Monday marks the centenary of one of the deadliest battles of the First World War – a battle that left hundreds of thousands of troops dead but no clear victor.
The Battle of Passchendaele – or the Third Battle of Ypres – started early on July 31 1917 and continued in that area of Flanders, on the Belgian/French border, for the rest of the year.
There were thousands of casualties in the first day of the conflict – including 15 who are known to have come from Ipswich who were serving in the Suffolk Regiment and other sections of the British Army.
To mark the start of the battle there will be special events at both Ipswich and Colchester on Monday morning.
In Ipswich Mayor Sarah Barber and civic leaders will meet at the Cenotaph in Christchurch Park at 7am when whistles will be blown to mark the signal that was sounded for the start of the offensive.
Andrew Beal and Helen Ely have been researching the names of those from Ipswich on the town’s cenotaph and other records – and have discovered that 15 Ipswich soldiers died on the first day of Passchendaele.
Of these seven were in the Suffolk Regiment, whose 8th Battalion played a crucial part in the battle.
In Colchester there is a ceremony at the War Memorial at the entrance to Castle Park at 10.45am.
In 1917, as today, Colchester was an important garrison town and many of the troops that fought at Passchendaele would have passed through it on their way to Flanders.
Among those who went to fight – and die – there was army medical officer Noel Chavasse who became the first person to be awarded two Victoria Crosses while fighting in the war.
His second VC was a posthumous award after he died on August 4, 1917 after being injured while treating other soldiers.
A rehabilitation centre for wounded service personnel in Colchester is now named in his memory.
Passchendaele was the centre of fighting until December 1917, but little land was gained by the British and French – and what was gained was lost to the Germans during their offensive in early 1918.
However the resistance of the German forces soon crumbled, leading to the 1918 armistice.
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