Since 1928, the Last Post has been sounded at 8pm every evening under the Menin Gate. It is tradionally played as a final tribute to the dead and by volunteer bugle players. The dead being honoured, were soldiers in the First World War, both of the British Empire (as it then was) and of allied armies, who faught and died on the battlefields of the Ypres Salient.
The Last Post Association has pledged itself to preserve this ceremony in perpetuity.
Each evening, at around 7.30pm, the police shut off the road beneath the Menin Gate to all traffic: daily life is suspended and the Last Post Ceremony carries our thoughts back to the years 1914 - 1918, and to the memory of the fallen.
The Reveille is traditionally played at daybreak, to awaken troops and prepare them for duty; it is played at the end of the Last Post ceremony, not only to mark the return to daily life of those attending but also to symbolise the resurrection, the 'eternal life' of the dead.
Ask our reception team to advise on the best place from which to view the ceremony.
This simple but very moving commemoration is free to all, there is no need to reserve a place in advance. On request, it is possible for groups or individuals to place a remembrance wreath at the gate during the ceremony.
