In April this year, my husband Tony and I made a pilgrimage to the Belgian cities of Mons and Ieper (“Ypres”), two sites of significant battles of World War I. Our interest in these sites arose from my great-uncle Henry’s World War I service in France and Belgium, and the name my great-grandparents chose (in 1915) as the name of their rural property, “Mons”, at Rannes, Central Queensland.

The following account is about our visit to Ypres. I’ve written previously about our visit to Mons, and the part the city of Mons played in World War I, in WWI pilgrimage to Belgium: Mons, The First & The Last (October 17, 2025).

This account focuses on the part Ypres played in World War I and its ongoing role in honouring British, Commonwealth and Belgian victims of World War I.

Ieper (or “Ypres”) is a city in Belgium’s West Flanders province, close to the French border. The population of Ieper and surrounding villages is approximately 35,000. The official language is Flemish. Ieper (spelt with a capital “I”) is the city’s name in Flemish and its official name. Nevertheless, the city is still widely known in English by its French name “Ypres”. Interestingly, many signs still use both names, because of the area’s history and proximity to the French border.

Ypres was a symbol of Allied resistance throughout World War I.  Except for a brief occupation by the Germans in 1914, it stood defiant. The Ypres Salient, so-called because of a protruding bulge of the British front line into German-held territory east of Ypres, was one of the deadliest battlefields of World War I.

Australian troops fought in key battles within the larger Ypres campaigns. During the Third Battle of Ypres, also known as Passchendaele, approximately 6,800 Australian soldiers died out of 38,000 Australian casualties (killed in action, missing, wounded) in eight weeks of fighting. These were the Australian Imperial Force (AIF)’s greatest losses of the entire war, a result of the brutal conditions. The men had to deal not only with the mud but also with heavy artillery fire that destroyed the fragile landscape and made it even more treacherous. [1]

By the end of the war, incessant German artillery fire had almost completely destroyed the once beautiful Gothic city of Ypres.  

Ieper today is the site of the In Flanders Fields Museum and two great memorials to the fallen of the Great War (1914-1918). One is the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing. The other is St George’s Memorial Church.

Tyne Cot Cemetery and Memorial is located about 10 kilometres northeast of Ieper town centre. The cemetery, the world’s largest British Commonwealth war cemetery, contains the graves of 11,965 British and Commonwealth servicemen, including 1373 Australians, who fought and died here in World War I. The memorial contains the names of 34,936 British and New Zealand servicemen who have no known grave.

Tony and I arrived by train at Ypres around midday on Thursday 24 April. The first thing we noticed was “Station Ieper”, the city’s railway station. We couldn’t help but compare it with the spectacular railway station complex at Mons.

Given our experience at Mons, we went directly to the taxi rank, intending to take a taxi to our lodgings. Instead, we met a most agreeable taxi driver, who assured us that we could easily walk there. Indeed, he was so persuasive, not wanting to take our money, that we felt obliged to take his advice.

The taxi driver was right. The walk from the railway station to our bed and breakfast (B&B) was relatively short and easy. There were no cobblestones, and no hill(s). The pavement was smooth and the ground flat. After meeting our delightful host and dropping off our luggage, we began our first day exploring the city of Ypres and district.

Day 1.

Menin Gate Memorial, Tyne Cot Cemetery and Memorial

We headed for the city centre, the Grote Markt (Market Square), about 5 minutes’ walk from our B&B. On our way, we stopped to look at the Ypres War Memorial. It’s dedicated to the servicemen and women, and citizens, of Ypres and district who died in the two world wars.

The Ypres Cloth Hall totally dominates the Market Square. It is huge. It’s a faithful reconstruction of the original building, which was completely destroyed in World War I except for a section of the tower and a couple of walls. The original building was constructed between 1200 and 1304. Then, it served as a marketplace and warehouse for the city’s cloth trade. Now, it houses the city’s Visitor Information Centre (ground floor) and the In Flanders Fields Museum (first floor).

The Cloth Hall is considered one of Europe’s finest examples of a medieval commercial building. The 70-metre-high Belfry Tower, rising from the middle of the long face of the building, is a UNESCO world heritage listed site.

Across the square from the Cloth Hall, we found a bronze scale model of the Cloth Hall. A local man, Georges Baert, produced a wooden maquette of the model, which he then had cast in bronze.

From the Market Square, we headed along Menenstraat towards the Menin Gate Memorial to the Missing (“Menin Gate” for short). It’s one of at least four major memorials to the missing in and around Ypres. Others include the Tyne Cot Memorial, Polygon Wood Memorial and Messines Ridge (New Zealand) Memorial.

Menin Gate Memorial, Ypres

The Menin Gate is one of the world’s greatest war memorials. Before and during World War I, it was a simple passageway through the city walls, a bridge over the moat. During the war hundreds of thousands of soldiers marched over the bridge and through the opening on their way to the Ypres Salient. Many would never return.

