We Should Never Forget

Once again, today our nation will come to a standstill. Cars and buses will stop. Heathrow and Gatwick Airport will turn off its jet engines. Children at schools will rise and stand in silence and thousands will stop on the streets in tribute to those who surrendered their lives for freedom. At the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, the Great War came to an end.

By the end of World War I, nine million soldiers had died and twenty one million were wounded. And the losses were compounded by the deaths of civilians. Over six million died from starvation and disease.

This small act of remembrance, marking the official day when the war ended, is a powerful gesture to show that those lives that were lost in our quest for freedom was not in vain. It also serves as an act of defiance – a powerful message that we reject the ways of oppression.

And it is not just the war of past that we honour today. We are recognising all who have given so much in the name of our freedoms. This morning, the QE2, just hours before she makes her final journey, after six million miles of circumnavigating the world, will be showered with a million poppies. During the Falklands war the QE2 was conscripted into service. Over a thousand crew members volunteered to remain with her as she sailed into war. And there are countless soldiers - men and women who have given their lives in the Middle East in the name of freedom for others.

Even ninety years later, we are still haunted by the mass futile deaths of World War 1. The war poet Wilfred Owen wrote a poem entitled Futility. He writes of his desire to move a dead body into the sun, reflecting how that very same sun woke the soldier when at home and how it still brings seeds to life, but cannot make the corpse live. His moving poem ends on a note of anger and protest.
Was it for this the clay grew tall?

O what made fatuous sunbeams toil

to break earth’s sleep at all?

The carnage of World War I and the heroic struggle to defeat Nazism in World War II stunned Europe into a realisation that we must find a way forward together. I don’t believe that God contrives terrible things in order to teach us a lesson. That is not the kind of God in whom I believe. Rather, when terrible things happen, which they seem to do as part of the price of having a world at all, it is our responsibility to recognise what went wrong and what steps we should now take to stop such tragedies ever happening again.

Today, as the last remaining survivors of the Great War lay wreaths at the base of the Cenotaph in remembrance of their fallen brothers, let us not forget what others have given that we may call ourselves free.

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Remembrance Day

Lest We Forget

A Night Vigil

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As Long As We're Remembered

There’s a Russian proverb that says ‘Our spirit lives on as long as we’re remembered.’

Our local cemetery is arguably one of the most beautiful in the south of England. The unique designs of some of the headstones are a touching tribute to the sacred memory of its inhabitants. And it’s not unusual for families and individuals to spend time, not only to honour those who are interred there, but also to enjoy its serene and beautiful surroundings.

But there’s a blight that is engulfing the cemetery. From the hilltop, as you look out towards the sea, over the acres of monuments that serve as symbols of affection from surviving family and friends, hundreds of the fine marble and granite masonry tributes lay flat on the ground.

This hasn’t come about as a result of vandalism. It has occurred as a consequence of our government’s sweeping paranoia over the litigious nature of today’s society. Over time, some of the stones have shifted in the permeable soil, thus creating the possibility that should a child or vandal pull on one of the stones, it could shift and thus continue its gravitational journey downward, causing injury or worse. It has happened in another region, once, eleven years ago. And, of course, the parents of the child who pulled the stone over and was crushed, sued the local council.

In response to this possibility, the stones have been laid down. Letters have been sent to last known addresses, offering the recipient the opportunity to restore the memory of their loved one. But if the letters are returned, or if there is no reply, the stones will be removed. And the named memory of the departed soul will be eradicated.

It is not meant as a poetic statement to say that the very nature of our nation’s existence was built upon our resilience and our steadfast principles of honour. In the past, if you tripped and fell over, you got up off the floor, dusted yourself off and just got on with it!

But today, our society has become addicted to seeking ways to blame others for our own negligence or acts of stupidity. And it would appear that our government has no interest in the preservation of individuals who are no longer able to speak for themselves or pay taxes to support the perpetuity of their memory.

So in a short time those stones will be removed. The tears that were wept, the sacrifices that were made to pay for the monuments, the generations of care that was given to the grave – all will be wiped away. And the names and memories of those individuals will disappear.

As we walk through the cemetery on this early spring morning, we call out those names one last time. And in this final tribute, we are reminded that there is life immortal that shall survive the grave.

And their imperishable spirit is forever with the Lord.

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These photos from Bexhill Cemetery are only a small sample of the beautiful masonry tributes that are currently at risk. Further information regarding Bexhill Cemetery is available from Rother County Government and Bexhill Today news. The entrance to Bexhill Cemetery is located at the corner of Turkey Road and Saint Mary’s Lane.

I share in the frustration over how to address this situation. Should Rother council fail to follow Health and Safety laws, the cemetery could be forcibly closed, with its gates locked, thus preventing anyone from visiting the cemetery until such time as the safety directives are followed. It is truly a paradoxical situation.

One thing I do beg of you, however, is please do not harrass or attempt to intimidate the cemetery manager over this situation. She is not the creator of these laws! She shares in the same frustrations as the rest of us over this matter. So, please, please, leave her alone! Otherwise I may have to come have a word with you! And you certainly wouldn't want that! :-)

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Remembrance Day

Falling In Love At Clapham Junction

Finding Words Of Comfort