Menin Gate

Friday 8 August 2008 at Menin Gate in Belgium
After our visit to Bruges, Frank and Sue drove us to Tyne Cot Cemetry and then to Menin Gate to catch the 'Last Post' ceremony. Quite a moving event and something that Belgium has done every evening since 1929, except during the German occupation of the Second World War. I mentioned this to John Skelton when we met up with him and Deanna in England and he told of his visit with one of his boys to Menin Gate. John's story was from August the previous year (2007) when he was there together with Malcolm and his two sons and they were invited to participate in the daily Last Post memorial service. "There are no more first generation survivors, so it was very significant to have 2nd generation, 3rd generation, and 4th generation members from one family. It was an honour to participate.
Also I am guessing you know that Menin Gate has 5,4896 names, the Tyne Cot Cemetery has 34,984 names and nearly 90,000 have no known grave site."
John also mentioned later he and Deanna were going back to their favourite B & B in Belgium which is now a working farm, and the local history expert had told John that it is a few hundred yards away from the line where the New Zealand Expeditionary Force was during the battle for Passchendaele. John has walked the same area that his dad was in.