Members of Camborne Youth Band had the honour in August of representing their country at the Last Post ceremony at the Menin Gate in Ypres, Belgium, as part of the band’s commemorative tour to Flanders to mark the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War. The Menin Gate monument is a memorial to 54,338 men of the British Commonwealth who died in the Ypres salient in the Great War and have no known grave. The Last Post has been played here every night at 8 pm by members of the Ypres Volunteer Fire Brigade, since 1928.
The band and supporters left Camborne at 5 am on Thursday to travel straight to Ypres to take part in the ceremony. A visibly moved crowd of nearly 3000 gathered to listen as the band, conducted by Musical Director Alan Pope and featuring solos by Abigail Roberts and Cecilia Carlisle, played “A Special Place” by Cornish composer Goff Richards, and “In Flanders Fields” by Gavin Somerset (inspired by the famous poem by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae). The band was also expressly requested to play the English National Anthem.
The Menin Gate ceremony was the high point of the band’s four-day tour, made possible by months of fundraising and donations from the public, sponsorship from Burncoose Nurseries and sales of the band’s 2014 commemorative CD, “In Flanders Fields”. Whilst in Flanders CYB gave concerts in Ypres and Diksmuide, playing WWI themed music and Cornish folk tunes, which drew appreciative audiences. The players also took the opportunity to visit First World War sites which included Tyne Cot Cemetery, Sanctuary Wood Museum (Hill 62), Belgian trenches and the “In Flanders Fields” museum in Ypres. The younger members of the band particularly valued the experience of seeing and walking through the British trenches at Hill 62, which helped them to understand the significance of what they were there to commemorate.
CYB would like to thank the public for their generosity in supporting the tour. Any further donations would be much appreciated and will go towards clearing the final balance. CDs featuring some of the music played on the tour can be purchased by contacting the band on 07867 544479.