The Menin Gate
Completed in 1927, the Menin Gate was built to commemorate the greatest British victory of the First World War, the defense of the Ypres Salient, and to honor 54,896 men who were lost in the fighting with no known grave. It is located on the edge of town, straddling the road to Menin on which many soldiers went up to the front lines. It was designed by Sir Reginald Blomfield, based on the 17th century fortifications of the town of Nancy.
The Menin Gate, seen from outside the town looking back. Notice the lion seated atop the arch. Blomfield wrote about the lion that:
"I wanted a massive lion, not fierce and truculent, but patient and enduring, looking outward as a symbol of the latent strength and heroism of our race."
The inscription underneath, written by Kipling, reads: "To the Armies of the British Empire who stood here from 1914 to 1918 and to those of their dead who have no known grave."
From the other side, the arch is topped by a sarcophagus covered with a British flag. The two side columns read: "Pro Patria" and "Pro Rege". How do the symbols of victory and loss (the lion and the sarcophagus) interact?