The 'Brooding Soldier' in Belgium commemorates the Canadian First Division's participation in the Second Battle of Ypres in the First World War.

What strikes me most as I pedal into the village and take a seat overlooking the surrounding landscape is the silence. It’s a late Sunday afternoon in mid-September and aside from a couple of people chatting and the faint sound of a dog barking, you can practically hear a pin drop in peaceful Passchendaele.

Of course, it wasn’t always so quiet here on the Western Front.

I’ve cycled 14 kilometres from my hotel in Ypres, Belgium, to visit one of the many First World War sites in the area. A stretch of the road I follow is called Canadalaan – it leads to the Passchendaele Canadian Memorial, a piece of land marking where the Canadian Corps captur

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