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VISIT TO MENIN
Mother, whats that gate for?
Its stone, and big, and strong.
Its got so many names on
The list is very long.
On top of its a lion
And beneath the arch does play
A man upon a bugle
So sad What does it say?
That tune, it makes me shiver
And read those names once more.
O Mother, please do tell me:
What is that big gate for?
Ill tell you what that gates for,
Mother thoughtfully replied.
Its a monument to your daddy
And all his mates who died.
Some, well, they couldnt find them
See those are all their names
Came up this road to go to war,
And neer came home again.
They fought and died like Daddy
So many, many more
And so we dont forget them,
Thats what that big gates for.
(At the Menin Gate in Ypres, Belgium, the traffic and people stop at 8 oclock as the Last Post is played beneath the arch. This has happened everyday since the town was rebuilt apart from during the Second World War. The road that passes under the gate took each troop who went to the Salient to his fate at the Front. 55,000 were never found.)
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