Remembrance acknowledges all those who have made sacrifices, or have lost their lives during active service on our behalf.
To understand how this decades-old tradition continues to be relevant in today’s world, we recently asked members of the congregation of
St Andrew’s to share their thoughts in the latest edition of Search Magazine. We were inundated with contributions, so decided to share some more of them in the article below.
The Remembrance Sunday service at St Andrew’s, on the 12th November, will include an Act of Remembrance and a rendition of Gabriel Fauré’s Requiem by our choir.
Join us for a poignant and soul-stirring Remembrance Sunday Choral Eucharist at 10:30 am, on the 12th November.
“As a Christian, Remembrance Day is a time to pray for peace and for those affected by wars around the world. Whatever the religion or ethnicity of those at war, we need to pray for wisdom for their leaders and strength for the families who are left behind, as well as for all those suffering mentally and physically from acts of war.”
“As a musician, I’ve performed Remembrance Day pieces like Ireland’s ‘Greater love hath no man’, Parry’s ‘My soul, there is a country’, and Elgar’s ‘Nimrod’: all inspired by cataclysm of the world wars. Sometimes, it seems as though the music itself seems to be asking how everything went so wrong.”
“Remembrance is very personal and as I’ve grown older, remembrance has changed for me – In my younger days it was very much, “lest we forget” the service and the sacrifice of the armed forces across Britain and the Commonwealth, from the end of the Great War up until today. Nowadays, I remember my own comrades as well as the passing of the WW2 generation, particularly as that generation included my parents, family, and their friends. I grew up listening to their many stories, which became part of their memory. Now, it’s part of me, so I remember them.”
“I personally served 18 months National Service in the army, of which 12 were in Germany. My father served 27 years in the Royal Engineers. His father, my grandfather, was also a long serving member of the RE, spending time in Ireland, then Gibraltar, followed by the Boer War in South Africa, where he served with distinction and was awarded a DCM. His father (my great-grandfather) served in the same regiment (then called Sappers and Miners) and was present in the Crimea. During the Second World War, my father’s brother was among those rescued from Dunkirk in 1940. Another brother fought all the way from Sicily to Austria towards the end of the war. Of my mother’s family, three brothers served in the Great War. Despite this background, I don’t feel that it is appropriate to speak of remembrance only in terms of the past wars. What is happening in Ukraine is very important for us all, and we have to think of the people affected, be they civilians or fighting personnel.”
“My grandparents lived through occupation and witnessed indiscriminate torture and suffering, such that my grandmother’s aversion of the subject persisted until her death. At the church that I attended as a child, the organ incorporated parts from a previous instrument which had been melted down during the occupation and the Bible stand is crafted from wood from where British POWs were kept.”
“Like many of my peers, I was reluctantly conscripted into the military. My service rifle was thrust into my hands as I took the military oath to defend my country ‘with my life’, perhaps not fully understanding the commitment. Thankfully I never saw conflict, but after two full years as a serviceman, I know now a little more of the ultimate sacrifice paid by those in uniform.”
“To me, the two-minute silence is an opportunity to contemplate the suffering that war causes and to cherish the peace which we are fortunate enough to live in.”