The Last Post Ceremony, Ieper — Menin Gate
Every night at 8.00pm (20:00 hours) a moving ceremony takes place under the Menin Gate in Ieper.
Some evenings, particularly in summer, there are large crowds of visitors. At other times, on a weekday or in winter, the pavements under the memorial can be empty - though that is becoming rare now. In any case, every evening the busy road through the memorial is closed to traffic shortly before the ceremony.
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For a few moments the noise of traffic ceases and a stillness descends over the memorial. At exactly 20:00 hours up to six members of the regular buglers from the local volunteer Fire Brigade step into the roadway under the memorial arch. They play Last Post, followed by a short silence and then play Reveille.
On some occasions the ceremony may be extended. Visiting individuals and groups may lay a wreath and there may be music by bands, choirs, orchestras, or a parade by Standards and military personnel.
The Last Post Ceremony has become part of the daily life in Ieper (Ypres) and the local people are proud of this simple but moving tribute to the courage and self-sacrifice of those who fell in defence of their town.
Hear Last Post and Reveille
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Hear extracts from the daily ceremony under the Menin Gate:-
(These soundfiles are the copyright of www.greatwar.co.uk and may not be reproduced without permission.)
How the Tradition Began
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In 1928, a year after the inauguration of the Menin Gate Memorial, a number of prominent citizens in Ypres decided that some way should be found to express the gratitude of the Belgian nation towards those who had died for its freedom and independence.
The idea of the daily sounding of the Last Post - the traditional salute to the fallen warrior - was that of the Superintendant of the Ypres Police, Mr P Vandenbraambussche. The Menin Gate Memorial on the east side of Ypres was thought to be the most appropriate location for the ceremony. Originally this was the location of the old city gate leading to the Ypres Salient battlefields and The Menin Road, through which so many British and Commonwealth troops had passed on their way to the Allied front line.
The privilege of playing Last Post was given to buglers of the local volunteer Fire Brigade. The first sounding of Last Post took place on 1st July 1928 and a daily ceremony was carried on for about four months. The ceremony was reinstated in the spring of 1929 and the Last Post Committee (now called the Last Post Association) was established. Four silver bugles were donated to the Last Post Committee by the Brussels and Antwerp Branches of the Royal British Legion.
From 11th November, 1929 the Last Post has been sounded at the Menin Gate Memorial every night and in all weathers. The only exception to this was during the four years of the German occupation of Ypres from 20th May 1940 to 6th September 1944. The daily ceremony was instead continued in England at Brookwood Military Cemetery, Surrey. On the very evening that Polish forces liberated Ypres the ceremony was resumed at the Menin Gate, in spite of the heavy fighting still going on in other parts of the town. Bullet marks can still be seen on the memorial from that time.
When the Last Post returned to Ieper (Ypres) after the Second World War the Brookwood Last Post Association (under Colonel McKay) continued and still continues to sound the Last Post at Brookwood Military Cemetery on the first Sunday of the month at 16.00 hours GMT (UTC). The Brookwood Last Post Association makes an annual pilgrimage to Ieper and the Ypres Salient around the month of April.
The Origin of ‘Réveille’ and ‘Last Post’
The tradition of sounding a bugle or drum at various stages of a soldier's day originated in the British Army. In the military camp at the start of the day a wake-up bugle call called ‘Réveille’ from the French word “réveiller” - to wake up - would be played. At various times of the day inspections would be made of each sentry post and a bugle call played at each post.
The tradition of the final bugle call of the day signalling the end of the soldier's day dates back to the 17th century when the British Army was on campaign in the Netherlands. There was already a Dutch custom in existance called “Taptoe”. This was a signal at the end of the day to shut off the beer barrel taps and the name comes from the Dutch “Doe den tap toe” - “turn the tap off”. From that time the British Army adopted a routine of also sounding drum beats as the officer on duty made his rounds in the evening to check sentry posts and to call off-duty soldiers out of the pub and back to their billets. When the bugle call of ‘Last Post’ was sounded at the final sentry post inspection this was the final warning that everyone should be back in their billets.
The ‘Last Post’ bugle call is used at military funerals, memorials and times of Remembrance. It symbolises the ‘end of the soldier's day’ in so far as the dead soldier has finished his duty and can rest in peace.
The Ypres Bugles
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In the 1950s two silver bugles were presented by the Old Contemptibles' Association of Blackpool and Fleetwood and two silver trumpets were presented by Colonel I Whitaker to the memory of former Cavalry and Artillerymen.
New Bugles from the Royal Corps of Transport (1992)
By the early 1990s the six bugles which had been presented to the Last Post Association in 1929 and the 1950s were beginning to lose their tone. They had been blown every night for 60 years without interruption, except for the period of German occupation in the Second World War.
In 1992 six new silver bugles were presented to the Last Post Association. The idea to give new bugles, to ensure the daily act of Remembrance might continue for many more years to come, was that of retired Lieutenant Colonel Graham Parker, OBE. Graham was responsible for arranging this gift from serving personnel of the Royal Corps of Transport, now amalgamated into the Royal Logistics Corps.
The official hand-over of the new bugles was carried out in July 1992 at a ceremony to mark the 65th anniversary of the dedication of the Menin Gate.
New Bugles from the Royal British Legion (2007)
Eight new bugles were presented to the Last Post Association by the Royal British Legion in July 2007 on the occasion of the sounding of Last Post at the Menin Gate for the 27,702nd time.
Related Links
Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing
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The Memorial to commemorate the names of over 54,000 officers and men of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth Forces who died in the Ypres Salient before 16th August 1917 and who have no known grave.
Menin Gate Memorial to the MissingLast Post Association
The Last Post Association is responsible for the arrangements and sounding of Last Post at the daily ceremony at the Menin Gate Memorial. Individuals or groups wishing to lay a wreath or enquire about special arrangements for a ceremony should go to:
Last Post AssociationAcknowledgements
Original photo of Last Post Association Buglers: courtesy of the Ieper Tourist Office, Stad Ieper: copyright Tijl Capoen.
(1) Photograph courtesy of the Ieper Tourist Office, Stad Ieper: copyright Tijl Capoen.
Before Endeavours Fade, by Rose E B Coombs, MBE
The Brookwood Last Post Association