The Menin Gate

  The Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing is a war memorial in Ypres, dedicated to the commemoration of British and Commonwealth soldiers who were killed in the Ypres Salient of the First World War 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.

Its large Hall of Memory contains names on stone panels of 54,896 Commonwealth soldiers who died in the Salient but whose bodies have never been identified or found.

Every evening at 20:00, buglers from the local fire brigade close the road which passes under the Memorial and 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
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.

Menin Gate Memorial at night (Flikr Photo)


Poppy petals released from the ceiling of  the Menin Gate monument during the 11/11/11 ceremony

The names of just a few of the 54,896 soldiers who's bodies  have never been found (Flikr Photo)