This afternoon, we visited Ypres, a small city in the very western part of Belgium. Ypres occupied a strategic position during the First World War because it stood in the path of Germany's planned sweep across the rest of Belgium and into France from the north. Because it was the center of intense and sustained battles between German and Allied forces, the town was all but obliterated by the artillery fire. It was also one of the first places where chemical warfare was employed. On a peaceful note, Ypres was one of the sites that hosted an unofficial Christmas Truce in 1914 between German and British soldiers.
Ypres played an important role in the history of the textile industry. The famous Cloth Hall was built in the thirteenth century (below). After the war, the town was rebuilt using money paid by Germany in reparations with the main square, including the Cloth Hall and town hall, being rebuilt as close to the original designs as possible. Today, the second floor of the Cloth Hall is home to In Flanders Fields Museum, dedicated to Ypres's role in the First World War. The museum does not set out to glorify war, but to suggest its futility, particularly as seen in the West Flanders front region in World War I.
After we spent about an hour in the museum, we met our guide who took us to Ypres Salient, the area around Ypres, which was the scene of some of the biggest battles in World War I. Today, this area contains many cemeteries for thousands of soldiers of different nationalities who died during the war. Our first stop was the Essex Farm Cemetery where 1,204 dead are commemorated, of which 104 are unidentified.
This is believed to be the location where Major John McCrae wrote his famous poem In Flanders Fields after burying a friend. Red poppies are a symbol of remembrance throughout Belgium.
At the rear of the cemetery are the remains of the Advanced Dressing Station bunker which was the basic medical station for British Army casualties.
The Tyne Cot Cemetery is the resting place of 11,954 soldiers of the Commonwealth Forces and is the largest Commonwealth military cemetery in the world. The Cross of Sacrifice is one of the memorials at the cemetery.
We dined at this beautiful location before we went to the ceremony at the Menin Gate Memorial.
The Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing is a war memorial in Ypres dedicated to the British and Commonwealth soldiers who were killed in the Ypres Salient of World War I and whose graves are unknown.
Looking through the arch of the memorial, you can see the tower of the Cloth Hall of Ypres.
Every evening at 8 o'clock, Last Post is played at the memorial. This was started in 1927, and it has been played almost every night since except for a period in the Second World War when Ypres was occupied by German Forces. After the Last Post, individuals or groups may lay a wreath to commemorate the fallen. We also listened to a lovely choir sing the Lord’s Prayer and Let There Be Peace on Earth.
Below is the video of the Last Post: https://youtu.be/H2hNca3WUOc
It is easy to understand why these days Ypres has the title of "City of Peace."
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