A new open-air exhibition has opened on the ramparts in Ieper. Through eight unique illustrations "Menin Gate Moments" shows the history of the Menin Gate. The Menin Gate is a war memorial dedicated to British and Commonwealth soldiers killed in the Ieper Salient during the Great War and who have no known grave. The exhibition also provides information on the monument's restoration works, which are still in full swing.
The Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) opened the new exhibition on the fortifications right next to the Menin Gate. It’s a free exhibition to enter and shows eight defining moments in the history of the monument: from a quiet gateway to the city, to a bombed-out passage used by soldiers during World War I, to the symbolic monument that the Menin Gate is today with more than 54,000 names of missing war dead engraved upon it. All this can be seen in the images on the information panels.
Special illustrations
"British illustrator Tom Clohosy Cole created drawings especially for our exhibition," says Claire Horton of the CWGC. "These are very detailed and based on archive documents, photographs and stories from Ieper and veterans."
"I enjoyed myself immensely during my work," Cole says. "My visit to Ieper, the Menin Gate and Tyne Cot Cemetery left a strong impression on me and contributed to these illustrations. Many things you read about in history books you can no longer see or visit. Through the work of the CWGC, however, you can still walk around these war sites and discover the personal stories. I recommend it to everyone."
Restoration works
The Menin Gate is currently in scaffolding. The CWGC is carrying out major restoration works. The exhibition also tells what steps are being taken. People who want to look up names on the Menin Gate while the works progress can do so digitally in the information centre. There, there is an interactive screen with an automatic search function as well as 3D model of the monument.