Remembering the Fallen on Armistice day at the Menin Gate

11th November at 11am is Armistice day. In this video we are honoured to be able to lay a poppy wreath at the Menin Gate, Ypres Belgium.
James was also truly honoured to do the citation-“They shall grow not old…”
Here, they do the Last Post Ceremony every evening at 8pm. It is a very moving experience.

[@jamesbrook16]

This was a huge honour: we were proud to lay wreaths at the Menin Gate and I was asked to read The Citation.

[@thenoworriesnomad]

So how did you get to read and lay a poppy?..

[@JustForTheWeekendvanlife]

@@thenoworriesnomad , two years ago I spoke to one of the officials and showed him a picture of my father’s cousin and told him he was mortally wounded in Polygon Wood. He didn’t think so and referred us to The Chairman of The Last Post Association. He referred me to his top researcher at Flanders Fields Museum , Johan, who confirmed that Frank Carter was wounded half a kilometre from there in Jolting Trench. He gave us a trench map with a google map overlaying it so that we could find the precise spot. As we were thanking him at the end of the meeting, he asked us if we’d like to lay a wreath that evening! When we said ‘we aren’t important enough!’ he said, ‘yes you are’. 2 years on, this trip, I connected with the official ‘Bart’ who remembered us when I showed him the photo of Frank Carter. I explained that since we’d last seen him that Karen had found 12 more relatives who died in the First World War, several of whom had died around the Ypres Salient and asked if we could lay a wreath. He agreed. On the evening, literally 10 minutes before the wreath laying, I was asked if i would like to read The Citation! I read through The Citation several times while waiting as my pulse quickened… I have to say, two years ago was the greatest honour of our lives until I also got to read The Citation. Look on our community posts for a photo of Frank Carter and the Vlog called ‘going to France to honour those who shall grow not old’ where we visit his grave. Moving forward, we have vlogs of visiting some very remote cemeteries where Karen’s relatives are, as well as memorial panels at The Menin Gate, Theipval and Dud Corner Cemetery. James 😊😊

[@jamesbrook16]

⁠There’s also a Vlog of us laying wreaths two years ago…

[@thenoworriesnomad]

@@JustForTheWeekendvanlife That was an excellent and thanks for replying, our family were very very lucky and on loss one family member, my Grandmothers father who was in 2 Bn the Royal Berkshire Reg, died 9th May 1915, he no known grave and his name is on the wall of remembrance at Ploegsteert Cemetery, Belgium…Once again well done and thank you…

[@JustForTheWeekendvanlife]

@@thenoworriesnomad Thank you for sharing. Poegsteert memorial is very beautiful-don’t know if you have been…. Do you know much details about the battle that your family member was in?

[@ElainSmith-n5b]

they have NEVER forgot, bless them

[@RBcymru]

My great great uncle's name is on the Menin Gate. I visited in the summer of 2019 and plan to be there 24th May 2025 as it will be 110 years to the day when he was killed. He was a dismounted cavalry Lance Corporal holding the front line along side fellow members of the first cavalry division. I am planning to locate where the trench was where he died but it is hard to do. Thank you Belgium for remembering him.

[@JustForTheWeekendvanlife]

@@RBcymru Would have been during the second battle of Ypres. Hope you have success . 💙

[@RBcymru]

@@JustForTheWeekendvanlife Yes thanks I know quite a bit about the battle. I have letters he wrote to my Great Grandfather who was his brother in law while he was in Ypres. I also have a medical card as he was wounded in Feb 1915 and went to the hospital in Bailleul France. He had emigrated to Canada and married a Canadian but was called back to fight. He died not far from the Canadian soldiers at Hill 60. He is also listed in the Ottawa book of remembrance. The trench maps are not the best so visiting the cavalry museum in Winchester to hopefully find a map for 24th May 1915. Look forward to more videos and one where you get to see your relatives names on the Menin Gate. You will have a tear in your eye when you see them. All the best to you both.

[@JustForTheWeekendvanlife]

@ thank you for sharing, hopefully you’ll find out as much information as you can. It is a fascinating journey. Unfortunately, we couldn’t gain access to many of the panels on the Menin Gate is currently undergoing some maintenance work. But we will return in a few years to find their names. 🙂

[@Bruce-1956]

We will remember them

[@yorkshiresfinestpair]

Great video guys watching this and listening to the last post always give me goose bumps. What an honour it must have been at the Menin Gate, but may we ask out of all the people there how did you get to be chosen to do it , Nei l& Shell 💙❤️

[@JustForTheWeekendvanlife]

@@yorkshiresfinestpair because we are VIPs … 😄 only joking…anyone can do it, just simply ask and they will tell you if they have a space. So we went the night before and asked then for the following night. We went a couple of years ago and ended up taking to an official there about some info we had found out about James relative who fought in WW1, to cut a long story short, he helped us with some finer details. Afterwards he asked if we would like to lay a wreath at the Menin Gate. We thought we weren’t important enough, he then told us that everyone is important and that anyone can arrange to do this. This time James just asked but around 20 minutes before, one of the officials said that they didn’t have anyone to read the citation, so they asked James to do it. We’ve been to this ceremony quite a lot over the last few years and only believed it was the VIPs and schools that did this. So, we were truly honoured. Thanks for watching guys and for your comment , always appreciated ❤️❤️💙💙😊😊 James and Karen

[@nigelparrott6944]

I realized today that you have to be my age at least to have Grandparents born in the 19th century.! We who knew them as living vetrans, I remember my Grandfathrer how upset ,not what he went through ,but what his sons had to go through 21 years later, the first war was suposed to be the war to end all wars.

[@JustForTheWeekendvanlife]

For me, they are great grandparents generation, all born around the late 1890s . Yes , the fallacy of war to end all wars . Young generation of men on both sides .