Walking Ypres
Pen & Sword
Barnsley 2017
£15.99, 296 pp, pb ills & maps throughout.
ISBN: 0-17815-900-3
Paul Reed
As the title suggests ‘Walking Ypre’ is standard ‘Battleground Europe’ fare intended for the footslogger rather than the exponent of mobile battlefield visiting. The book offers 14 chapters, each a walk from a designated start point. For example, Chapter Seven is the Langemarck Walk, of around 6 miles (10k) starting at Cement House and taking in – amongst other locations Langemarck German Cemetery. Other points of interest (such as VC actions) are included on the walk as are any interesting burials in cemeteries visited.
As ever with books in this series, photographic reproduction is variable. Here Paul Reed scores in spades: his photographic archive is quite splendid and has been well-mined here. There is also a colour section – the photograph of the memorial at Black Watch Corner is stunning! The index is adequate and there is also a simple visitor guide.
Steven Bloomfield