This year marks the centenary of the Third Battle of Ypres, also known as the Battle of Passchendaele.
While little progress was made during the offensive, it lasted more than three months, and caused around 325,000 Allied and 260,000 German casualties.
Descendants of those who fought are invited to take part in a public ballot for tickets to attend the main commemoration at the Commonwealth War Graves Commission Tyne Cot Cemetery on 31st July, the first day of the Battle.
The commemoration will focus on the over 12,000 graves and more than 35,000 names on the Memorial Wall to the Missing at the Cemetery in Belgium.
There will be a public ballot for the 4,000 tickets, which will be allocated in pairs, free of charge. To apply, please visit: www.passchendaele100.org before 24th February.
The commemoration will commence on 30th July, with a traditional Last Post Ceremony at the CWGC Menin Gate in Ypres. This has taken place every evening in peacetime since 1928.
It is also vital that future generations, without that personal link, are aware of the First World War; its significance and place in history. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission are taking applications for its Centenary Interns programme, based in France and Belgium, to allow people aged 18-25 years old to play their own part in helping with the commemorations.
If you are interested, please register at: blog.cwgc.org/interns2017 by 10pm on Friday 20th January; there will be a further week to complete the full application form.
Parliament pays its own tribute to our fallen from the First World War, by including the names of MPs who made the ultimate sacrifice on the House of Commons Order Paper.
On a personal level, when I am in the Palace of Westminster I often think of those who gave their lives for our free country. Not just when the Field of Remembrance is laid out across the road at Westminster Abbey, but all year round.
Their Name Liveth For Evermore.
Henry Smith MP