The Menin Gate Memorial marks the route which thousands of NI men marched on their way to the front. Here is an account of its origin and customs of remembrance. Richard Greer was the C of I Rector of Banbridge. He volunteered as a Chaplain with the 36th Ulster Division. He died on home leave from Ballykinlar Camp in 1915. William Dunwoodie from Dungannon returned with NZ infantry in WW1 and died in 1917 at Messines Ridge where the NZ war memorial now stands. Two Belfast submariners, James McNeill and Hugh Smith, were lost in 1941 in HMS Fearless. James’ brother was killed in action in Belgium a year previous and his parents’ residence in Mountcollyer St., had been destroyed in an air raid. Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers, Thomas Gordon from Strabane, and James Nelson from Derry fell in Italy in 1944.
Remembrance NI - Every day is a Remembrance Day 