Where is Anna? Despatch riders on WWI terrain!

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'Where is Anna?', a run for pre-1931 motorcycles, follows the traces of a WWI despatch rider who is trying to find his girlfriend Anna, a maid-servant at the Belgian royal court that was taking refuge in the last unoccupied bit of Belgium, the Westhoek. Despatch riders brought military messages round on motorcycles, and sometimes even had a basket with home pigeons on the carrier.

96 participants went off for an 85-kilometer run, starting from 'De Coude Scheure', a restored farm building with WW I history in Mannekensvere and followed the same paths that our despatch rider frequented. We followed the Yser, passing Tervaete, Diksmuide and headed right towards SintJacobskapelle. This was the 'Secteur Belge', where the trenches were defended by Belgian soldiers. Along the route, many monuments are passed and commemoration points included.

At our first stop, Oud-Stuivekens, the 'Cabour 14-18'-reenactors explained about the flooding of the Yser, which kept the Germans stuck for 4 years. The perfect photo moment for the different WWI motorcycles present: Triumph H, Douglas, BSA, Harley-Davidson, Indian, and a Premier.

Then on to Veurne, where the King and Queen regularly climbed the Sint-Niklaas church tower to overview the damage on the battlefields. As it was just far enough away from the front, Veurne was never damaged as much as Ypres was, so the market square is still original.

At our next stop, on the seafront in Westende, the dunes and the 'Rotonde', one of the few buildings that was not destroyed on the coastline, served as the background for a fantastic 'tableau vivant' with a 1916 T-Ford pick-up that carried an original 1917 Harley-Davidson, provided by one of the event organisers.

Not only WWI machines had signed on. The oldest machine, a 1900 Rochet tricycle, loved the quiet roads, and the perfect escort that the local Scooter club provided him, and all the others. The invited Indian club brought on a mass of Indian motorcycles, one of which suddenly developed a bit of an engine problem.

'Where is Anna ?', is a brilliant event, that welcomes even more WWI machines in future editions, as a remembrance for things that should never happen again! I'm afraid she has not yet been found though, so for those who want you can help to search for Anna next year!

Words and photographs by Nick Jonckheere.

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