Cinematographer George Hubert Wilkins made the following silent film in October 1917. It shows the AIF operations during the Third Battle of Ypres in the Ypres Salient east of Ypres, in September and October 1917.

After the war the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) chose this site as a fitting location for a permanent memorial to British and Commonwealth soldiers who died in the Ypres Salient and who have no known grave.

Construction of the memorial commenced in 1923. Its unveiling took place on 24 July 1927. King Albert I of Belgium, along with thousands of relatives of the fallen, veterans and local people attended the opening ceremony. Field Marshal Sir Herbert Plumer, a senior British Army officer of World War I, delivered the keynote address and performed the official opening.

Sir Reginald Blomfield, one of the CWGC’s original principal architects, designed the Menin Gate. It is based around a long barrel-vault with a pair of triumphal arches at each of the east-west entrances. Over both entrances, above the arches, we noted the following inscription: “To the armies of the British Empire who stood here from 1914 to 1918 and to those of their dead who have no known grave”.

The lions of Menin Gate

A lion statue sits atop the eastern entrance to the Menin Gate. The lion is the symbol of the City of Ieper (Ypres).

Today, two prominent life-size lion statues stand on guard at the eastern entrance of the memorial. These stone lions are replicas of the original lions that stood in this place, on plinths, at the start of World War I.

In 1936, the city of Ypres gifted the original war damaged lions to the Australian people. They symbolise the closeness of the relationship between Belgium and Australia, which first developed during the First World War. Thousands of Australian soldiers marched between these lions on their way to the Ypres Salient in 1917. More than 13,000 Australians died on Belgian soil fighting for Belgium’s freedom.

The Australian Government restored the war-damaged lions, and since 1991 the two lions have graced the entrance to the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. 

In 2018, the Australian Government gifted two new lions to the City of Ieper. They are perfect replicas of the original lions, made in Belgium using the same stone as the originals and carved by Belgian stonemasons. They stand as a permanent reminder of the gratitude of the Australian people towards the people of Belgium for their commitment to remembering Australia’s sacrifice in World War I.

Inside the Menin Gate Memorial

We went inside, into the main hall. Above the entrance to the staircases on either side of the main hall, we noted this inscription: “Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam – Here are recorded names of officers and men who fell in Ypres Salient but to whom the fortune of war denied the known and honoured burial given to their comrades in death.”

The memorial is massive, both in its dimensions and the number of names engraved on its white stone walls. Silent, lost in sad and grateful reflection, Tony and I wandered around the interior of the building, up and down stairs and along corridors, pausing from time to time to read the names of the missing and their units.

Altogether 54,896 names are engraved on 60 panels on the walls of the memorial. They are the names of British and Commonwealth soldiers who died in the Ypres Salient in World War I and who have no known grave. The vast majority of names (over 40,000) represent British soldiers who died before 16 August 1917. The walls of the Menin Gate Memorial bear the names of over 6000 Australian soldiers.  

There are just so many names. “How can I begin to appreciate so much loss of life…so many young lives cut short?” I thought. I felt quite overwhelmed as I reminded myself that all of these names represent men who died and who never had a proper burial.

“How can I honour the memory of at least some of these men?” I mused.

I decided to photograph some of the panels listing the names of Australian soldiers. In each one, the men’s names are listed alphabetically and according to regiment and unit. I chose two panels: No. 27 and No. 31. But not the whole panels. The panels themselves are huge, displaying (on average) about 900 names. On returning home, I intended to research the background of some of the men named on these two panels.

What I learnt about the men whose names I photographed

The first photograph, the last section of Panel 27, shows the names of 36 men of the 48^th Battalion, Australian Infantry, AIF. Note their rank: Private. This is the lowest rank for a trained soldier.

Four of these men died on 8-9 June 1917, during the Battle of Messines (7-14 June 1917), a major British and Commonwealth offensive near the village of Messines in West Flanders.

Of the 36 men named, 32 died on the same day, 12 October 1917. They died during the ill-fated attempt to take Passchendaele Ridge from the defending Germans. The battle took place in the most appalling waterlogged conditions and under intense German artillery fire. It is why the name Passchendaele became synonymous with “slaughter”. [2] The 48^th Battalion suffered heavily, losing 369 men killed or wounded, out of 621 men involved. [3]

Three of the 36 men were recipients of the Military Medal, one of the highest awards for bravery available to “Other Ranks” (all personnel who are not commissioned officers).

One, Private Walter Henry Williams MM, 22, a farmer of Tumby Bay, South Australia, received the Military Medal for his actions at Bullecourt (France), on 10-11 April 1917.

A second soldier, Private Richard Gregory Robinson MM, 26, a poultry farm assistant of Nairne, South Australia, was awarded the Military Medal for his courageous conduct and devotion to duty at Messines (Belgium), from 7-12 June 1917.

