The vast, white, Portland-stone walls of the Menin Gate are engraved with the names of nearly 55,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers lost on the field of battle but with no known graves; a son, a father, a brother.
How many names have been removed from the Menin Gate?
On completion of the memorial, it was discovered to be too small to contain all the names as originally planned. An arbitrary cut-off point of 15 August 1917 was chosen and the names of 34,984 UK missing after this date were inscribed on the Tyne Cot Memorial to the Missing instead.
Was the Menin Gate damaged in ww2?
The Menin Gate was damaged during the fighting in 1940 – the principal damage being caused by the retreating British Army which blew up the bridge across the moat. The memorial was restored in 1945-48 by Blomfield’s son Austin Blomfield.
How many Australians are on the Menin Gate?
55,000 names
6,000 Australians are among their number. Another 35,000 are commemorated at the nearby Tyne Cot Cemetery. The 55,000 names are inscribed in unit order, on tablets that form the walls of the Gate structure.
How many names are on the Menin Gate of Canada?
A postcard of the Menin Gate located in Ypres, Belgium. The names of close to 7,000 Canadians with no known graves are inscribed on the memorial.
Why do men have their name on the Menin Gate?
The Menin Gate was so named because here the road out of Ypres passed through the old wall defences going in the direction of Menin. During the war the two stone lions standing on each side of the Menin Gate were seen by tens of thousands of troops as they went towards the front line.
Who designed the Menin Gate?
Reginald Blomfield
Menin Gate/Architects
The design Sir Reginald Blomfield, one of the Commission’s first three Principle Architects, was appointed to design the memorial. He sought to design a monument based around the concept of a triumphal arch and a central hall.
Are they still playing the Last Post at the Menin Gate?
7.00pm: People Gather at the Menin Gate Visitors gather for the Last Post Ceremony. In any case, whether there is a large crowd or not even one person there, every evening the busy road through the memorial will be closed to traffic before the ceremony and “Last Post” will be played.
What is the Menin Gate in Belgium?
The Menin Gate is one of four memorials to the missing in Belgian Flanders which cover the area known as the Ypres Salient. Broadly speaking, the Salient stretched from Langemarck in the north to the northern edge in Ploegsteert Wood in the south, but it varied in area and shape throughout the war.
How many names are on the Menin Gate at Ypres?
The Menin Gate at Ypres records the names of 55,000 of the missing in Belgium and a similar number are recorded elsewhere; there are 35,000 names on the Tyne Cot memorial. The names of Australia’s 6,000 missing in Belgium are engraved on the walls of the Menin Gate.
What can we learn from the names on the Menin Gate?
Here are some of the stories behind the names on the Menin Gate. The stories of particular soldiers are stories of mud and blood, of unspeakable suffering and limitless human endurance. Their lives and deaths can tell us something about the terrible conflict in which they were involved.
How many British soldiers are missing from the Menin Gate?
An arbitrary cut-off point of 15 August 1917 was chosen and the names of 34,984 UK missing after this date were inscribed on the Tyne Cot Memorial to the Missing instead. The Menin Gate Memorial does not list the names of the missing of New Zealand and Newfoundland soldiers, who are instead honoured on separate memorials.
