Friday 5 November 2004
The Defence Force contingent sent to France to collect and return the Unknown Warrior to the nation, attended the time-honoured Last Post ceremony at Menin Gate this evening (Friday 5 November).
Arriving in Ieper, Belgium just before dusk, the 78 Navy, Army and Air Force personnel marvelled at the town's architectural restoration since the devastation of World War I as they approached the huge and sorrowful arch known as Menin Gate, where the names of close to 55,000 British and Commonwealth soldiers reported missing in World War I literally line the walls.
Standing inside the monument it seemed hard to believe that this was where more than half a million of the estimated nine million who died during World War I had lost their lives. Despite the absence of New Zealand names (as the New Zealand soldiers have been recognised at the sites where they actually fell) emotions flowed.
After having the chance to absorb the atmosphere of the town, the entire contingent were welcomed to a reception hosted by the Burgomaster (Mr Luc Dehaene) and other town officials at the Town Hall near the Menin Gate where Belgian and New Zealand service personnel took the opportunity to meet.
It was at 8pm exactly that six buglers stepped into the roadway under the memorial arch and played the Last Post - a traditional salute to fallen soldiers that has been sounded at Menin Gate every night since 1929.
As the Last Post played New Zealand Defence Force Officer's saluted in respect to the fallen and for a moment it seemed as though traffic ceased and stillness descended over the memorial.
New Zealand's involvement in the ceremony included a citation by Private Hamish Wright and the Lament played by Lance Corporal Mackenzie Rowe. New Zealand's presence was then formally acknowledged by the Chairman of the Last Post Committee, as was the huge extent of the loss our country suffered as a result in casualties as a result of World War I.
Mr Luc Dehaene; Air Marshal Bruce Ferguson, the Chief of Defence Force; H. E Mr Wade Armstrong, New Zealand's Ambassador to France; and Colonel (Rtd) John Campbell, President of the New Zealand Returned Services Association then laid wreaths before the buglers sounded Reveille and the band played both the New Zealand and Belgium National Anthems.
Throughout the ceremony it became increasingly obvious the extent that Ieper's locals take pride in the simple but moving tribute to the courage and self-sacrifice of those who fell during the War. Some counted approximately 500 people at the ceremony to witness New Zealand's contribution, which concluded with a rousing Haka.
It would be an understatement to say the experiences shared in France and Belgium has not affected contingent members. Earlier in the day, two members, WO Noel Baigent and Sergeant Pani Houia, separated from the contingent for their own personal pilgrimages, where both paid their respects to fallen relatives by visiting their gravesites. Even those contingent members without a direct link to the area have experienced overwhelming emotion. New Zealand's Chief of Defence Force, Air Marshal Bruce Ferguson, who was present at the sealing of our Unknown Warrior's casket on 4 November has described the experience as one of the most emotional occasions of his career.
Tomorrow morning (Saturday 6 November) is the official Handover Ceremony at the New Zealand Memorial Site near the village of Longueval, where the New Zealand Defence Force will receive the Unknown Warrior from the French military and Mayor of Longueval on behalf of the Ministry for Culture and Heritage.
The New Zealand Defence Force will then return the Unknown Warrior to Wellington on 10 November to bequeath him back to the nation before his Armistice Day burial at the National War Memorial in Wellington.
Rebecca Reedy, Defence Public Relations Unit, France