Family & Other Stories

The Lost Key, Ypres - Nick Pointon

On my morning run in Ypres, I saw a key on the pavement. It was not a modern key but a big old fashioned key like the one above. I looked around to see if someone had dropped it, but there was no-one about, or perhaps it had fallen out of a nearby door, but I couldn't see a suitable keyhole, so I ran on. A little bit later I saw another, similar key on the pavement. I stopped my run, went back and pushed it gently with my foot; it didn't move - it was stuck to the pavement. "Aha!" I thought, "I spy a pattern here."

It turns out that The Lost Key is a memorial to the more than 700 civilians of Ypres, who were killed in the First World War. Around Ypres are 15 or so similar keys that are glued to the pavement. Each one names a victim and adds the date of death and age, and they are located in places that remind us of that person - their home, place of work, place of death etc..

A map of all the keys and details of the scheme is here. Keep your eyes peeled the next time you are walking around Ypres!