Menin Gate and the Last Post

The Menin Gate is an imposing memorial to the fallen of World War I in the Belgium town of Ypres (Iepers). During the conflict, the Ypres Salient was the scene of terrible fighting and was nicknamed "Wipers" by the British Tommies who fought there. More than a quarter of a million men from Britain and the Commonwealth died in the fighting around this historic town. Of those men, around 100,000 have no known grave and around half of those are commemorated on the Menin Gate. This memorial to the missing bears the names of 54,000 men from all over the globe.

Throughout the Western Front battlefields of Belgium and France, there are many memorials but the Menin Gate is significant for more than just its size. The gate stands at the Eastern exit of the town and the road leads straight to the old front line. The memorial was built by the British government and was unveiled in 1927. Its location seems appropriate and many of the men whose names are commemorated on the Menin Gate, will have marched along this very road to the front line, never to return.

The citizens of Ypres were all to aware of the debt of gratitude they owed the fallen that they came up with an idea to honour them. Since 1928, each night at 8pm, traffic is stopped from passing through the Menin Gate and a short ceremony takes place. Buglers from the Last Post Association and local fire brigade gather to play the "Last Post". The ceremony should not be considered as entertainment, it is a solemn event and although the public are free to attend the ceremony, they should remember the reasons that it takes place.

The ceremony has taken place every night since 2nd July 1928, only interrupted during World War II when the town was occupied by Germany. During the occupation of Ypres, the ceremony took place at Brookwood Military Cemetery in Surrey, UK. The very day that Ypres was liberated from the Germans in World War II, was once again conducted at the Menin Gate.