This document outlines the itinerary and program for a commemoration event in Belgium marking the 100th anniversary of a zeppelin being shot down above Gent by British pilot Reginald Warneford on June 7, 1915. The day-long event will include unveilings of commemorative plaques and monuments at locations relevant to the incident in Vinderhoute, Gent, Sint-Amandsberg, and Gontrode. An exhibition about the zeppelin shooting and World War I will also be held from May 24th to June 7th at the Great Beguinage Church in Sint-Amandsberg.

1. Airship
exploded above Gent
Remembrance Day - June 7, 2015
From Vinderhoute via
Gent and Sint-Amandsberg
to Gontrode
On Sunday, June 7th, 2015, we follow tte last miles
of the memorable air battle and reveal solemnly
some commemorative items.
Each revelation will consist of the following items:
• Warneford tells what happened in short episodes.
• Noël Fack sings World War I-songs.
• Inauguration of the memorial tribute.
• A souvenir for each registered participant.
PROGRAM
10.00 am Vinderhoutedorp
In cooperation with the municipality of Lovendegem.
Inauguration of a commemorative plaque by
mr. Gerrit Van Brabandt, alderman for culture.
11.15 am Western Cemetery - Zeppelinmonument
In cooperation with the city of Gent
Inauguration of a commemorative plaque by
mrs. Sofie Bracke, alderman of Ghent.
12.00 am Great-Beguinage Sint-Amandsberg via Jan
Roomsstraat or Engelbert Van Arenbergstraat
In cooperation with the Sinte Elisabeth-
Begijnhof vzw
Inauguration of a memorial plaque by
mr. Lieven Decaluwe, chairman of the board
of directors beguinage, on the house of
Sidonie Maes, where the 9-year old Odile
was killed by a fragment of the zeppelin,.
12.30 pm Great Beguinage
Possibility to sandwich lunch (see below)
Possibility to free visit of the exhibition at the
Beguinage church.
Possibility to free visit of the beguinage
13.45 pm Beguinage: Meet at the gate of the entrance
at the Jan Roomsstraat. Walk to the Reginald
Warnefordstraat.
14.00 pm Corner Warnefordstraat-Schoolstraat
In cooperation with solicitors Dehaene
Inauguration of a plaque commemorating the
British pilot Warneford, by his family.
14.30 pm Walk to the crash site at the old town hall of
Sint-Amandsberg
In cooperation with the city of Gent
Inauguration of a plane monument created by
students of the PTI-school Kortrijk,
by mr. Daniel Termont, mayor of Gent.
16.30 pm Former airfield Gontrode, destination base of
the zeppelin LZ 37.
Scheldeweg, Rechte Ree(little street) between
nrs 55 and 57 Gontrode (Melle).
In cooperation with the Heritage Unit Viersprong
and the municipality of Melle
Inauguration of the orientationtable on the
bunker. Animation on the site by artists and
remote-WWI aircrafts.
Subscribe to the anniversary day and book your sandwich lunch
not later than June 1st, 2015
Name: .....................................................................................................................................................................
Adress: ....................................................................................................................................................................
E-mailadress (or tel.): .........................................................................................................................................
Number of persons: ..............................
Order following sandwiches (to be paid at the spot) ... x ham, ... x cheese, .... x martino, ... x smos
Send or mail to: Frederik Vanderstraeten - Wolterslaan 93 - 9040 Sint-Amandsberg
or via the website vanderstraeten.fr@telenet.be

2. Exhibition - May 24-June 7, 2015
The DSMG (Documentation Centre for Regional History Mau-rice
Gysseling), the Local History Society Oost-Oudburg the
Heritage Unit Viersproong, Poelcapelle 1917 Association and
the VTI Ieper plan a large memorial exhibition with two rea-dings
from May 23rd to June 7th, 2015.
The exhibition is devoted primarily to the events surroun-ding
the shooting down of the German Zeppelin LZ37 by the
British pilot Reginald Warneford. The show piece is definitely
the full-size replica of the Morane-Saulnier L, the plane that
Warneford used for the shooting down of the airship. The exi-bition
contains photographs, documents, models of aircraft,
weapons and uniforms. A model on a large scale from the
crash site, including the zeppelin, gives a good impression of
the situation.
There will also be material from World War I, that gives a good
time picture of this period. There are documents, objects, old
motorcycles, a model of the airfield Ten Bogaerde where War-neford
started his flight... The reconstruction of the family cha-pel
of the Warnefords from the local church of their hometown
takes the visitor to Highworth (UK).
A film and audio-visual production explain to the visitor
what the impact of zeppelins in the war was and how the
British did everything to resist against these giant airships that
proved to be unapproachable until ... Reginald Warneford pop-ped
up above Gent!
This exhibition was made possible through a collaboration with
various partners from East and West Flanders. For groups,
clubs and schools, there are guided tours available. Please
consult our calendar on our website for free time and contact
us to book a tour.
Exhibition information
• Period: Sunday, May 24th till Sunday, June 7th, 2015
• Opening: Saturday, May 23rd, 2015 at 15 pm
• Location: Great Beguinage Church St. Amandsberg
accessible through Jan Roomsstraat
• Opening times: 24, 30, 31 May and 6, 7 June, 2015
from 10 to 12 am and 14 to 18 pm
• On request: schools, clubs and groups can book a
(guided) visit during the week.
Opening times by appointment.
For free moments consult the calendar
on our website:
sites.google.com/site/luchtschipontploftbovengent
new address from the end of November:
www.luchtschipontploftboven.gent
• Contact: Frederik Vanderstraeten
vanderstraeten.fr@telenet.be
• Lectures:
Wednesday, May 27th at 20 pm:
Frederik Vanderstraeten tells in detail the story of
the ’Airship exploded above Gent’, with original pho-tographs.
Wednesday, June 3 at 20 hours:
Johan Vanbeselaere tells the story of ‘the construc-tion
of the replica of the Morane-Saulnier L ‘,Warne-ford’s
plane.
With the cooperation of
Onze partners
OfficiAL GOV ERNE MENTS
associations
Sponsors