The Menin Gate: Looking towards Ypres (Ieper)

The Menin Gate: Looking towards Ypres (Ieper)
Originally uploaded by CopperPhoenix

The Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing is a war memorial in Ypres, Belgium dedicated to the commemoration of British and Commonwealth soldiers who were killed in the Ypres Salient of World War I and whose graves are unknown. Carved on stone panels are the names of 54,896 Commonwealth soldiers who died in the Salient but whose bodies have never been identified or found. On completion of the memorial, it was discovered to be too small to contain all the names as originally planned. An arbitrary cut-off point of 15 August 1917 was chosen and the names of 34,984 UK missing after this date were inscribed on the Tyne Cot Memorial to the Missing instead. The Menin Gate Memorial does not list the names of the missing of New Zealand and Newfoundland soldiers, who are instead honoured on separate memorials.

Following the Menin Gate Memorial opening in 1927, the citizens of Ypres wanted to express their gratitude towards those who had given their lives for Belgium's freedom. As such, every evening at 20:00, buglers from the local fire brigade close the road which passes under the Memorial and sound the Last Post. Except for the occupation by the Germans in World War II when the daily ceremony was conducted at Brookwood Military Cemetery, in Surrey, England, this ceremony has been carried on uninterrupted since 2 July 1928. On the very evening that Polish forces liberated Ypres in the Second World War, the ceremony was resumed at the Menin Gate despite the fact that heavy fighting was still taking place in other parts of the town.

The ceremony is a solemn occasion, and therefore not intended as entertainment or a tourist attraction. The buglers usually remain at the scene for a short while after the ceremony, at which point appreciation can be expressed in person; it is not considered appropriate to applaud during, or after, the ceremony.

Copper Phoenix is preparing a talk on Ypres and the battles, if you'd like to know more or book please email hello@copperphoenix.co.uk