Fellow listers - I thought you might be interested in the Anzac Day ceremonies on the other side of the world. I attended the Anzac Day Remembrance ceremonies in Ypres, Belgium on the 25 April 2007. It was a moving ceremony in honour of the fallen of the 1st World War. The events were marked by a joint New Zealand and Australian Ceremony led by the Ambassadors from both countries and some 2000 others present, mostly New Zealanders and Australians. The day started with a wreath laying ceremony at the New Zealand Memorial at Mesen/Messines. This was followed later in the morning by a ceremony at the Menin Gate in Ypres. The Menin gate is the imposing memorial to the fallen of WWI where the names of those who died and have no known grave are inscribed - except for the New Zealanders whose names are inscribed on the memorial at Tyne Cot Cemetery. Those New Zealanders and Australians who had gathered, marched from the Ypres Cloth Hall to the Menin Gate where the ceremonies took place. The "Last Post" was sounded, appropriately, for exactly the 27,000th time and this was followed by wreath-laying by the New Zealand Ambassador, Wade Armstrong and by the Australian Ambassador, Alan Thomas, service personnel representatives of the New Zealand and Australian Armed Forces and those of the public who wished to lay wreaths. This was followed by the playing and singing of the National Anthems of New Zealand, Australia and Belgium. In a speech following the ceremonies, the First Alderman of Ypres, Mr. Lignel, gave a short speech in which he mentioned that remains of those who died in the First World War are still being regularly uncovered - and to give a stark picture of the terrible carnage of that war, he mentioned that only in the past week, 209 further remains of casualties had been recovered. This year is special in that it marks the 90th Anniversary of the Battle of Passchendaele, one of the turning points of WWI and there are a number of special ceremonies being held beginning on June 7, the day of the start of the battle. On the following two web pages, I have attached some photos of the ceremonies: http://www.kmb-associates.com/AnzacDayYpres2007A.htm and http://www.kmb-associates.com/AnzacDayYpres2007B.htm. The pages may take some time to upload because of the number of photos present. If anyone is interested, I have higher resolution copies of the same photos which I would be happy to provide - contact me off list. I also have photos of the memorial at the Tyne Cot cemetery on which the names of those New Zealanders who died and who have no known grave are inscribed on the New Zealand Memorial there. The quality of the stone has declined over the years, and some names are difficult to read. Should anyone be interested in the name of an ancestor there, I will endeavour to find it. Let me know. Ken