At the foot of the King Albert I monument is the Nieuport Memorial. This monument consists of a central pylon guarded by three recumbent lions. The memorial pays tribute to more than 500 British soldiers who died in 1914 and 1917. Their names are inscribed on bronze plaques on the four sides of the pylon. They belonged mainly to the Royal Naval Division and died in the attempt to hold Antwerp in October 1914. Most of them died in 1917. It was not until June 1917 that the Commonwealth troops returned to this region, when the XVth Corps relieved the French troops in the sector from the coast to Saint-Georges. Things were particularly heated in July. In November 1917, they were relieved again by the French. This monument in Euville stone (limestone from the Département de la Meuse, France) was designed by William Bryce Binnie. The lion figures are by Charles Sergeant Jagger. The Nieuport Memorial was unveiled on 23 June 1928, in the presence of General Sir George Macdonogh and Prime Minister Henri Jaspar. It was established on the initiative of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC). This organisation is responsible for the memory of 1.7 million Commonwealth war dead in 150 countries. The CWGC manages more than 2,500 cemeteries worldwide. The Nieuport Memorial is part of a series of 'memorials to the missing' that were established in our region on the initiative of the CWGC. For the Ypres and Wijtschate Salient, there are four 'memorials': the Menin Gate in Ypres, the Tyne Cot Memorial and two New Zealand Memorials to the Missing at Buttes New British Cemetery and Messines Ridge British Cemetery. A little further south, just across the language border, lies the Ploegsteert Memorial. Finally, in the far north of the Westhoek, there is the Nieuport Memorial. The Nieuport Memorial was protected as a monument by Ministerial Decree of 17 December 1999 by inclusion in the file of De Ganzepoot and war memorials. This was because of the general interest formed by the aesthetic, historical and socio-cultural value. Source: nieuwpoort.be/nieuport-memorial
At the bottom of this location you can discover the Visitors Centre 'Westfront Nieuwpoort'. The Westfront museum tells the story of the flooding in a contemporary way. An experience takes you along the story of inundation to protect the last piece of Belgian territory from the invader. A must to better understand the history, period WW1.