The third recipient, Private John Andrew Quinlan MM, 32, married, a miner from Broken Hill, New South Wales, was awarded the Military Medal posthumously on 9 November 1917. At the time Private Quinlan was listed as “wounded in action”, then later “missing in action”. It was not until 8 April 1918 that a Court of Enquiry confirmed that he was killed in action, on 12 October 1917.

Two brothers of Private Quinlan also served in the AIF. One, Private Denis Quinlan, 31, of the 20^th Infantry Battalion, also died in the Third Battle of Ypres. He died on 20 September 1917. Like his brother, Private Denis Quinlan has no known grave. His name is recorded on Panel 23 of the Menin Gate Memorial. The other brother, Lieutenant James Quinlan, survived the war and returned to Australia in 1919.

Of the soldiers of the 48^th Battalion named on Panel 27, Private Harold Keith Page, of Keswick, South Australia, was the youngest. He enlisted at 16. Private Page was just 17 years old when he was killed in action at Passchendaele on 12 October 1917.

In the following photograph, I’ve captured the names of commissioned officers and some of the non-commissioned officers (“Other Ranks”) of the Australian Machine Gun Corps. Of the 15 commissioned officers named, four received awards for bravery.

London-born Lieutenant Stanley William Gritten MC, 25, Secretary of the Student Union, Sydney University, enlisted in the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) in January 1916. In 1917, he was transferred to the AIF, 20^th Battalion, later the 5^th Machine Gun Company. He was awarded the Military Cross for his actions in France on 7 July 1917. The citation read [4]:

For conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty. He took an active part in reorganizing the stragglers of three battalions and displayed high courage in leading them forward. He proved himself a cool, capable officer, with sound judgment.

Lieutenant Gritten was killed in action in the Ypres Salient on 10 October 1917.

Lieutenant Benno Carl Lehmann DSO MC, 37, married, a marine engineer from Fremantle, Western Australia, served in the 3^rd Australian Machine Gun Company. He received two meritorious service awards. The first, the Distinguished Service Order, was awarded for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty while in charge of a gun and later in leading a successful bombing attack, on 6 May 1917. The second, the Military Cross, was awarded posthumously, on 20 December 1917. Lieutenant Lehmann was killed in action at Glencorse Wood, Ypres, on 21 September 1917.

Lieutenant Norman Martin MC, of Charters Towers, Queensland, enlisted for overseas service on 30 August 1915. Once on the field, he rose quickly through the ranks. He was promoted to Lance Corporal on 22 November 1916, to Second Lieutenant on 31 January 1917, and to Lieutenant on 11 June 1917. From 31 January 1917, he served with the 21^st Machine Gun Company. He was awarded the Military Cross for conspicuous gallantry and devotion to duty at Lagnicourt (France) on 15 April 1917. Lieutenant Martin was killed in action near Ypres, Belgium, six months later, on 29 October 1917. He was just 20 years old.

Second Lieutenant Francis Edward Maxwell Mackay MM, 21, a student of Dookie Agricultural College, Shepparton, Victoria, served in the 10^th Machine Gun Company. He received his commission on 26 June 1917. This promotion followed his brave actions during the Battle of Messines, for which he was awarded the Military Medal. He died on 12 October 1917, in the battle for Passchendaele Ridge. His commanding officer, in a letter to Lieutenant Mackay’s grieving father, wrote:

A W Wardell, Captain Commanding Machine Gun Company

Two of the other men who names appear on this section of Panel 31 are Sergeant Leonard Say MM and Lance Corporal Robert Charles Gordon Greig MM. They were young men, with promising careers and their whole lives ahead of them. Both were recipients of the Military Medal.

Sergeant Leonard Say MM, a schoolteacher of Corryong, Victoria, enlisted in the AIF on 31 August 1914. He served at Gallipoli before relocating to France and Belgium, where he joined the 1^st Machine Gun Company. He was awarded the Military Medal for his brave actions on 4-5 October, when his company attacked enemy positions east of Ypres. Sergeant Say was killed in action in Belgium one month later, on 7 November 1917. He was 27.

A local newspaper article, reporting his death, stated [5]:

The deceased soldier at the time of enlisting in 1914 was teacher of the Thougla school and was a young man highly respected by all. His father is a Church of England minister in England. A family of five sons all went to war, and deceased is the second to be killed. In respect to his memory District Inspector Armitage closed the Thougla school on the 28^th ult.

Lance Corporal Robert Charles Gordon Greig MM, of the 6^th Machine Gun Company, enlisted in June 1915. Prior to enlistment, he worked for the State Rivers and Water Supply Department, Rochester, Victoria, as an Assistant Engineer. He served at Gallipoli, and in France and Belgium.

Lance Corporal Greig was awarded the Military Medal for conspicuous bravery on 26 August 1916 at Pozieres and Mouquet Farm (France). He was killed in action near Ypres, Belgium, on 9 October 1917. He was 24. His older brother, Lieutenant Norman James Greig, was killed in action at Gallipoli in July 1915, but had been reported missing for more than two years.

