Armistice Assembly is one of the few times that the whole school community comes together. Around 1,400 boys, teachers and support staff stood united, comforted by this shared act of remembrance as we allowed ourselves time to reflect and pay tribute to the fallen soldiers.
Gathered on the Inky Pitch, silence reigned as all listened to the School Chaplain deliver a short sermon. As 11 o’clock approached, the Head Master read the names of some of the fallen Old Bedfordians killed during the First World War. For every soldier there is a story, and the reading of their names, ages and how they died is hugely poignant.
This year we began reading from the letter ‘T’ and we heard of the two Tisdall brothers, who both lost their lives in action – a family plaque is dedicated to them in our School Chapel.
This was followed by the reading of an extract from the poem For the Fallen by Old Bedfordian Club President, Prof. Martin Snaith.
It has been 104 years since the guns fell silent on the battlefields of the First World War, and as is tradition The Last Post was played on the bugle, the banner dipped, and heads bowed to mark the start of the two-minute silence. Only the sound of the wind rustling through the autumn leaves in the birch trees could be heard.
The silence ended as the RSM raised the banner and read aloud the words:
“When you go home, tell them of us and say, For your tomorrow, we gave our today.”
This was followed by the Chapel Choir singing Douglas Guest’s setting of They shall grow not old.
To help further educate the boys and help us all to further understand the horror and suffering caused by war, the stories of five of the solders read out by the Head Master are shared in a short Remembrance booklet, which was shared with all boys and staff. It is hoped that this will go a small way to help keep those soldiers’ memories alive and ensure that their sacrifices were not in vain. You can read ‘There Honour Comes’ here.
