WW1-CENTURY/BELGIUM-YPRES Ypres remembers fallen soldiers of WW1

Record ID: 863037

  • Title: WW1-CENTURY/BELGIUM-YPRES Ypres remembers fallen soldiers of WW1
  • Date: 11th November 2014
  • Summary: (SOUNDBITE) (English) YPRES DIRECTOR OF TOURISM, PETER SLOSSE, SAYING: "In this ceremony we remember the end of the First World War 96 years ago today. We remember the sacrifice of hundreds of thousands of soldiers who died here near Ypres and in so many other places fighting for the causes of freedom and peace."
  • Embargoed: 26th November 2014 12:00
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  • Location: Belgium
  • City:
  • Country: Belgium
  • Topics: General
  • Reuters ID: LVABOTXS7JZ9Z39468FHYM1RHOXX
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  • Story Text: An historic city in the west Flanders region of Belgium, where some of the bloodiest battles of World War One were fought, hosted a special service on Tuesday (November 11), to commemorate Armistice Day, which celebrates the end of the First World War.
    This year's event, in Ypres, was especially poignant, as it also marked the 100th anniversary since the start of the World War One.
    The ceremony started at the Menin Gate, a war memorial dedicated to the British and Belgian soldiers who died in battles along the Western Front.
    The gate marks the beginning of one of the main roads out of Ypres, which led thousands of Allied soldiers to the front line of the war.
    Tuesday's ceremony also included the traditional "Last Post" call, a daily custom in Ypres since the Menin Gate opened in 1927.
    Every night at 2000 (local time), buglers from the local fire brigade stop traffic that runs under the bridge and sound the traditional end-of-day bugle call from the British Army, which is followed by a moment of silence.
    The "Last Post" is also symbolically played at military funerals and other war memorial ceremonies.
    The memorial concluded with a ceremonial laying of wreaths for fallen soldiers and the release of poppy blossoms, a symbol of the battles in Flanders Fields, from the ceiling of the Menin Gate.
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