The following tribute appeared in the Family Notices of The Argus (Melbourne) on 19 November 1917 under the heading “Died On Service” [6]:

Menin Gate, Ypres, the city ramparts

Before Tony and I left the Menin Gate, we ventured onto the ramparts to the north and south of the building. On the southern side, we found a tactile bronze model, an exact replica of the Menin Gate Memorial. Unveiled in 2010, it includes Braille information plaques, allowing visitors with visual impairments to experience the memorial through touch.

Close by, we found a small but impressive monument bearing a bronze relief plaque by sculptor “Ross J Bastiaan”. Dr Ross Jan Bastiaan is a Melbourne-based periodontist and colonel in the Australian Army Reserve. He has produced and placed more than 140 such plaques at sites throughout the world where Australian soldiers have been involved.

As we wandered further along the southern ramparts, we came across two more memorials. The first, the Indian Forces Memorial, honours the 130,000 troops of the Indian Forces who served in Flanders during World War I. Over 9,000 men of the Indian Expeditionary Force died as casualties in France and Flanders, not only from battle injuries but also as a result of the severe winter weather conditions they experienced there.

The second, the Nepalese Memorial, honours the estimated 100,000 Gurkhas (Nepalese soldiers recruited for the British Army) who served in World War I. It is a small, humble tribute to the bravery of these soldiers, with some Gurkhas also commemorated on the Menin Gate Memorial itself. 

Tyne Cot Cemetery and Memorial

Late in the afternoon of Day 1, Tony and I visited Tyne Cot Cemetery and Memorial. The day was cold and bleak, the sky overcast and threatening rain. But we decided to go anyway.

The cemetery is located about 10 kilometres northeast of Ieper’s town centre. We made enquiries about how to get there (by taxi, by bus) and chose to catch a bus. Taking a taxi would have been far too expensive. The person who told us about the bus gave us the impression that the bus stopped right outside the cemetery. But that was not so.

We took the No. 90 bus from the city centre bus stop. The bus was packed. We asked the driver to give us a shout when he reached Tyne Cot. He did so. Tony and I hopped off the bus and looked around. We could see the main road, a few houses, and farming land. “Where is the cemetery?” we asked each other.

Then we saw the sign “Tyne Cot Cemetery & Memorial”. We began walking towards the cemetery. We discovered that the cemetery is located about one kilometre from the main road. That was not what we expected. I suppose it wouldn’t be a problem if you came by car or tourist coach. But we were on foot.

When we finally reached the site (“Surely it’s around the next corner…”), we found ourselves in the visitors’ car park. The first thing we noticed was the following display advertising Anzac Day. The other side of this frame gave the explanation of Anzac Day and where visitors could attend Anzac Day services in and around Ypres. “What a wonderful tribute,” we thought.

With not a lot of time to spare, we went directly from the car park to the Visitors’ Centre. Queen Elizabeth II and Queen Paola of Belgium officially opened the centre in July 2007. It is a fairly large open-spaced building with a west facing window wall. The building contains a small museum, providing information about the cemetery and the fallen of Passchendaele, and offering a panoramic view over the 1917 battlefields.

What I remember most about the museum is the non-stop slideshow of images of the deceased accompanied by a recording of their names and ages. The recording filled the room, continuously, the dulcet tones of the woman’s voice both calming and mournful.

We gained much of the following information about the history of Tyne Cot from the exhibits in the Visitors’ Centre.

The story of Tyne Cot

In 1917, Tyne Cottage, or Tyne Cot for short, was a farm building on the site where the Germans built their bunkers or “blockhouses”. The site, about 10 km northeast of Ypres, near the village of Passendale (“Passchendaele”), was very important strategically because of its higher elevation and perfect view of Ypres. According to one theory, the Northumberland Fusiliers named the building “Tyne Cottage” because it reminded them of cottages near the River Tyne in the north of England.

On 4 October 1917, Australian troops reached the site. The 40^th Battalion AIF of the 3^rd Australian Division broke through the German positions at Tyne Cot. An inscription on the walls of one of the former blockhouses, below the Cross of Sacrifice today, honours them. It reads: “This was the Tyne Cot Blockhouse captured by the 3^rd Australian Division 4^th October 1917”.

Sergeant Lewis McGee VC, of Claremont, Tasmania, is one of the Australian soldiers buried in the Tyne Cot Cemetery. He is also one of six Victoria Cross recipients buried or commemorated at Tyne Cot.

During the Third Battle of Ypres, on 4 October 1917, Sergeant McGee’s battalion captured the area where Tyne Cot Cemetery now stands. Sergeant McGee singlehandedly stormed one of the nearby German bunkers. For his courage on 4 October 1917, he was awarded the Victoria Cross. Sergeant McGee was killed in action just eight days later, on 12 October 1917. He was 29 years old.

