Menin Gate

Ieper, Belgium

The Menin Gate Memorial - Ieper, Belgium.

The armies of many nations fought in the Salient, but Ypres has become particularly linked with the Commonwealth forces who served here continuously from October 1914 to the end of the First World War. By the time the last shells fell on Ypres in October 1918, the Salient had claimed 185,000 Commonwealth lives. More than 65,000 of these men have no known grave.

Hundreds of thousands of Commonwealth soldiers had passed through Ypres on their way to the battlefields and it was soon decided that the missing should be commemorated on a memorial here. Not surprisingly, the citizens of Ypres, anxious to rebuild their homes and lives, were not keen on Churchill's grand scheme to turn their entire town into a memorial to the fallen, but the Belgian government agreed that the Menin Gate and Ramparts should be left in their ruined state until the British government formed a more feasible plan.

By the summer of 1920 funds had been allocated for an Imperial Memorial in the form of a gateway at the "Menin Gate". Sir Reginald Blomfield, one of the Imperial (now Commonwealth) War Graves Commission's principal architects, began work on the design. At this stage it was still not known how many names would need to be inscribed on the memorial; 1,200 panels fixed to the main hall, stairways and loggias would hold about 60,000. In the event this was not enough and a second great memorial bearing 35,000 names was built at Tyne Cot.

Today, the Menin Gate is one of the most famous memorials in the world and probably the only monument that comes to life every evening by the Last Post Ceremony at 8pm. With more than 54,000 names it is the second largest memorial to the missing in the care of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.

The Menin Gate remembers Commonwealth servicemen with no known grave. But for the thousands who visit each year, the memorial is very much seen as a place to remember all those who gave their lives in the Ypres Salient. In the words of Field Marshal Plumer pronounced during the unveiling of the monument: "He is not missing: he is here!"

The Commonwealth War Graves Commission is responsible for the commemoration of almost 1,700,000 members of the Commonwealth forces who gave their lives in the two world wars. The graves and memorials of these men and women, who came from all parts of the Commonwealth and who were of many faiths and of none, are found in some 150 countries. The Commission built the Menin Gate Memorial and continues to care for it today together with more than 150 Commonwealth cemeteries and memorials in the old Salient area.

On the 3rd of October 2012 in company with our friend Cathy, my brother and I visited the Menin Gate located in the South West of Belgium. See the map above. All three of us have 'India Connections'. Therefore you will see a lot of names of Indian soldiers who served in the Imperial Army and lost their lives and have no known grave. I did not photograph all of the Indian regiments...there were too many.

We arrived just before sunset and I was able to take some photographs of a lot of the Indian names that were there in abundance.

While we there I came across a wreath which had recently been laid by a school not too far from where I live.

This school, like many in Australia, had made the pilgimage to The Menin Gate and other sites in Europe.

I would like to place a link here to their website. Please go about two thirds of the way down to see their experiences at the ceremony. The Australian Ambassadore to Belgium, Mr Brendan Nelson, accompanied the School at the ceremony.

Mr Nelson has since been appointed to the position of the Director of the The Australian War Memorial - the premier war related Museum and Research establishment in Australia. Please note that when you click on the Directors web page you will see that he is flanked by two lions. These lions were part of the original gates to the city of Ieper. As you can now see, they are now in The Australian War Memorial. The AWM holds a daily "Last Post Ceremony." It is held at 4.55 pm (AEST) and is streamed LIVE - to watch the ceremony go to this site at http://www.awm.gov.au/events/daily-closing-ceremony/


	A Visit to the Menin Gate - Belgium - 3 October 2012

	The Menin Gate Memorial - Ieper, Belgium. I should like to acquire the whole of the ruins of Ypres A more sacred place for the British race does not exist in the world. - Sir Winston Churchill. The armies of many nations fought in the Salient, but Ypres has become particularly linked with the Commonwealth forces who served here continuously from October 1914 to the end of the First World War. By the time the last shells fell on Ypres in October 1918, the Salient had claimed 185,000 Commonwealth lives. More than 65,000 of these men have no known grave. Hundreds of thousands of Commonwealth soldiers had passed through Ypres on their way to the battlefields and it was soon decided that the missing should be commemorated on a memorial here. Not surprisingly, the citizens of Ypres, anxious to rebuild their homes and lives, were not keen on Churchill's grand scheme to turn their entire town into a memorial to the fallen, but the Belgian government agreed that the Menin Gate and Ramparts should be left in their ruined state until the British government formed a more feasible plan. By the summer of 1920 funds had been allocated for an Imperial Memorial in the form of a gateway at the "Menin Gate". Sir Reginald Blomfield, one of the Imperial (now Commonwealth) War Graves Commission's principal architects, began work on the design. At this stage it was still not known how many names would need to be inscribed on the memorial; 1,200 panels fixed to the main hall, stairways and loggias would hold about 60,000. In the event this was not enough and a second great memorial bearing 35,000 names was built at Tyne Cot. Today, the Menin Gate is one of the most famous memorials in the world and probably the only monument that comes to life every evening by the Last Post Ceremony at 8pm. With more than 54,000 names it is the second largest memorial to the missing in the care of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. The Menin Gate remembers Commonwealth servicemen with no known grave. But for the thousands who visit each year, the memorial is very much seen as a place to remember all those who gave their lives in the Ypres Salient. In the words of Field Marshal Plumer pronounced during the unveiling of the monument: "He is not missing: he is here!" The Commonwealth War Graves Commission is responsible for the commemoration of almost 1,700,000 members of the Commonwealth forces who gave their lives in the two world wars. The graves and memorials of these men and women, who came from all parts of the Commonwealth and who were of many faiths and of none, are found in some 150 countries. The Commission built the Menin Gate Memorial and continues to care for it today together with more than 150 Commonwealth cemeteries and memorials in the old Salient area. On the 3rd of October 2012 in company with our friend Cathy, my brother and I visited the Menin Gate located in the South West of Belgium. See the map above. All three of us have 'India Connections'. Therefore you will see a lot of names of Indian soldiers who served in the Imperial Army and lost their lives and have no known grave. I did not photograph all of the Indian regiments...there were too many. We arrived just before sunset and I was able to take some photographs of a lot of the Indian names that were there in abundance. The ceremony was very well attended and very moving. While we there I came across a wreath which had recently been laid by a school not too far from where I live. This school, like many in Australia, had made the pilgimage to The Menin Gate and other sites in Europe. I would like to place a link here to their website. Please go about two thirds of the way down to see their experiences at the ceremony. The Australian Ambassadore to Belgium, Mr Brendan Nelson, accompanied the School at the ceremony. Here is the link to Mackay North State High School. http://resources.macknortshs.eq.edu.au/ANZAC/ Mr Nelson has since been appointed to the position of the Director of the The Australian War Memorial - the premier war related Museum and Research establishment in Australia. Please note that when you click on the Directors web page you will see that he is flanked by two lions. These lions were part of the original gates to the city of Ieper. As you can now see, they are now in The Australian War Memorial. The AWM holds a daily "Last Post Ceremony." It is held at 4.55 pm (AEST) and is streamed LIVE - to watch the ceremony go to this site at http://www.awm.gov.au/events/daily-closing-ceremony/ To see the whole Australian War Memorial site go to... http://www.awm.gov.au/ See also... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Menin_Gate http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8MJCvQ7RBWQ http://www.greatwar.co.uk/events/menin-gate-last-post-ceremony.htm http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2013/s3744903.htm http://www.lastpost.be Now to the slides that I took of our visit to the Menin Gate - Click here.

A Visit to the Menin Gate - Belgium - 3 October 2012