Over the weekend two Acts of Remembrance took place which brought our community together and highlighted the sacrifice made by many Old Bedfordians, servicemen, servicewomen and civilians from around the world. The first was an Armistice Day Assembly in the Great Hall for the whole school on Saturday, which was followed on the Sunday by our annual Remembrance Sunday Service in the Chapel and wreath-laying ceremony outside the Memorial Hall. At the service, the visiting preacher, the Revd Mick Hough, gave a thought-provoking sermon, which even incorporated a prop: a container of mud from the battlefields of the Somme, which he had collected himself.
The CCF Colour Party looked very smart and on both occasions the Chapel Choirs’ singing was very moving, with a number of people, in particular, commenting on the anthem ‘Exhortation’, which uses the words from “For the Fallen” written by Laurence Binyon. George Christian and Henry Poppleton should be congratulated for their playing of the ‘Last Post’ and ‘Reveille’. Thank you in particular to all the Old Bedfordians who took part in the services; Martin Ashley (65-65), David Murray (69-76) and Capt Giles Moon QGM (96-07).
These events will, without doubt, make many of us reflect on the horrors of war, and the need in the world we live in to do everything possible to find peaceful solutions with a focus on reconciliation rather than conflict.
