We invite all Amateur Radio operators and their families to visit the city of Mesen/Messines beginning of July 2017. Mesen/Messines is the place in whose surroundings the Battle of the Mines took place one hundred years ago, on 7 June 1917, a battle that marked a turning point in the war.

• On Friday, May 29th, 2015 the special event station will be operating in Morse code on Shortwave 3-28MHz from Schendelbeke.
• On Saturday, May 30th, 2015 there will be Voice operations on shortwave 3-28MHz from the town of Onkerzele, from the same location where the inspection of troops took place (now part of ‘De Gavers’ recreation area). 

The optical telegraph or semaphore (a composition of the Greek words 'sign' and 'carry') was the first usable optical telecommunication apparatus. Although the principle was already described in antiquity is not sure whether it was really used at that time. At the end of the 18th century Frenchman Claude Chappe designed a semaphore, also known as the Chapptelegraph, and in the following years a chain of semaphores connected Paris to Lille. Napolean understood the importance of this communucatiesystem and had built a 5,000 km network across France. The Chappetelegrafh played a big role for 50 years, until being replaced by the electric telegraph.
The semaphore inspired artist Philippe Druez (ON1PHD) in a mixed / multi-media project.