Destroyed during WW1, Ypres has all the appearance of a medieval town, as the proud and resilient citizens decided to re-create all the buildings as close to possible to their originals.
The Memorial to the Missing is located at the Menin Gate in honour of the British and Commonwealth soldiers who left for the front line through the Menin Gate and whose graves are unknown. The Last Post Ceremony has been held here every evening since 1928 (over 30,000 times), except for the four and a half years the town was occupied by the Germans in WW2. The service was resumed on the evening Ypres was liberated by Polish forces, despite heavy fighting continuing in parts of the town.
On the day we arrived in Ypres, we went to the Flanders Field museum, walked along the old walls marking the perimeter of the town and then attended the Last Post service. Traffic was stopped, and the area fell quiet for the ceremony, led by a cadet group.
The Christmas Day truce of 1914 was marked in an exhibit at the museum. Pope Benedict XV called for a Christmas truce, but it was officially rejected. However, over two-thirds of the soldiers on the front-line participated in the non-official truce, in most cases initiated by German singing of carols and crossing into No-Man’s Land. The command in both sides ensured future mingling of troops was not repeated, as it would undermine the morale (i.e. willingness to kill each other) of the soldiers.
We self-catered most meals on this holiday but couldn’t resist the excellent Captain Cook Restaurant. Derek left his beloved hat here and (though not nearly so sorrowful about this event as Derek) I did not contribute to this event through any action, or non-action.
We were delayed leaving the next day due to the excellence of the chocolate and necessity of sampling a variety of produce.