Menin Gate
The Menin Gate, short for the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing, is a war memorial in Ypres, Belgium.
It is dedicated to the British and Commonwealth soldiers who were killed in the Ypres Salient of World War I, and whose graves are unknown. The memorial is the starting point for one of the main roads out of Ypres that led the Allied soldiers of WWI to the front line.
The Menin Gate Memorial was unveiled on 24 July 1927, is located at the eastern exit of Ypres and is designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield.
History
The city of Ypres, the wealthy city it was, was fortified. At the beginning of the First World War, the eastern exit simply cut through the ramparts and crossed a moat. That passage was called the Menin Gate, because the road leading through that passage lead to the town of Menen.
During the First Battle of Ypres, the Allies halted the German Army's advance to the east of the city.
British and Commonwealth soldiers often passed through the Menenpoort on their way to the front lines, where hundreds of thousands were killed in the Ypres Salient.
Memorial
The Menin Gate is in fact a mausoleum that honours the Missing, who have no known graves. Its large Hall of Memory contains the names of 54,896 Commonwealth soldiers who died without graves, cut into vast panels.
The Last Post ceremony
The citizens of Ypres wanted to express their gratitude towards those who had given their lives for Belgium's freedom: since the opening of the Menin Gate in 1927, every evening at 8:00pm, buglers from the local fire brigade sound the Last Post. Except for the occupation by the Germans in World War II, this ceremony has been carried on uninterrupted since 2 July 1928.
