Went to the Menin Gate Service this evening. The road from Ypres / Ieper (I'll use Ypres from now on as it is the most common way to spell it when studying WWI history) is closed off at 8:00pm every night where the Menin Gate is located. A short memorial service is conducted, where the Last Post is played by the local Fire Brigade and The Ode is read out. Representatives of different groups then lay wreaths off to the side of the Gate. This ceremony has been happening every evening since the end of WWI. There was a break in evening services during WWII, but as soon as the war ended, the services spontaneously started again.
This evening, a group from the RAAF were there doing their catafalque and drill. They are currently in Belgium to recover a spitfire pilot's body - it is the responsibility of the relevant service to look after the body from the point of recovery until it is interred. So there was a massive crowd of several hundred people; many of whom are Australian.
I was near the front row, and had a reasonable view; apart from a really annoying group of people (I am not sure of their nationality), who constantly moved from side to side and were constantly talking throughout the whole service; even after the MC for the service had explicitly told the crowd that during the service it is forbidden to speak. A short, New Zealand woman next to me kept trying to hint to them to be quiet, but to no avail. Very disappointing...
The service was over quickly and I was impressed with how it iwas run and how emotional it is. I must go again and this time, hopefully, it will be easier to see.
No comments:
Post a Comment