Editing Menin Gate (section)

=="Last Post" ceremony==
[[File:Cessnock City Pipes and Drums.jpg|thumb|In July 2016, the Combined RSL Centenary of ANZAC (Australia) Pipes & Drums played during the Last Post ceremony.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Sellars|first1=Krystal|title= pipe band members to perform at centenary observances for Western Front battles|url=http://www.cessnockadvertiser.com.au/story/3902896/pipe-band-members-to-perform-at-western-front-services-video/|access-date=16 August 2016|publisher=The Advertiser|date=20 May 2016|location=Cessnock, NSW Australia}}</ref>]]
Following the Menin Gate Memorial opening in 1927, the citizens of Ypres wanted to express their gratitude towards those who had given their lives for Belgium's freedom. Hence every evening at 20:00, [[Bugle (instrument)|buglers]] from the Last Post Association close the road which passes under the memorial and sound the "[[Last Post]]".<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.lastpost.be/en/x/58/ceremonies|title=Last Poster Association – Ceremonies|accessdate=16 April 2023}}</ref> Except for the [[German occupation of Belgium during World War II|occupation by the Germans in World War II]] when the daily ceremony was conducted at [[Brookwood Cemetery#Brookwood Military Cemetery and memorials|Brookwood Military Cemetery]], in [[Surrey]], England, this ceremony has been carried on uninterrupted since 2 July 1928.<ref>{{cite web|title=Last Post Association Ieper|url=https://lastpost.be/}}</ref> On the evening that [[Polish Armed Forces in the West|Polish forces]] liberated Ypres in the Second World War, on 6 September 1944 the ceremony was resumed at the Menin Gate despite the fact that heavy fighting was still taking place in other parts of the town.

During an extended version of the ceremony, individuals or groups may lay a wreath to commemorate the fallen.<ref name="LastPost">{{cite web|title=Participation|url=https://lastpost.be/ceremony/participate/|website=Last Post Association|access-date=16 August 2016}}</ref> Bands, choirs and military units from around the world may also apply to participate in the ceremonies.<ref name="LastPost" /> This extended version of the ceremony also starts at 20:00, but lasts longer than the normal ceremony, when only the Last Post is played. The Last Post Association is an independent, voluntary, non-profit-making organisation. It was the Association that first founded the Last Post Ceremony back in 1928, and it is the Association that is still responsible for the day-to-day organisation of this unique act of homage. It also administers the Last Post Fund, which provides the financial resources necessary to support the ceremony. It is a tradition that the Buglers of the Association should wear the uniform of the local volunteer Fire Brigade, of which they are all required to become members.

The Last Post was a bugle call played in the British Army (and in the armies of many other lands) to mark the end of the day's labours and the onset of the night's rest. In the context of the Last Post ceremony (and in the broader context of remembrance), it has come to represent a final farewell to the fallen at the end of their earthly labours and at the onset of their eternal rest.

Similarly, the Reveille was a bugle call played at the beginning of the day, to rouse the troops from slumber and to call them to their duties. In the context of the Last Post ceremony (and in the broader context of remembrance), the Reveille symbolises not only a return to daily life at the end of the act of homage, but also the ultimate resurrection of the fallen on the Day of Judgement.<ref name="LastPost" /> Schedules are available on the Last Post website.<ref name="LastPost" />