Over the weeks that followed the 4 October success, Australian and New Zealand troops tried in vain to reach Passendale. Medical staff set up a medical dressing station in the largest bunker. They buried those who succumbed to their injuries near the entrance to the bunker. These disorderly graves, near the Cross of Sacrifice, form the heart of the Tyne Cot Cemetery today.

After the war, over a three-year period, thousands of bodies were recovered from the nearby battlefields and interred at Tyne Cot. Most of them could not be identified.

Tyne Cot Cemetery opened officially on 19 June 1927. By that time, it was already a place of pilgrimage for war veterans and the families of those who died in the battle for Passchendaele.

Today, Tyne Cot Cemetery is the largest Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) cemetery in the world. It contains the graves of 11,968 servicemen. The majority (about 7 out of 10) have no names. The cemetery contains the graves of 1,373 Australian servicemen who died in the Third Battle of Ypres, also known as “Passchendaele”.

English architect Sir Herbert Baker, assisted by John Reginald Truelove, designed Tyne Cot Cemetery and Memorial. They incorporated three German bunkers into the cemetery design, a reminder that the site was once a battlefield. They chose the central bunker (the former medical dressing station) as the site of the Cross of Sacrifice.

Tyne Cot Cemetery and Memorial: Our visit

After viewing the educational exhibits in the Visitors’ Centre, Tony and I made our way down to the main entrance to the cemetery. We had to walk quite a distance from the Visitors’ Centre to reach the main entrance. We noted the choice of dark grey knapped flint as the main material for the entrance building and the walls surrounding the cemetery.

From the main entrance, we stood for some time, in awe, taking in the view. From here, we could appreciate the size of the cemetery and the pleasing symmetry of its architectural features. The architects positioned the Cross of Sacrifice perfectly in view of the centre of the entrance arch.

On the wall inside the entrance building, we found a plaque bearing the following inscription: “The land on which this cemetery stands is the free gift of the Belgian people for the perpetual resting place of those of the Allied armies who fell in the war of 1914-1918 and are honoured here”.

As we exited the cemetery entrance, we went to look at the former German bunker to our right. From there we walked back to the central path and headed uphill through the cemetery towards the Cross of Sacrifice. We noted the orderly arrangement of the graves. They lie equidistant apart, in straight rows. All of the graves bear identical white marble headstones. We noticed the predominance of unnamed graves.

After spending half an hour or so wandering through the cemetery, trying to take in its enormity, we arrived at the Tyne Cot Memorial to the Missing. It’s located at the top (eastern) end of the site. The structure takes the form of a flint wall with ornate shelter buildings topped with angels.

The memorial bears the names of 33,771 British and 1,165 New Zealand servicemen who died in the Ypres Salient from mid-August 1917 until the end of the war and who have no known grave. These names are in addition to those inscribed on the Menin Gate Memorial. Although the bodies of these men were never recovered, with their names engraved in stone, their sacrifice is acknowledged and their memory lives on.   

While exploring the memorial, we met a group of high school students from Ghent. We introduced ourselves. They spoke perfect English, so we began a conversation about remembrance and sacrifice. Tony told them about Anzac Day (the following day) and its significance for Australians. They listened intently and asked quite a few questions. It was a very pleasant interlude during a rather sombre afternoon of discovery and reflection.

At 5.47 pm, we left Tyne Cot and headed back to the main road and the bus stop. On the way, we passed “The Road to Passchendaele” (pictured), a former railway route, the path taken by Australian troops on 4 October 1917.

Fortunately, Tony and I didn’t have to wait long for the next bus to the city. We were glad, as it was cold (11 degrees Celcius) and windy, and we were feeling very tired after a long and eventful day out.

Day 1. Back to where we began.

We arrived back in Ieper’s Market Square at 6.40 pm. We dined at De Trompet (“The Trumpet”), a homely restaurant located in the heart of the city, near the Old Town Hall and Cloth Hall. The friendly staff helped us choose hearty local specialties from the menu. We struck up a conversation about Australia and Ypres with the Belgian waiter. He taught us how to say “Ieper”, the Flemish name for the city: “E-pa”. The locals call the city Ieper.

The waiter told us about a concert to be held at St George’s Memorial Church the following evening (25 April), commencing at 6.00 pm. He gave us a flyer advertising the event. Tony and I thanked him profusely, as we considered the concert a wonderful opportunity to do two things at once. One, to visit St George’s Memorial Church. Two, to attend a concert of remembrance on Anzac Day, Australia’s national day of commemoration. After the concert, as a fitting end to Anzac Day 2025, we planned to attend the Last Post Ceremony at the Menin Gate.

Day 2.

Anzac Day Ceremony, In Flanders Fields Museum, St George’s Memorial Church, Last Post Ceremony

Tony and I arose early on Day 2 of our sojourn at Ieper. The day (25 April) dawned fine and clear, for which we were most thankful. Our B&B host provided us with the most sumptious breakfast. It consisted of cheese and salami, fried eggs, bacon and tomatoes, Belgian waffles, bread rolls, spreads, fruit, fruit juice and hot coffee.

