EN_Claire and the Angels of Mons

My name is Claire, and I'm going to tell you about the most incredible adventure I had during my visit to the Mons Memorial Museum. It was Saturday morning, October 14th, when my mom decided it was time to explore Mons's fascinating history, particularly its rich military heritage.

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Not this way!

Not this way!

As we entered the museum, I was immediately captivated by the exhibitions. Mom told me stories of battles and heroes, especially the legend of the Angels of Mons, where, during the battle on August 23, 1914, Commonwealth soldiers surrounded by German forces were supposedly saved by angelic apparitions. Soon after, exhausted from all these discoveries, I sat down and, without realising it, my eyes closed.

Suddenly, I found myself in 1914, in the tumultuous streets of Mons during the battle. The detonations of cannons echoed, and soldiers ran in all directions. Night had fallen, and as the situation seemed desperate, luminous figures appeared in the sky. They were angels, celestial archers who repelled the German attackers, giving both me and the soldiers around me miraculous hope.

My "journey" then took me to the Saint-Symphorien military cemetery. There, under the clear moon of that same August night in 1914, I felt the weight of history. The graves of George Edwin Ellison and John Parr, respectively, the last and first Commonwealth soldiers killed during the Great War, stood solemnly before me. Their presence still seemed to watch over this place imbued with memory.

Next, I was guided to the casemates and the military bakery, where I saw soldiers in period uniforms preparing their bread rations, trying to find a semblance of normality amidst the chaos. Every wall resonated with the echoes of their voices, their laughter mixed with their concerns.

The final stage of my dream was the Valencienne Tower, a 14th-century bastion and the only survivor of the old medieval enclosure of Mons. Inaugurated in 1359 and famous for its four-meter-thick walls, the tower was beautifully restored in 2009, retaining two of its original levels. Standing in front of its imposing structure, enhanced by a modern metal walkway, I could feel the echoes of the historical sieges it had endured.

As I was contemplating the tower, I suddenly felt my mom's hand on my shoulder. I woke up, finding myself back on the bench in the museum where I had dozed off. We were still at the Mons Memorial Museum, and all of it had just been a dream, a fantastic voyage through time and the history of Mons.

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This experience, though dreamt, left me with a deep sense of connection to the past of my city and its heroes. As we left the museum, the memory of this dream accompanied me, reminding me of the importance of remembering and honouring those who fought for the freedom we cherish today.I wonder where Mons will take me next...

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Image Credits All images in this ebook were created with the assistance of artificial intelligence technologies, including Leonardo and ChatGPT. These AI tools generated the visual content based on textual descriptions provided by the author. The images are intended for illustrative purposes to enhance the storytelling experience within this educational context.Author: Florence Stiennon

EU DisclaimerFunded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Education and Culture Executive Agency (EACEA). Neither the European Union nor EACEA can be held responsible for them.

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