Monday, 26 September 2011

He is not missing. He is here


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. The memorial is located at the eastern exit of the town and marks the starting point for one of the main roads out of the town that led Allied soldiers to the front line.
The first of the Imperial War Graves Commission's Memorials to the Missing, the Menin Gate Memorial, designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield and built by the British government, was unveiled on 24 July 1927.

Canadian Encyclopedia Monuments, World Wars I and II
Viewed 26 Sept 2011

^ http://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.com/index.cfm?PgNm=TCE&Params=A1ARTA0009128
The Canadian Encyclopedia :  Editor in Chief : James H. Marsh

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.




Last Post at the Menin gate a video by Nick J Stone on Flickr.
This is the last post ceremony held each evening at 8pm

 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.


"He is not missing. He is here"
—a quote from Lord Plumer's address at the monument's unveiling, 1927

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