We left our lodgings early, around 9.30 am. The Anzac Day Ceremony at the Menin Gate was due to commence at 11.15 am. Our B&B host advised us to arrive early, to beat the crowd and secure a good place to view the ceremony. And we did.

Anzac Day Ceremony, Menin Gate Memorial

Tony and I arrived at the Menin Gate with plenty of time to spare. The organisers were busy finalising the arrangements for the event. We watched the catafalque party (four young Belgian soldiers) and their leader practise their routine. Several times they marched down the stairs and practised taking up their positions on the roadway that passes through the Menin Gate.

The police had already closed the road to traffic. About half and hour before the ceremony commenced, attendants attached chains to the line of posts on either side of the road. The chain marked the boundary of the area in which we (and thousands of other spectators) stood during the proceedings.

While we waited, Tony and I met and struck up a conversation with Ray Pearce, an Australian who (like us) came to Ypres especially for this occasion. A veteran of the Special Air Service Regiment (SASR) from Western Australia, Ray intended to lay a wreath during the ceremony.  

Members of the Last Post Association, an independent association of people from Ieper and district, organised and led the dignified ceremony. The association provided the emcee, guest speaker, buglers, pipers, soloist, flag bearers and attendants. A local high school band performed the national anthems of Australia, New Zealand and Belgium, and played during the wreath laying and at the end of the ceremony.  

The official party included Mr Mathieu Mottrie (Board Director and Vice-Chairman Operations, The Last Post Association, and Master of Ceremonies), Mr Benoit Mottrie (Chairman of the Last Post Association and Guest Speaker), General (Rtd) Angus Campbell AO (Australian Ambassador to Belgium), Ms Jennifer Troup (New Zealand Ambassador to Belgium), Katrien Desomer (Mayor of the City of Ieper), and The Reverend Richard Clement (Chaplain, St George’s Memorial Church Ypres).

The ceremony commenced with the arrival of the invited guests, the flag party and escort. The catafalque party arrived next and formed the guard of honour.

Eight buglers and a piper took their place on the road at the eastern end of the gate. They played a major part in the ceremony. Their participation included playing the call to attention (eight buglers), The Last Post and The Reveille (eight buglers) and a lament (piper). At the end of this post, you’ll find a link to my YouTube channel, where I’ve published a recording of the eight buglers performing The Last Post and Reveille.

Because it was Anzac Day, three participants (an Australian, a New Zealander and a Belgian) read Laurence Binyon’s famous words (“The Exhortation”) in three languages – English, te reo Māori and Flemish.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old,
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun, and in the morning,
We will remember them.

Later in the ceremony, a participant recited the following words, written in 1944 by John Maxwell Edmonds (1875-1958) as an epitaph:

When you go home, tell them of us and say, for your tomorrow, we gave our today.

Mr Benoit Mottrie, Chairman of the Last Post Association, delivered the Anzac Day address. 

The Australian and New Zealand ambassadors to Belgium, together with the Mayor of the City of Ieper (“Stadt Ieper”), laid the first three wreaths. Many other dignitaries and individuals, including our new-found friend Ray, laid wreaths.  

The ceremony included a solo rendition of the hymn “Abide with Me”, and prayers and a closing benediction by The Reverend Richard Clement.

After the ceremony Tony and I left that place feeling a mix of emotions. On one hand, we felt a strong sense of gratitude for the service and sacrifice of all those who enlisted in the armed forces during World War I and World War II. We also felt proud of the Australian men who played such an important part in the battles of the Ypres Salient during World War I.

On the other hand, we felt a profound sense of sadness and grief, realising just how many young men (of all nations) died here on Belgian soil, never to return home. Lastly, we reflected on the futility and senselessness of armed conflict, nation against nation, and internally within nations, which continues in various parts of the world today.  

In Flanders Fields Museum, Ypres

After lunch on Day 2, Tony and I visited the In Flanders Fields Museum. It’s located on the first floor of the Ypres Cloth Hall.

We spent about two hours in the museum. By spending time reading, listening and engaging with the many exhibits, we learnt a lot more about the impact of World War I on Belgium and its people, and on Ypres in particular. The museum uses artifacts, videos, projections and personal stories to tell the story of World War I.

The story begins with the build-up to the war and is followed by the invasion of Belgium and the devastation of the war years. It ends with the post-war period which focuses on reconstruction and remembrance.

Ypres, Then & Now

During World War I, Ypres became a military zone. By the end of April 1915, all of the inhabitants of Ypres had fled. The city was no longer a safe place for civilians. Altogether, one and a half million Belgians fled their homes during the war, a quarter of Belgium’s population at the time.

