The Last Post – in Ieper (Ypres), Belgium

“Every evening since 1928, at precisely eight o’clock, the Last Post – the traditional salute to the fallen warrior – is played under the Menin Memorial in Ieper, Be9lgium.  This daily tribute – performed by a team of local buglers – serves to honour the memory of the soldiers of the British Empre, who fought and died in the immortal Ypres Salient during the First World War.

It is the aim of the Last Post Association to maintain this ceremony in perpetuity.” (from Flanders Fields Battlefield Daytours)

Since the end of World War 1, the only time that the Last Post has not been played was during German occupation in World War II.

And the only time that there was an afternoon ceremony playing the Last Post, with a dedication to the fallen from all of the provinces in Belgium, was on August 21, at 3:30 pm, right after my visit to In Flanders Museum.

Even though it was broad daylight and buglers and military personnel were surrounded by tourists in shorts, the images in my mind, and the feelings from the exhibits in the Museum contributed to the solemnity, sadness and melancholy of the event.

Following this, I visited some of the World War I battlefield sites including the John McCrae Memorial and the Canadian Memorial and the Brooding Solder.

It was a full day of a heavy, sad heart and even now, I cry thinking of it.  So this year, more than any other to date, having walked on the land where so many lives were lost, I will wear the poppy with even more meaning.