On Monday, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) will start restoration work on the Menin Gate in the West Flemish town of Ieper. The work will take about two years. The Last Post ceremony will continue to be held each day at 8pm. However, it will move to a site adjacent to the Menin Gate.
The Menin Gate was inaugurated in 1927 as a monument to commemorate more than 54,000 missing Commonwealth troops that had gone missing in action during the Great War. The names of each of them are engraved on the Menin Gate.
A thorough restoration will take place. First, the asbestos-containing layer on the Menin Gate’s inner vault will be removed. Once this has been done waterproofing material on the monument’s roof will be replaced.
Next year it will be the turn of the facades and the Menin Gate’s natural stone features. They will be repaired and rejoined.
Due to the work on the Menin Gate, the daily Last Post ceremony will move to a temporary site on the fortifications next to the monument. The ANZAC Day ceremony will also take place there later this month. In June a new exhibition will open about the history of the Menin Gate and the story of its restoration.