The Last Post

After a second very emotional day we arrived at our once again shockingly nice hotel in Ypres, Belgium.  The hotel was only a few minute walk from the main market square, so we walked over to explore the market and visit the In Flanders’ Fields Museum.   

Belgium was a neutral country for both World Wars, and in both World Wars they were invaded and decimated.  Cities in Flanders were reduced to mud and vast sections of the country became an unrecognizable wasteland.  As such, Belgium has a very different take on the wars… in Belgium museums there is no glory, only sadness.  The In Flanders Fields museum does an incredibly effective job at sharing the horror and loss. 

Another highlight to the In Flanders Field Museum is climbing the historic clock tower to experience the best view in Flanders.

After the museum we worked our way back to the hotel to change into our formal uniforms before our walk to the Menin Gate for the Last Post

Every evening at 8pm precisely, the “Last Post” has been sounded since 1928 under the imposing arches of the Menin Gate. This memorial shaped like a Roman triumphal arch displays the names of 54.896 soldiers of the then British empire who went missing in action.  Just being at the memorial is humbling, but when you consider that this community has shut down the busiest bridge crossing in town every single day for a century to say thank you is beyond words.  What we do once a year on Remembrance Day, they do every single day.  

After spending some time exploring the monument, we worked our way to the street and secured what we figured was a decent spot.  Not long after arriving the volunteers at the Menin Gate spotted our Scout uniforms and ushered us into a place of honour behind the buglers… wow!  While we were lining up waiting for the ceremony to begin I was suddenly taken aside by a volunteer in uniform and asked to do a reading at the ceremony!  Obviously I accepted without hesitation.  What a great moment for Scouting 🙂

After the ceremony we formed a horseshoe under the gate so we could say thank you with our own ceremony with O Canada and the Ode to Newfoundland.  We were all still so caught up from the emotions of the day and just by being surrounded with the 54.896 names of the missing in fine print all around us that we focused simply on getting the words out without breaking down.  We were so focused that we didn’t notice the giant crowd that had gathered around us until they broke out into applause after Devin dismissed us.  So many people stopped to welcome us, and thank us as Canadians for coming.  

It was a reflective walk back to the hotel where we enjoyed a late supper before a few of us went back out on the town for some night time exploration.  

Despite the town being well lit and beautiful at night, pretty much everything was closed.  After much searching we finally found one store that was open…

Not quite as bad as it looks as the Scouts bought SNACKS, it just happens they sell alcohol pretty much everywhere in Europe.  The Scouts did however buy a nice bottle of “wine”…

Great end to a great day!


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