By the end of World War I, the city of Ypres lay in ruins. In 1919, Winston Churchill, Britain’s Secretary of State for War and Air at the time, suggested the city be left in ruins, as a monument. Many agreed. However, many more advocated for its reconstruction. The question was this: Should we build something completely new and modern, or a carbon copy of the Old Town? For the returning citizens of Ypres, the answer was a simple one. They wanted their city back, just the way it was. 

Ypres was rebuilt in the 1920s and early 1930s. The builders returned the main civic buildings of the city to their former glory, respecting the traditional styles of the past, with occasional concessions to contemporary styles. The city suffered further damage during World War II, but not anything like that of World War I.

Incredibly, more than 500,000 of the nearly 10 million combatants dead or reported missing during World War I were lost in and around Ypres.

Every day at the museum, the names of those who lost their lives on that particular date are projected onto a tall grey column. The list of names is a register of every victim of World War I in Belgium. It includes civilians and soldiers, Belgians who died at home or abroad, and non-Belgians who lost their lives or were mortally wounded in Belgium.

As explained in one of the museum exhibits, listing names is the most common type of remembrance. I immediately thought of all of those names listed on the Menin Gate Memorial.

Naming the dead emphasises their existence as individuals and shows the enormity of losses. Lists of names are found on town memorials, memorials to the missing such as the Menin Gate and in Rolls of Honour kept by schools, factories, administrations and other organisations as a record of their dead. Few such lists are complete or free of errors, and often need to be updated.

A museum named after a poem

In 1998 the Ypres Salient Memorial Museum was renamed In Flanders Fields Museum. It underwent a major refurbishment for the centenary of the 1914-1918 war and today offers visitors a fully interactive learning experience.

The museum gets its name from the title of a poem. On 2 or 3 May 1915, Major John McCrae, a Canadian army doctor, wrote the poem following the death of his friend, Lieutenant Alexis Helmer of the 1^st Canadian Artillery Brigade. Major McCrae penned the poem while stationed in an advance dressing post, near Ypres.

McCrae entitled his poem In Flanders Fields. The poem became famous after it appeared in the British magazine “Punch” on December 8, 1915. In Flanders Fields has been published countless times since. It turned the red poppy and the battlefields of Flanders into the pre-eminent symbol of the great loss of the British Commonwealth during World War I.

Ypres Cathedral (St Martin’s Church)

After our visit to the In Flanders Fields Museum, Tony and I went to see St Martin’s Church. Although still commonly called St Martin’s Cathedral, the church is no longer a cathedral. In 1801, Ypres became part of the Catholic Diocese of Ghent, and St Martin’s lost its status as a cathedral. 

We were not the only visitors to the church that day. A large group of men and women, all dressed in black, had gathered at the building’s southern entrance for a photo shoot. We overheard them speaking. English. They were the Phoenix Singers from Birmingham, England, the choir presenting “A Concert of Remembrance” at St George’s Memorial Church that evening.

Ypres Cathedral (as it was known) was badly damaged in World War I. After the war, between 1922 and 1930, the site was cleared and the church rebuilt according to its original plan. However, the builders made one change. The tower gained a higher spire. Today, at 102 metres (335 ft) tall, the spire makes St Martin’s Church one of the tallest buildings in Belgium.

Every year, in the evening of 11 November, the Last Post Association hosts The Great War Remembered concert in St Martin’s Church. The concert honours the memory of all those who fell in Flanders Fields. The theme of this year’s Remembrance Day concert is “Resilience”. Items will help concertgoers applaud “the quiet strength of soldiers in the trenches, the endurance of civilians rebuilding their lives, and the determination of a city that rose from the ruins to remember”. 

Around 3.30 pm, Tony and I returned to our B&B to have a rest and a bite to eat. We had a couple of hours to spare before we were due at St George’s Memorial Church for the commencement of the concert.

St George’s Memorial Church, Ypres

In Ieper (Ypres) there are two great memorials to the fallen of World War I (1914-1918). One is the Menin Gate Memorial. The other is St George’s Memorial Church. The British architect Sir Reginal Blomfield designed them both. 

St George’s is an Anglican Church within the Church of England Diocese in Europe. Many thousands of people who visit World War I sites in and around Ypres visit the church.

After the war, British veterans of the battles of the Ypres Salient, and families of those who died there, formed The Ypres League. In 1924, the League proposed the erection of a memorial church at Ypres. Field Marshall Lord Plumer laid the foundation stone on 24 July 1927, and the Bishop of Fulham consecrated the building at its opening on 24 March 1929.

Sir Reginald Blomfield’s design is a simple space accommodating 200 people. The families of the fallen provided the interior furnishings. Almost every item in the building – plaques on the walls and on chairs, the windows, the banners and the furniture – serves as a permanent memorial to a soldier who gave his life in France or Flanders.

Blomfield used Flemish bricks as the building material, stone for copings, and tiles or small slates for the roof. He didn’t want stained glass windows as this would decrease the amount of natural light but agreed to have clear glass with small decorations such as the insignia of regiments.

