I was most fortunate to attend the Last Post ceremony in 2008, almost overwelming. Yes thank you to the people of Ypres and Belgium.

Something I forgot. The original lions guarding the gates were presented to Australia as a mark of respect and a thank you for the men who had been killed. Those lions now guard the Australian War Memorial & Museum. Some years back our government had two copies of these statues made and they now adorned the Menin Gate. RIP the men of the Australian first, second, third and forth divisions. Lest We Forget.

It is admirable after all this time. It reflects the fact that, Britain chose to go to the war on the 4th Auguest 1914, to defend Belgium when it’s neutrality had been violated by Kaiser Bill. It didn’t have to, hence the deep sense of gratitude to the fallen citizens of the British Empire and the need for the eternal memorial at the Menin Gate.

I laid a wreath on behalf of my school back 2014. Such a lovely recognition to those who served in the great war. I had the joy of wearing my RAF cadet uniform on the day along with a fellow class mate who was also in uniform. They shall not grow old as we are left to grow old age will not weary them nor the years condemn at the going down of the sun and in the morning we will remember them.

It's an incredibly sobering place and the ceremony is truly a fitting memory to those who lost their lives there.

Same here every time I think of her - Elizabeth the magnificent.

Yes, she was a gift to our nation, it’s a tough act to follow. I thank God for her life & faithfulness to her calling. We need to pray for those who follow. Lord have mercy on our nation. 🙏

SAME Here 😢🇬🇧👑

So am I. Tears come to my eyes whenever I see a photo of her on the internet or in a magazine. It's good to know it isn't just me.

@@mehusla The Magnificent, the Impeccable.

They sounded the last post in cellars during the war

@@modelrailwaynoob - I didn't know that, MRN, and thanks for posting. Having heard a bugle play the last post, very quietly, at our local Remembrance Day service, I know that even playing quietly, a bugle is pretty damn loud. To do that every night, right through the occupation, knowing what the penalty could be, must have taken an astonishing degree of cold-blooded courage. I don't think anyone who did not live under that kind of police state (on either side of the Iron Curtain) can ever fully appreciate what it must have been like. We can only salute the heroes and heroines.

I thought that the bugles were taken to England so that the Germans would not get them, and they were played some where in London, not saying that they didn’t have other bugles.

@@carolinequirk6136 - thank you for that extra info, which I didn't know about. I'm not sure if the bugles were taken to England or not, but you're correct that the ceremony was carried out in England until 6th September, 1944. It was performed at Brookwood Military Cemetery, in Surrey, just south of London. My uncle Frank's name is inscribed on the nearby Brookwood Memorial to 3,433 men and women of the Commonwealth Forces who died in WWII, and have no known grave. Company Sergeant Major Looney was lost at sea when the troopship 'Laconia' was torpedoed, on 12th September, 1942, with heavy loss of life, off the coast of West Africa. The tragic irony is that he was only on the ship, on his way back from serving in the 8th Army, because he'd been recommended for a commission. RIP, Frank. Duty done.

Awesome, it was truly special that evening. It was the first time i had heard god save the King by some members of the crowd and a visit I’ll never forget. 😊

Well done❤

Good on you mate...be very proud ,if not you then who..

A wonderful video, everything was beautiful, the bugles, the band and playing of the Flowers of the forest. A great experience for any piper to take part.the band was playing Balmoral in honour of the Late Queen, it was so appropriate, Thank you for sharing your personal details with us, something you will never forget. My husband and I are retired pipers, we always remember our band playing for the Queen and some of her family at Balmoral castle.

@@artful1967 sounds like you carry hate in your heart for never in a billion years will you understand such things...we all measure with our own mental yardstick... upgrade yours it's void.

What a wonderful comment. The voice of reason and compassion.

Amen.

Brilliant post. You are not afraid to tell the truth. We need more of that!!

@@stevedriver1376 Yeah, sorry unintentional 🇧🇪🇬🇧🇲🇫

@@stevedriver1376 Thankyou for clarification.It was my GREAT uncles that were killed by the way. We use that term not for glorification, but for family tree positions.

