In 2017, we were able to temporarily reacquaint ourselves with the limestone lions on the bridge at the Menin Gate. The lions were on temporary loan (24/04/2017 - 11/11/2017) by the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. Normally, the lions are located at the entrance to the Australian War Memorial. In 1936, the mayor of Ypres donated two stone lions to the Australian War Memorial in Canberra. The lions are carved from limestone and were given to the Australian government as a sign of friendship and in gratitude for the great efforts made by the Australians in the First World War. Originally, the lions stood on a plinth on either side of the Menin Gate. The Menin Gate was one of the two entrances to the city of Ypres. It was through this gate that the allied soldiers marched to the battlefields around Ypres between 1914 and 1918. The two stone lions holding the shield of Ypres (Belgium) that had stood at the steps of the Cloth Hall since 1822 returned as part of the commemorations of the First World War. In 1862 the lions were moved to the Menin Gate and remained there during the war as Ypres was reduced to ruins by German artillery fire. Thousands of Australians and other Allied troops passed the lions on their way to the Belgian battlefields of the Western Front. Many of them would never return. The lions, which were broken and damaged, were rescued from the rubble and repaired. The temporary return of the lions commemorated some of the most crucial battles of the First World War, including the Third Battle of Ypres, the Battle of Passchendaele, the Mine Battle and Polygon Wood. Belgium and Australia thus commemorated the catastrophe of the First World War. The lions were installed before Anzac Day and once again stood guard temporarily. On 24 April 2017 at 8pm a special Last Post and a ceremony for the temporary return of the Lions at the Menin Gate were held. On 5 November 2018 an official unveiling of replicas of the lions took place together with a delegation from the Australian government and the Australian War Memorial, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and the Last Post Association. The replicas weigh approximately 1,200 kg each. The company Monument Vandekerckhove from Ingelmunster made the replicas.
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