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The Grange de la Plaine au Bois massacre, located in Wormhout, northern France, was a tragic event that occurred on 28 May 1940 during the Second World War, at the start of the French Campaign. This event is also known as the Wormhout massacre. Background: In the early months of World War II, German troops were advancing rapidly in northern France. British forces, part of the British Expeditionary Force (BEF), were attempting to slow the German advance to allow the evacuation of Dunkirk. The events: During fierce fighting around Wormhout, approximately 80 British and French soldiers were captured by a German Waffen-SS unit, the Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler Division. The prisoners were first disarmed and then forced to march to an isolated barn, called the Grange de la Plaine au Bois. German soldiers, violating the laws of war, locked the prisoners in the barn. For no apparent reason, the SS threw grenades into the building, killing and wounding many prisoners. Some survivors, despite their injuries, were executed by shooting or bayoneting. However, a few soldiers miraculously escaped death and later testified about the massacre. Consequences and memory: The Plaine au Bois massacre was one of many war crimes committed by Waffen-SS troops during World War II. After the war, several attempts were made to try those responsible for the massacre, but these efforts were hampered by political and legal issues, and many perpetrators were never brought to justice. Today, the site of the barn is a place of remembrance. A monument has been erected to honor the victims, and commemorations are held regularly to remember this atrocious war crime.

pleasant passage under the trees along the Peene Becque

Pivot mill, built in 1756. It was moved in 1891-92 following the collapse of the mill, due to pivot disease. On site you will find tables and benches for picnics, trash cans and toilets. Everything clean and well maintained.

Memorial site

Around 695, the gentleman farmer Heremare is said to have donated a large piece of land here to the St. Bertinus Abbey in St. Omaars. Saint Winok is said to have founded an abbey here where he died in 716. He was buried there and many pilgrims came there, where all kinds of miracles took place. In 846 the monks moved to Sint-Winoksbergen and shortly afterwards the remains of Sint-Winok were transferred to Sint-Omaars. The largely wooden abbey was destroyed by the Vikings in 860. The parish church was later built on the foundations, and in the 12th century or earlier there was a Romanesque church building, the St. Martin and St. Winoks Church. Here was also a Saint Winok's altar that contained relics of Saint Winok. This church was also plundered in 1582, now by the French, and burned in 1591. The church was subsequently repaired and renovated. The current church dates from 1613-1616 and the tower dates from 1547-1683. In 1793, the spire of the tower was destroyed during the Battle of Hondschote. Source: Wikipedia

Molen Deschodt or Molen van Briarde was built in 1756 and is today the most authentic Flemish post mill in the region. It is the last of the eleven mills that Wormhout had in other times. They were all lost after the arrival of a steam mill. A number of new laws and the wars provided the final death blow. Nice resting place with picnic benches.

Until her death in 1989, the first Flemish photographer lived in this presbytery (18th century) with a dovecote next to it. Inside, photographs and numerous objects (furniture, watercolors, paintings, ceramics, etc.) create a typical local atmosphere.

The Saint-Martin church in Wormhout is a historical monument. It is of Flemish ogival style and was rebuilt between 1613 and 1616 with beige brick, also called sandstone. It is without a doubt one of the most harmonious churches in the region. The high and massive tower porch can be seen from afar. Two seventeenth-century stained glass windows depict Saint Winoc for the first and the Mass of Saint Martin for the second.