Only one of my great great uncles is listed on the Menu Gate, on the left hand side, the second panel from the left when you're facing the town centre. Surprisingly we only lost 1 family member in WWI. WWII was worse for my family. Only 2 members served in Europe, my wonderful grandfather Ron who was a commando & parachuted behind German lines on D-Day & my great uncle/godfather, Joseph, who lied about his age to join up, hoping to be with his brothers. He was in France, apart from his family, by the time they found out he was too young but he begged not to be sent home. They let him stay but they took his weapons away from him, keeping him away from all fighting. He was made a stretcher bearer/porter/orderly in a military hospital but he still saw bad things there. When he came home he had what we now call PTSD. He suffered from mental health issues for the rest of his life, never able to marry or work. He rarely spoke, he was too scared. When we visited, he used to sit in a corner & rock but apparently he loved me to bits. He lived with his sister & she said his eyes started shining when he knew we were coming. When I was a baby & a toddler, he used to take me into a room away from everyone & he'd chatter non-stop to me but would go silent with everyone else. As I grew up, he fell silent with me too but he still loved being with me. He died in his 60s, complications of diabetes. He was the last boy to die from a family of 12 children, 6 boys & 6 girls. Apart from 1 girl who died from cancer in her 70, the girls all lived to their 90s & the 1 who looked after my uncle Joseph died at 101. All his brothers had fought in the Far East, some killed by the Japanese, others taken prisoner. The former prisoners came back in a terrible state, & were never well again. They also couldn't eat many foods & had stomach issues, with them all dying of stomach or bowel cancer by their late 30s/mid 40s. It was only in the 1990s that my great aunt was told where 1 of her brothers was buried. He died being used as slave labour, but no-one knew where he was buried initially. When they found out they wrote to inform my aunt, but warned her not to try to visit as the terrain was very rough, certainly unsuitable for a woman of her age, but more importantly Myanmar was politically unstable & the government frequently attacked people in the provinces near the cemetery. I wish the internet had existed for her to have seen her brothers grave. The cemetery & its records are online now, & I've been lucky to see his grave. Like those in Europe, the place is impeccable. We still don't know where the others died, nor where they're buried. Uncle Joseph hadn't been my original godfather, he took over when my uncle Francis died when I was days old. I've been to Ypres many times. My Mum taught history so we frequently visited historical sites, which in France & Belgium meant a lot of war memorials & cemeteries. One thing that's remarkable is when you look at the graves in the German war cemeteries, as both world wars progressed, the ages on the tombstones in the German cemeteries dropped far lower than the allies. You see children in their mid & late teens in the German cemeteries, as low as 15 & 16 in some. You might see that age very rarely in the allied navies, with cabin boys, but never in the army. It was reasonably common for the German forces though, unfortunately.

@@angelaburrow8114 What a story you have Angela! One of my direct family uncle was in Burma for years and fought there in WW2 he came back with a ulcerated leg that never healed and had to be dressed regularly to the day he died in his seventies. It was from 'Beri beri' and the flesh eating diseases that were there in the jungle. He was not captured by the Japanese, but he did not like talking about his experiances.Which is a shame because I would liked to have known more.🇬🇧

@@angelaburrow8114 Thank you for sharing your history. May the souls of the departed through the mercy of God, rest in peace

Bless his soul for his service and your family for their sacrifice. 🙏🙏🙏

@@aitchgee921 Cheers mate!

Yes, the young and innocent pay for the greed and ego of the politicians.

One of the saddest things I've ever seen were the WW1 German Cemeteries in Belgium, it made me cry. Because these were young men who, like the Allies, were dragged into a politically driven global conflict, faced appalling conditions, and paid the ultimate sacrifice. But unlike the Allies, the German cemeteries do not honour those buried within in the same way Commonwealth War Graves have white headstones/crosses and flowers and plants on each grave, they are beautifully maintained, peaceful places. I visited my great-uncle's grave the day before and left a poppy. The next day I visited a German cemetery and left a poppy on the grave of a young German soldier. No matter what side, those young men were all someone's son, or brother, or husband, or uncle, or nephew, who lie in a foreign field far from their homelands. I've recently watched the 2022 remake of "All Quiet On The Western Front, which was terribly moving. Lest We Forget applies equally to both sides.

For many years I have left a wooden cross at our cenotaph to ALL unknown who died in the wars. There is a german pilot buried in the same row as my grandfather, both who died in WW2. My father started looking after the german grave when it became over grown. I've done the same thing, and my childen and grandchildren will carry on once I'm gone.

John, the saddest thing I saw in Belgium was the German graves. So many Jewish folk died fighting for "Germany", see it by the little stones that are placed on the graves. Twenty years later some mad man is sending them to extermination camps!

I remember going there many years ago for a service to remember those who had fallen during both wars. Small planes flew overhead and dropped poppies I will be never forget how moving it was .

something that will stay in my memory forever

I've been several times. A short yet powerful commemoration.

Me and dad always attend war ceremonies because of my great grandfather he was a WWII survivor and he would have been very proud of me and Woody.EXE today. He would have just turned 91 by now

Thank you professional moochers for your campsite recommendations, we were able to be there with your help x

@@barbarahinchcliffe9796 you’re very welcome! Just pleased you enjoyed it as much as we did 👌🏼

A real life hero 💙🇬🇧

Of course it is it’s flowers of the forest it’s played at all military funerals and on Remembrance Sunday

@@battaliance In that case it isn't the same as the Lament at Westminster Abbey which was ‘Sleep, dearie, sleep’. I believe the final Lament at Windsor St George's was "A Salute to the Royal Fendersmith."

Yes, it was Sleep, Dearie, sleep

@@1chish I believe "Flowers of the Forest" was the Lament at Prince Philip's funeral and you are spot on with the Laments for Her Majesty.

Thank you, i went to Tyne Cot the day after this and did a similar video, i went very early so not that many people about. A visit I’ll never forget 😥

My grandfather fought at Ypres and like you say, he always called the city Wipers.

I’m always at war occasional ceremonies with my dad and I always appreciate my dads kind words about them every year

God bless , both my great grandfathers fought here , I was a lucky one as both came home ❤

One of my Great Uncles is also at Tyne Cote. His brother died seven days before him. One of them had been seconded to the Seaforth Highlanders and as part of his dress uniform had been issued a kilt. My Great Grandmother (maternal line) was sent his kilt after he died and she unpicked it and every night until her death, she would wrap it around herself so she could be close to him.

@@enkisdaughter4795 Deeply touching recollection. Thank you for sharing.

It's Menin Gate.

So so sad to hear this, you have my full condolences ❤

Indeed sir , the only foreingn army , respect foor the Britch , grts from Bemgain