created in the 1914-1918 period.
Outside the museum a battlefield area is dedicated to trenches, which have been redug in their original locations, and a selection of artillery pieces, machine guns, shells and barbed wire. Panels describing the items on view are in French, English and German.
A small shop sells souvenirs, books and postcards.
Hours of Opening
- Daily 09.00-20.00 hours
Admission fee. The museum is owned by David Bardiaux, who also owns the Musée Militaire de la Targette 1914-1918. Discounted rates for visits to both museums are available.
Group Visits
- Group rates available.
- Free entry for the coach driver and two couriers per bus.
- Reception area for groups.
- Access for less able vistors.
- Free parking.
- Food and drink distributors.
- Picnics possible (reserve by arrangement with the museum)
L'Estaminet de Lorette
L'Estaminet de Lorette — bar, restaurant, Salon de Thé — is located next to the museum and the cemetery. The restaurant is open from 1 March to 30 November. Toilets are available here but only for use by patrons of the restaurant.
Address: Musée Vivant 1914-1918, Hameau de Notre-Dame de Lorette, 62153 Ablain St Nazaire, France
Telephone: +33 3 21 45 15 80
Email: david.bardiaux@wanadoo.fr
Website (Lens-Liévin Tourist Office): www.tourisme-lenslievin.fr
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Wellington Quarry - la Carrière Wellington
Arras
50.28040961939256
2.783045321702957
This atmospheric, evocative underground museum has been created in a section of the many kilometres of tunnels dug in the 1914-1918 war underneath the city of Arras.
Wellington Quarry - la Carrière Wellington, Arras
The museum pays hommage to the memory of the thousands of men of the British Army who lived under the city during the war, and most particularly the work of the tunnelers of the New Zealand Division who were based in this place during the build-up to the Battle of Arras on 9 April 1917.
Address: Rue Arthur Delétoille, 62000 ARRAS, France
Telephone: (Arras Tourist Office) +33 (0)3 21 51 26 95
Fax (Arras Tourist Office): +33 (0)3 21 71 07 34
Email: (Arras Tourist Office) contact@explorearras.com
Website: (Arras Tourist Office website) www.explorearras.com Carriere-wellington/Wellington Quarry
Related Topic
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1914-1918 related events in the area include ceremonies of Remembrance, exhibitions and cultural events.
Events on the French Flanders & Artois BattlefieldsAcknowledgements
CWGC Photograph courtesy of Commonwealth War Graves Commission, Remembering Fromelles press article, 2010.
Website: www.cwgc.org
