29th of June 2019 I set off from Sheffield on my cycle via the Hull Zeebrugge ferry to visit Ypres (Leper) to pay my respects at the Menin Gate and visit as many places in Flanders as possible in 5 days.
Ypres and the Menin Gate were my goal for a central location to help me visit as many as possible locations via cycle and walking.
The Menin Gate
I have read around the conflict from various viewpoints and watched various documentaries, but the Menin Gate stopped me in my tracks. I was not expecting so many names for the missing, I was moved so much it took me a day to get over the shear numbers involved. I took part in the memorial free tour www.cwgc.org which was incredible and informative. The ceremony at 2000hrs was also a moving experience and I was surprised how many people attend and show their respects.
The Missing
Menin Gate my first view was the gallery upstairs and this is on one side the names of the missing Commonwealth Troops, the overwhelming number will always be difficult to explain to anyone who has not visited. I have read several publications around the battles and the missing soldiers but the numbers do not communicate to the reader as the visual names do even though they are not pictures, but the saying goes “a picture paints a thousand words” The Menin Gate Inauguration Ceremony – Sunday 24th July, 1927 Field Marshal Herbert Plumer in 1927 “He is not missing; he is here“
Facing the Battlefields
The Lion in defiance lays guarding the Menin Gate and Ypres. The Commonwealth War Graves Commission(CWGC) keep everything in fantastic condition. The Lion on top was sculptured in position a workshop was built around the stone and craftsmen worked on the stone. This part of the gate was slightly damaged during WW II when the British planted explosives under the bridge to hinder the German Army. The damage was going to be repaired but the Commission decided to leave the damage as this was a living memorial.
The route to the battle fields from Ypres the Menin Gate (Top Center) bridges the road where the troops passed over the water, a Lion faces the battlefields on top of the memorial on the other side see the top photgraph. We have to remember Ypres was raised to the ground, there was not one building standing after the war. The buildings were completely restored by the residents after the war, this was achieved by the building being built to the exact copy of the original architects drawings which were held by local resident. Looking on the front of the buildings you see dates like 1922, 1923 indicating that the buildings are less than a hundred years old .
The Daily Memorial 2000hrs
The Ceremony is held every evening at 2000 hrs in the Menin Gate itself. I was 1 hour early to get a place and it was a good decision as the crowds are building around that time, by the time the ceremony begins there is no space under the gate and crowds stand either side of the gate to pay their respects. I estimated around 2000 people attended of all nationalities and locals. I attended the ceremony on two consecutive nights and it was very warming to see many youngsters from the United Kingdom and Local Scout groups paying their respects. Cadets and British Army had a presence and assisted in the ceremony. The first night a band from Northern Ireland attended and the second night cadets and a band from Nottinghamshire, both showed great respect and dignity. The whole ceremony was well organised and moving. See the Facebook page for more information. https://www.facebook.com/lastpostieper/
