Armistice Day: Annual Commemorations in Ieper (Ypres)
 11th
November is a public holiday in Belgium. To mark the anniversary of Armistice
Day, 11 November 1918, commemorative events are held in Ieper (Ypres).
 10th November 2008
20.00 hours: Last Post Ceremony
The
nightly ceremony of Last Post, played by the buglers of the Ieper Volunteer
Fire Brigade, will take place.
 Traditionally this ceremony on the night before
11 November is also attended by a band, a choir and Standards. For 2008 this ceremony will be attended by the Holy Trinity Church Choir and the Devon Fire & Rescue Services Band.
Listen to a recording of the Last
Post and Reveille played by the buglers at The Menin Gate.
11th November 2008
 09.30 hours: Service of Remembrance in St. George's Church,
Ieper.
Admission to the service at St. George's Church is by ticket only. Applications for tickets
must be made in writing or email only to:
St. George's Memorial
Church, Elverdingsestraat 1, 8900 Ieper, Belgium
For email address go to St.
George's Church.
 09.30 hours: Service in Saint Martin's Cathedral
A morning service will be held in the cathedral.
 10.25 hours: The Poppy Parade Departs for the Menin Gate
The Poppy Parade is open to all to take part. Following
the service of remembrance in St. George's Church everyone attending the service, and everyone who wishes to join this parade, is invited to form up in The Poppy Parade in the square by St. George's Church and St. Martin's Cathedral (Vandepeereboomplein).
The idea for The Poppy Parade was conceived in the early 1990s by Lieutenant-Colonel
Graham Parker; it takes its inspiration from the poem by John McCrae In Flanders Fields, which was
written close to Ypres in the spring of 1915. Everyone participating in
The Poppy Parade is offered a Poppy Petal to carry to The Menin Gate Memorial.
The Poppy Parade will move off in front of the official parade of Standards, bands and
VIPs. The Poppy Parade will make its way to the Menin Gate Memorial. As the Poppy Parade passes
through The Menin Gate all the Poppy Petals carried by those in this parade are collected in baskets. The
Poppy Parade passes through the Menin Gate and is halted at the eastern side of The Menin Gate in a specially
reserved area.
 10.35 hours: Ceremony at the Belgian Army Monument
As the main parade passes the Belgian Army Monument the parade will pause for a short ceremony. This memorial is situated at the western end of the Cloth Hall.
 11.00
hours: Special Last Post Ceremony at the Menin Gate
90th Anniversary of the Armistice
The Poppy Parade and parade of bands and Standards arrives at The
Menin Gate for the special Last Post ceremony. The ceremony usually
lasts for about 45 minutes; it includes speeches, prayers, hymns, a choir,
wreath laying, Last Post and Reveille. During the minute's silence the
Poppy Petals, which were carried to The Menin Gate by the members of The
Poppy Parade, fall from the roof of the memorial.
There will be a live projection of the ceremony on a large screen on the Market Square.
 If you are a member of The Last Post Association you are invited to stand in a reserved area inside the Menin Gate. Supporting members of the association are requested to send an email to info@lastpost.be with your contact details to confirm your attendance (maximum 2 tickets per application).
 13.30 hours: Carillon Concert by City carilloneur Ludo Geloen
 16.30 hours: 'The Great War Remembered' Concert
Concert in St. Martin's Cathedral featuring The Combined Fire & Rescue Services Bands, Royal Band of the
Belgian Navy, Tracy McRory, Sint-Niklaas Male Choir and the Buglers of the Last
Post Association.
Tickets (€ 15 or € 30) will be on sale as from 15 September from
Toerisme Ieper (Ypres Tourist Office)
Cloth Hall
Grote Markt 34
8900 Ypres
Tel. +32 57 239 220
email: toerisme@ieper.be
20.00 hours: Last Post Ceremony at
the Menin Gate
The nightly ceremony of Last Post, played by the buglers of the Ieper Volunteer Fire Brigade, takes place. Traditionally this ceremony on the night of 11 November is also attended by bands and Standards.
 Participation in a Ceremony - Laying a Wreath
If you would like to lay a wreath at the Menin Gate during a ceremony contact The Last Post Association website and click on the link 'Ceremonies' for details.
Street Map of Ypres/Ieper
A street map of Ypres/Ieper is available on the Ieper
Tourist Office website and click on the link " City Map". A street map is available to download at 1. Sights and museums map. The key for the map is available to download separately at "legend for this map".
Please note that the square behind the Cloth Hall and St. Martin's Cathedral
(Vandepeereboomplein) is closed for public parking during the morning
of 11 November.
next >> Ieper (Ypres) Tourist
Office
& Information
Copyright Joanna Legg & Graham Parker
© 2002. Updated September 2008. All rights reserved |
