Menin Gate

The casual visitor to Ypres might struggle to understand why Churchill once argued that the city was of crucial importance to the British people. Today Ypres is an attractive, peaceful Belgian city. During the First World War life here was very different and the town was almost entirely destroyed. Throughout the war huge explosive shells fired from German guns could be heard hurtling through the air on their way to spreading devastation throughout the city. To British troops they sounded like an express train tearing through the air. As these huge shells crashed down in all directions, bricks and timber were scattered everywhere. Howitzers roared incessantly, shaking the earth; and the crackle of machine guns mingling with the boom of mortars and bombs, made a noise that sounded like some titanic thunderstorm.

Pupils need to see that war memorials are the product of a great deal of thought, planning and debate. War memorials also need to be firmly placed in their historical context if their purpose, meaning and significance are going to be fully understood by pupils. The main focus of this enquiry is an active learning activity that simulates the debate that took place concerning how best to commemorate the thousands of British and Commonwealth soldiers who died in the fighting that took place around Ypres during the First World War. It helps pupils understand how British visions for commemoration came into conflict with the attitudes and needs of the local Belgian population.

 

The focus of this enquiry is an investigation into the factors that shape the appearance of war memorials. It is important that pupils understand that memorials are carefully planned and can tell us a great deal about the attitudes and values of both the architect and society at the time. It is also crucial that pupils realise that interpretations of war memorials are rarely static. The Menin Gate and the Last Post Ceremony have meant different things to different people at different times in history. They also continue to shape the way that people today view the First World War.

 

The focus of this enquiry is to encourage pupils to link the events of the past with the attitudes of today.  They should consider the evidence available to us through memorials, archaeology, photographs, art etc and how our understanding affects our attitudes to commemoration and remembrance.