Remembrance Day

Written by Colin Breed on Thu 12th Nov 2009

Last Sunday I attended two Remembrance Day services and on Armistice Day stood by the Cenotaph in Whitehall near my office. The number attending was the largest I have seen for many years. What did you think about during the two minutes of silence? I have not lost a close relative to conflict but this week a family member died suddenly and without any warning. She was a young mother of three very young children. The overwhelming sense of loss, grief and bewilderment grips mind, body and soul.

I thought of her, her partner and their children. I thought of the men and women of our armed forces in Iraq and Afghanistan whom I have met and also the army of civilians servicing equipment, providing security and undertaking reconstruction and also the NGOs and charities working in dangerous conditions to serve the common good.

I remember standing at War Memorials in the Falklands and Cyprus as part of my Parliamentary duties and of the regular reading of names in Parliament of those brave and courageous men and women who have died in the service of our country. I remember too, the injured in body and mind and the terrible toll on civilian human life; the dead and injured, the destruction and degradation, the homeless, the hungry and the refugees. I prayed for Nations, Countries, Statesmen and Governments to learn new ways to deal with disputes, so that the peaceful reunification of Germany twenty years ago might be replicated in a reunification of the world in order to work together to save our planet from destruction which, after all, would make us all destitute refugees with no where to go.

So the 120 seconds went very quickly and of course the silence was broken with the noise of life. But do we return to our daily lives unchanged by our thoughts and prayers or does it make us think differently? Does the courage of our armed forces inspire us to want to change our ways or are we overwhelmed by the sense of futility or shame that it is done in our name?

Remembering the past is vital but not sufficient if it does not amend our actions for the future. Working for peace whether at home with families, at work and at play, or in national and international relations, is the way of tolerance, understanding, patience and the essence of humankind.

Remembering is not two minutes once a year, but a constant guide to our future.