Introduction to Assembly We Remember This War On

Introduction to assembly We remember this war on Remembrance Day. We bring to mind not just those people who fought and died in World War One a hundred years ago but also those affected by World War Two and by other wars since 1945. Remembrance is not a word we use every day. In everyday life, we say we 'remember' something like a friend's birthday. Things around us help us to remember people or places. Photos remind us of a party or maybe a holiday. An old toy, a football programme, clothes now too small for us ... these things remind us of the past. 'Remembrance' suggests something more important, a significant experience that can be shared. Some people might ask ‘Why November the eleventh?’ It was at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month that World War One ended in 1918. At eleven o'clock on a Monday morning, the guns fell silent. The killing stopped. This was the armistice - an agreement to stop fighting. When World War One was over, people wanted to mark the event on a special day, so they chose Armistice Day. Today many people observe Remembrance Sunday but they also have a time for silent reflection on Armistice Day, the eleventh of November, no matter what day of the week it falls on. Those images you saw when coming into the hall will be familiar to many of you. Some of us take part in Remembrance Sunday events around the country, while others watch at home on television. It is a time to pause. To remember. To think about how wars affect people. No British soldier who fought in World War One is alive now. We only have their stories. But we remember them, as we remember the men and women who fought in World War Two. And we remember those still at war today, wherever they may be. A good way to do this is by being silent for a short time. At 11 o'clock on Remembrance Sunday there is a two-minute silence to remember those who died in war. Ours is not a silent world. There is noise all around us. So silence is special. Silence helps us to stop thinking about what is going on right now or what we have to do next. Silence lets us pause to reflect. Soldiers and sailors often get forgotten when peace comes but after war, people do not want to forget. That is why Remembrance Day became what it is, a day for calling the past to mind. Many of the World War One soldiers whose graves we see in such long rows in the war cemeteries were very young. Most families lost someone they loved. Remembrance gives us time to think about how we too cope with sadness and loss. People cope with loss and the experience of war in many different ways. They might talk about their experiences with friends or family or they might express themselves in other ways, such as drawing or writing poetry. During PS last week you were asked to write on a poppy to contribute to this memorial. This is more than a collection of poppies; it is the thoughts and emotions of those in the hall today. Poems You will now hear two poems written by people who have been involved in war or who have lost a loved one to conflict. ‘In Flanders Fields’ - The first poem is by Lieutenant John McRae; he served in the army during WWI and was inspired to write this after he attended the funeral of a fellow soldier. Sadly, Lieutenant McRae did not return from War and died in January 1918 in France. ‘My Boy Jack’ - The next poem was written by a man named Rudyard Kipling, you might know him as the author of the Jungle Book. His son, John Kipling, went off to war just a few days after his 18th birthday. He was killed in the Battle of Loo’s 6 weeks later. Rudyard Kipling wrote this poem as part of one of his novels and it is thought to be about the loss of his son. Remembrance Day is not only a time to remember those who have given their lives in conflicts around the world but also a time to remember those who return home to their families having been through the horrors of war. We can also take time to reflect on how good can come out of bad. How enemies can become friends. Today we are thankful for the peace in our country. We hope for peace in countries where there is conflict. While Remembrance Day brings sadness, it also brings hope for the future. Hope of a better world, the world for which so many of those soldiers believed they were fighting. We will finish off with a poem that delivers that very message. ‘Making or Breaking’ .

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