At the entrance to the church, visitors encounter the following words of exhortation:

Of Sacrifice and Duty, ~ Rest and Pray.

Tony and I arrived at the church about half an hour before the concert was due to start. It gave us time to wander through the building, noting the incredible number and variety of memorials to the fallen and the units or organisations to which they belonged.

“The Concert of Remembrance” was a real treat. For Tony and me, attending a concert that commemorated the sacrifices of members of the armed forces and civilians in times of war on this day – Anzac Day – was so meaningful and fitting.

Fortunately, the concert finished at 7.15 pm, allowing us time to walk to the Menin Gate to attend the evening’s Last Post Ceremony, due to commence at 8.00 pm. 

Last Post Ceremony, Menin Gate Memorial: A daily ritual

Since 1928, members of the Last Post Association have conducted a daily Last Post Ceremony at the Menin Gate Memorial. The Last Post Association is an independent, voluntary and non-profit organisation of local people from Ieper. It founded the Last Post Ceremony back in 1928 and is still responsible for the day-to-day organisation of this unique act of homage.

The ceremony honours the 250,000 soldiers of the British Commonwealth and its Allies who died in the Ypres Salient during World War I (1914-1918).

The buglers take up their position under the furthest (eastern) arch of the memorial at exactly 8.00 pm. The ceremony comprises a call to attention, The Last Post, the exhortation, a minute’s silence, wreath laying and The Reveille.

People from all over the world, as well as local people, attend the ceremony. There’s always a crowd. Attendees stand in designated areas on the pavement on either side of the road that passes through the gate. The police close the road to traffic each evening to allow the buglers and other participants to use the road during the ceremony. Attendees are expected to remain silent throughout the entire ceremony. Applause either during or after the ceremony is not welcome.

On the evening Tony and I attended the Last Post Ceremony, being Anzac Day, an Australian performed the call to attention on the digeridoo. During the wreath laying, a visiting Welsh male voice choir rendered two choral items, one in English, one in Welsh.

The Last Post Ceremony lasted about 25 minutes. It was much shorter than the Anzac Day Ceremony we attended there earlier that day. After the ceremony was over, Tony and I headed back towards the city centre, juggling our way through the dispersing crowd. Along the way, we met and chatted with some other Aussie visitors to Ypres. They came from Melbourne.  

After purchasing some Belgian chocolates at one of the few shops still open at that time of night, two very tired individuals hastened towards our B&B. It had been a long, emotionally charged day.

Ypres now: A place of remembrance

The next day, April 26, Tony and I rose early, enjoyed another wonderful breakfast, packed and left for the Ieper railway station. This time, our B&B host offered to drive us there. It was a very happy ending to our stay at the Wellness Yoake B&B, Ieper.

Our four-day pilgrimage to the World War I battlefields of Belgium was over.

As Tony and I reflected on our visits to both Mons and Ypres, we marvelled at how much we had learnt and how deeply the experience had affected us.

Travelling to these sites, visiting the museums and seeing the memorials and cemeteries first-hand, helped us better understand the enormity and extent of the loss and devastation associated with World War I.

World War I still ranks as one of the deadliest conflicts of human history. Millions of people, soldiers and civilians alike, died or were injured. The total number of deaths is not known but is estimated to be between 15 and 19 million.

How special it is to know that, in places like Ieper (Ypres), its citizens continue to acknowledge and honour the people who died there. They do so not just once a year, but every day of the year.

“Lest We Forget”.

REFERENCES

MAIN SOURCES OF INFORMATION

Australian Government. Department of Veterans’ Affairs. Anzac Portal.

SPECIFIC REFERENCES

1. Australian War Memorial (AWM) (2025). Third Battle of Ypres. Retrieved October 9, 2025, from https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/E84367
2. Australian War Memorial (AWM) (2025). First Battle for Passchendaele. Retrieved October 10, 2025, from https://www.awm.gov.au/collection/E84353
3. Devine, W. (1919). The Story of a Battalion: Being a Record of the 48th Battalion, A.I.F., Melbourne, Victoria: Melville & Mullen. 
4. Government Gazette Proclamations and Legislation (1917, November 8). Commonwealth of Australia Gazette (National : 1901 – 1973), p. 2935. Retrieved October 27, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article232449996
5. Our Boys. (1917, December 6). Corryong Courier (Vic. : 1894 – 1945), p. 3. Retrieved September 24, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article130183578
6. Family Notices (1917, November 19). The Argus (Melbourne, Vic. : 1848 – 1957), p. 1. Retrieved September 24, 2025, from http://nla.gov.au/nla.news-article1664050
7. Last Post Association. Anzac Day 2025: speech. Address byBenoit Mottrie, Chairman of the Last Post Association. Retrieved October 10, 2025, from https://lastpost.be/news/anzac-day-2025-speech/

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