From the Principal’s pen:

Saturday November 11 was, as many have been,…cold, wet and dreary. It seems that each year as we stand before the Cenotaph with many others from our community that we have come to expect such a day. And it seems almost a fitting reminder of the cold, uncomfortable conditions endured by so many before us. The rapidly diminishing crowd of veterans of the first and second world
wars are now supported by a crowd of people, young and old, vowing never to forget the sacrifice made by so many.

Through the fogged-up lens of my glasses (the rain falls on them like so many tears), I see veteran after veteran raise up their shoulders, hands crisply at their sides standing at attention while the honour guard of individuals lay the wreaths. It is all most of them can do to stand like that for the ten minutes it takes, but they do so out of respect and honour for their fallen comrades. It is a scene I have watched for over twenty years but its effect is never lost.

And as they stand the Salvation Army plays hymns, hymns not well known to the younger crowd but filled with meaning for the veterans. I know that because as I sing along quietly with these well-known favourites of mine, I see many of their lips moving, singing the same words as I sing….

“O God our help in ages past
our hope for years to come
Our shelter from the stormy blast
And our eternal home.”

The ceremony draws to a close and the shoulders, just moments ago, raised in attention, now slouch back into their more natural form, not out of laziness or sloppiness, but the weight of events and years has taken their toll and the few required minutes are all they can bear. However the few minutes is sufficient to remind an observer like me that these people did what they did sacrificially and proudly to protect a nation, to stand up for what they knew was right and honourable
and true.

Lest we forget

Ray