THE CROWDS WILL BE MISSING THIS YEAR, BUT THE PEOPLE OF YPRES AND BELGIUM WILL NOT FORGET……
AS Armistice Day nears, the Corona Virus pandemic has resulted in the general public being asked to stay away from the unique daily act of remembrance in the town of Ypres, in Flanders, on what in the First World War was the Western Front.
Since the ceremony first took place under the arches of the Menin Gate (on what was the road out to the Front Line for the British and Commonwealth soldiers in the First World War) the Last Post commemoration has taken place every day of the year, in all weathers, since it was inaugurated in the 1920s.
Only during the Second World War when Belgium was again occupied by Germany was this unique and poignant ceremony at 8.00pm every evening, suspended.
Today it is still going ahead in the midst of the worldwide pandemic, but the only people allowed to be present now are the organisers of the ceremony, The Last Post Association, and the buglers of the members of the local, Ypres, Fire Brigade.
A statement on the Last Post website reads: “A consequence of the new corona measures announced recently by the Flemish (Belgian) Government on October 27, 2020, the daily Last Post in Ypres, West Flanders, ceremony will once again be required to take place without the public, taking effect from Thursday, October 29, 2020.”
According to the organisers of this unique daily act of remembrance, “the ceremony will be restricted to an absolute minimum: namely, the playing of the Last Post as a tribute to the soldiers of the Commonwealth who fell for our freedom.
“Members of the public are explicitly requested to stay away from the Menin Gate between the hours of 19.30 and 20.10. The police will be present to prevent any form of unpermitted social gathering outside the Gate.
“This measure will apply in the first instance until Thursday, 19 November 2020, although there is a strong likelihood that it will be extended beyond that date.
“The special Last Post on Armistice Day 11/11/2020 (at the exact time of the Armistice) at 11.00am will not take place. The daily ceremony at 20.00 will take place however.
“The Last Post Association wishes to thank everyone for their willingness to comply with these measures and thereby prevent the further spread of the virus.”
I’ve attended the Menin Gate ceremony, many, many times… sometimes in the company of a couple of dozen onlookers, sometimes with several hundred people, while occasionally the crowds have been in four figures… Every time the main road is closed and an air of reverence and solemnity pervades this beautiful market town.
Once I was asked if I would like to be considered to give the oration to the Fallen “They shall grow not old……” but I demurred. I honestly didn’t think I could hold it together to manage the three or four lines necessary, such is the aura of the occasion under the arches of the Menin Gate, where hundreds of thousands of boots trod many years go, some confidently, some cautiously, some expectantly, and many many more nervously, towards their date with destiny….
The Last Post is sounded, the Silence is observed, wreaths are laid and sometimes the ceremony is attended by ex-Servicemen, Royal British Legion branches, bands, Army units and sometimes even singers and violinists perform under the arches of the Menin Gate, on which are inscribed the names of 55,000 service men and women who are buried in the Ypres salient with no known grave. Ex-service organisations from the Irish Republic are now regular attendees, and once when I attended a party of ex-Servicemen from Germany were there too taking part in the ceremony.
It is a remarkable and moving occasion, not to be missed if you are ever near the town of Ypres, when things return to normal, and we can travel back to the WW1 Bttlefields again.
I’ve probably been at the Menin Gate up to 20 times, usually with a relative or two, after we making our annual visit to my great uncle’s grave at Canada Farm cemetery about three miles from the town. The name of Rifleman George McClure from Moira, County Down is also one of the few Northern Ireland servicemen commemorated on a brass plaque just inside the door of St George’s Church in Ypres, a hundred yards or so down the street from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission’s office.
There’s lots to see in Ypres, which was completely destroyed in the Western Front bloodbath. Your first sight of the stunning Cloth Hall which houses the In Flanders Fields museum will literally take your breath away, while the Menin Gate itself and a number of cemetries are within walking distance of the Town Hall square. Just a short drive away is the island of Ireland Peace Park at Messines, while just a bit further out is Tyne Cot Cemetery near Zonnebeeke, the biggest British and Commonwealth War Cemetery in the World.
Scattered all over the area are huge memorials, museums, restored trenches and many, many cemeteries – more around Ypres than anywhere else on the Western Front. Of particular interest is the memorial to the Irish poet Francis Ledwidge at Bozinge. Your attention will be drawn to it by a huge Irish tricolour at a crossroads, while many from these parts will also be interested in visiting the solitary grave in a cornfield of the Nationalist MP for Fermanagh North, Major Willie Redmond at Loker. Significantly it is outside the perimeter of the BCWGC Loker Hospice cemetery, making a point about his political views.
Redmond in fact was a friend of the poet Ledwidge and became very enthusiastic about reconciling Protestants to Home Rule. He hoped that his expectations of Irish unity could be forged in the tranches on the Western Front. Near Ledwidge’s last resting place in Artillery Wood cemetery at Boezinge is that of Private John Condon, from Cork, who at just 14 was reckoned to be the youngest casualty of the War. Ledwidge is also remembered at the Ireland Peace Park at Messines.
You could easily spend a week in the battlefields of Flanders around Ypres, but just an hour and a half away, (mostly by motorway) are the battlefields of the Somme, halfway along the trunk road between Bapaume and Albert. Take off the main road at Poziers and within minutes you will see Sir Edwin Lutyens huge Memorial to the Missing at Thiepval, surely one of the most impressive military memorials in the world, along with its comparatively new visitor centre.
But of even greater interest to those from this part of the world, is the more modest Ulster Tower just a couple of miles away, a replica of Helen’s Tower at Clandeboye. It was the first memorial to First World War British and Commonswealth soldiers and it comes with a little cafe and visitor centre, usually manned by members of the Somme Association. Interesting for me is a painting inside the tower of Divis/Black Mountain which apparently was done by an artist working from the road near Hillsborough where I live! I think I know exactly the spot…..
While at the Somme, do not miss the hugely impressive South African Memorial at Delville Wood, the Newfoundland Park and Visitor Centre at Beaumont Hamel and the Loughnagar Crater close to Albert. All are hugely popular with tourists and people paying respects to long lost loved ones. On one visit, I took a detour and returned to Ypres via the massive Canadian memorial at Vimy Ridge, where another long lost relative of my late grandmother, is commemorated.
If you have time try to fit in a visit the beautiful little Authuille Cemetery on the slopes of the valley of the River Ancre, and hunt for the headstone of one Willie McBride, thought to be THE Willie McBride from Armagh who was immortalised by the Scottish balladeer songwriter Eric Bogle in his haunting melody The Green Fields of France. There’s actually two William McBrides in the cemetery, but it’s the one from Armagh which is supposed to have prompted the song.
I have been to many of the Second World War battle sites in Normandy, but there’s something about the scale of the losses in the First World War in a comparatively small area which makes The Great War more poignant, almost more appealing to visitors, but maybe appealing is not the word. Perhaps it’s because the vast majority of Holywood War films have featured WWII, although there has been a change in the movie industry in recent years with ‘War Horse’ and ‘1917’ proving box office hits.
For more information, about the Menin Gate ceremony visit: www.lastpost.be
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The 'Travel' Life of Brian 