The Last Post

22/04/2025

Watching the Last Post in Ypres is one of those things that every motorhome traveller seems to do, but in our eight years of road trips we haven’t ever got around to it. We noticed on an instagram post from another traveller that the Menin Gate was no longer covered in scaffold and thought it was an ideal opportunity to visit.

Ypres

Ypres. A city with a name that no-one seems to know how to pronounce. It doesn’t help that although Ypres is the French name, the locals know the city by it’s Flemish name – Ieper – which is the name you’ll see on road signs. British troops called it Wipers which brings to mind public school boy nicknames. Maybe our view of the First World War has been slightly coloured by Blackadder Goes Fourth.

We booked a spot at Camping Jeugdstadion, a small campsite just on the outskirts of the city. They have camping pitches in a grassy area and slightly cheaper aire-style pitches on a hard surface. We went for the cheaper option as we weren’t staying for long. The campsite was in the process of refurbishing the bathrooms which looked like it would be an improvement, but they were perfectly serviceable as they were. Really the main reason for staying here is the short walk into Ypres.

The walk into the city crosses the canal and then takes you up the fortified city walls. Yes, our seemingly constant companion – Vauban – was here, although he merely improved upon the existing fortifications of this historically well defended city. A walk along the walls is a good way to while away your time and if you head north you’ll soon find the Menin Gate. The path is part of a wide network of paths covering WWI battlefields of the area.

In Flanders Fields

Our first destination was the ‘In Flanders Fields’ museum which is in Ypres’ Cloth Hall. This building might look like a Cathedral. It’s gothic architecture, tower and hugely imposing walls take a prominent position in the central square. But this was a temple, not to any god, but to the strength of the Flemish textile industry back in the 13th century. A vast central market and commercial centre designed to showcase the wealth of local business and the importance of trade.

Outside the Cloth Hall. Note the shiny gold detail on the roof.

The museum was excellent but it was an assault on the senses. A mixture of history and personal experiences displayed using sight and sound in the darkened interior of the Cloth Hall. It has obviously been designed to handle large numbers of visitors with enough exhibits in each area to stop any specific area getting over crowded. Any particularly graphic images were easy to avoid as they were displayed within mausoleum type structures. Even so the exhibits really bought the horrors and sadness of the war to life, as well as celebrating acts of bravery and resilience. With current world events it seems as important as ever to remember the causes, impacts and complexities of war and this museum does that really well.

We opted to climb the tower, which was a small additional cost. This proved to be a welcome respite as we escaped the dimly lit museum and focussed on climbing the many steps to the belfry and the balcony around the top of the tower. Fresh air and amazing views allowed us to escape the war for a little while before descending to experience the rest of the museum. In our three hours inside we barely scratched the surface of the exhibits, it really warrants a full day visit.

Around Ypres

When wandering the streets we marvelled at the fact that pretty much the whole city was rebuilt after the First World War. You would never imagine that the streets of terraced Flemish houses with their ornate facades, the churches, shops and the massive Cloth Hall were not the original buildings but carefully reconstructed using money paid by Germany in reparation. The museum had shown us pictures and aerial images of the city which was completely devastated. It was said that you could see from one side of the city to the other without any walls high enough to interrupt the view.

The Menin Gate

After the end of the First World War there were many different opinions on what should happen to Ypres. It’s destruction was the consequence of being situated in direct path of the advancing German army. Ypres became a key point on the front line and a location of great significance for the British military.

There was a view in some quarters that the entire town should be left as a reminder of the destruction of the war and the sacrifices made by so many. But the original population, who had been scattered far and wide, wanted to return and rebuild their homes.

It was the Menin Gate that became the memorial, a huge limestone arch designed to span the road and be inscribed with the names of the fallen soldiers whose bodies were never recovered from the battlefields. In the end it was too small to take all of the 54395 names, Some had to be inscribed on a separate memorial. We had spent some time here earlier, looking at the memorial and the information boards which reminded us that troops were drawn in from all corners of the British Empire.

The people of Ieper initiated the Last Post ceremony in the 1920s to honour the fallen of the British Empire. It has been held daily since it was initiated and the intention is to continue the ceremony in perpetuity. During the Second World War, when the Germans occupied Belgium, the ceremony was carried out in the UK, and returned again once Ieper was liberated.

That evening we made our way to the Menin Gate to watch the last post. We hadn’t really done any research and were just expecting a small parade and bugler. Maybe we should have known better, we’d already seen several uniformed groups around the town and rows of coaches along the road next to the canal. We know now that the Last Post Association website gives details of the attending groups so you can see how large an event is taking place.

As the ceremony starts at 8pm we wandered down about half an hour in advance. Already the area was busy with viewers. All the space under the arch was full and people were lining the road from the arch back to the central square. It was really well organised with marshals ensuring that the street was kept clear while the marching band, military groups and visiting dignitaries paraded through. Once they had taken their positions under the gate we were allowed to move in to the road to get a better view. Wreaths were laid, accompanied by the sound of a piper and the military band.

A speaker from the Last Post Association gave a brief explanation of the history of the ceremony and told us that this was the 110th anniversary of the first use of gas in warfare, used here against the British forces in Ypres and a dreadful invention to have to remember.

Finally the buglers sounded the Last Post and then the Reveille signalled the end of the ceremony. It was very moving and we were both very glad we had made the time to attend.