Remembrance - Jun 13, 2009

Thursday 11th June. Left Haarlem and made our way to Ypres, the scene of some of the most violent battles of the First World War. We had been there many times before but never seen the last post ceremony at the Menen Gate. During the war the whole town had been razed to the ground during the four major battles fought over it and the medieval Cloth Hall, the largest non-ecclesiastical building in Europe, and the cathedral were included. Since the war the town was rebuilt and those two great buildings were included. The Cathedral was rebuilt to a similar design to the original but a little grander but the Cloth Hall was rebuilt identically to the original schematic drawings. Within this vast building which houses many functions has been added a wonderful museum called ‘In Flanders Fields’. We had seen its predecessor many years ago but were urged by Ron McEvoy to see it. He was right! Everyone who sees it must come away realising that war rarely solves problems and most wars create even greater hatreds for the future to solve. Both of us were deeply moved by the experience.

In the evening we took our place early (7.30) ready to see the ceremony at the Menin Gate which straddles the highway from Ypres down which Belgian, French, Commonwealth and British troops walked to the front, many never returning. After the war a gateway was erected to honour the 54,896 British and Empire troops who had no known grave, onto which every name is carved in company, regiment and national groups. There are so many names that the gate, 150ft long by 60ft wide and 60ft high, with its two split staircases to the city ramparts, are completely covered. As 8.00 approached the numbers of spectators reached many hundreds and were made up of locals wishing to keep the tradition alive, visitors interested in the history of the first world war and veteran groups with ancestors named on the gate. At 8.00 the local fire officers in full dress uniforms paraded at one end with their flag and at the other end four officers marched to their place and played the last post. A dropped pin could have been heard in the silence, which continued as groups of veterans, children and townsfolk laid wreaths. We were extremely moved as were many grown men who were weeping openly after the short ceremony.