Talbot House
Hotel
Talbot House | Courtesy of Talbot House
A Belgian beacon of moral and solidarity during troubled times, Talbot House was a haven for Allied soldiers in the First World War. With Poperinge as the closest unoccupied city to the Ypres Salient, British chaplains Neville Talbot and Philip ‘Tubby’ Clayton chose this city to open an ‘Every Man Club,’ where military folk of all ranks could come together in a homey atmosphere as an alternative to the brothels and questionable venues that had earned Poperinge the nickname ‘Little Paris.’ Now a museum that highlights what life was like behind the front lines, the former concert hall and club is still full of plaques carrying messages such as ‘All rank abandon ye who enter here,’ and ‘To pessimists, way out!’