A bright November morning turned to atmospheric mistiness, as hundreds of people representing military personnel, cadets, uniformed organisations and civilians came together to remember, filling the Priory to capacity.
Readings, prayers and hymns and the National Anthem, led by Malvern Town Band and the Priory’s musicians, brought the first part of the service of Remembrance to a close, as the organisations left to parade to the Town War Memorial at the Library. The Priory congregation remained to observe the two minutes’ silence at 11am, centred on the Priory War Memorial. The Last Post, played by a member of the Priory, began the silence, during which the chimes of the Priory clock sounded across the town. Reveille ended the silence, followed by a poignant reading of the Kohima Epitaph, by the youngest chorister.
‘When you go home, tell them of us, and say
‘for your tomorrow, we gave our today’
Remembrance was also marked by Priory clergy leading the launch of the Field of Remembrance outside the Library, where 100 children from local schools and representatives from Malvern Town Council and Malvern Hills District Council planted crosses in front of the cut out shape of a Tommy.
On Armistice Day, the Priory War Memorial was again the focus of Remembrance at the service led by Philippa, the Curate, with representatives from the Councils, military and civilian services personnel and with the Deputy Lord Lieutenant planting crosses in front of the Memorial, which records losses from the First and Second World Wars.
When the Priory War Memorial was created, it was to remember the ‘war to end all wars’. There was no space left for more names. There would be no more wars. And yet less than 21 years later war broke out once more…
At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, we will remember them.
May God guide us all to be peacemakers in all we do.
When you go home tell them of us
Next
Next