Last Post at the Menin Gate
Every night at
precisely 2000 hours all traffic under the Menin Gate Memorial is stopped
, to allow the Buglers of the Last Post Association to sound
their simple but moving salute to those who fought and died here so many years
ago.
On 1 July 2003 the Last Post ceremony celebrated its 75th
anniversary. It was on 1 July 1928 , that the Last Post was first played under
the Menin Gate Memorial . This ceremony was attended by approximately 70
pilgrims , many of whom were visibly moved by this solemn and sombre tribute to
their family members , who fell in defence of our city during the Great War. At
the time, the founders of our organisation expressed the hope that the ceremony
could be carried out daily, in perpetuity. We, their successors, have remained
faithful to this goal. As a result, the Last Post has been sounded every evening
at 8 o’clock, with the single exception of the period of German occupation
between 1940 and 1944. This is a record of remembrance of which our association
can rightly feel proud. However, it pales into insignificance in comparison with
the sacrifices which were made between 1914 and 1918. We therefore feel that it
is vital that this work of remembrance should be continued far into the future,
so that younger generations may also learn the terrible lessons of war and of
the generosity , sense of duty and comradship of the fallen
During the year 2003 the naming of soldiers who fell in
the Ypres Salient during the First World War will be resumed. Every
Saturday the names of a number of soldiers will be read out, one for
each day of the week, all of who died on the same date during the one of
war years (1914-1918). As such, these men will stand as representatives
of all those who fell in the defence of Ypres. Their lives and death can
tell us something about the terrible conflict in which they were
involved . They fell for king and country , for our freedom and to
restore peace . Their stories are stories of courage , devotion to duty
, of comradeship and sacrifice for others . Families or organisations
who wish to have the name of a particular soldier read out (on the
understanding that he died in the Ypres Salient on a date during the
week in question), may forward their requests via: info@lastpost.be or
in writing to: The Last Post Association, Ter Olmen 120, 8900 Ieper,
Belgium.
Cat festival
Every 3 years on the
second Sunday of May there is a big Cat Festival. Next
edition is this year in 2006.
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