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The Last Post is a bugle call played
in the British Army (and in the
armies of many other countries) to
mark the end of the day's labours
and the onset of the night's rest.
In the context of the Last Post
ceremony (and in the broader context
of remembrance), it has come to
represent a final farewell to the
fallen at the end of their earthly
labours and at the onset of their
eternal rest.
The Last Post Association
The Last Post Association is an
independent, voluntary, non-profit
organisation which also administers
the Last Post Fund, for providing
the financial resources necessary to
support the ceremony.
The Last Post Association honours
the soldiers of the British Empire
who gave their lives during the
Great War of 1914-1918. The Last
Post ceremony expresses, day after
day, the lasting debt of gratitude
owed to the men who fought and fell
for the restoration of peace and the
independence of the Kingdom of
Belgium.
Symbolism
Every day, just before 8 o'clock in
the evening, the local police stops
all traffic passing through the
Menin Gate.
For a few brief moments, the modern
world is brought to a stop and the
Last Post ceremony takes the
attendants back in time to the
terrible and turbulent years of
World War I.
The Menin Gate was chosen as the
location for the ceremony because of
its special symbolic significance:
it was from this spot that countless
thousands of soldiers set off for
the front, many of them destined
never to return. |
