Below is the text of the whole school assembly I will deliver on Wednesday 10 November
SDS
"When you bought your poppy this year, from a shop counter or a café, a seller on the street corner or a prefect hawking outside the Dining Hall, you may not have realized the special significance of 2021. The Royal British Legion, the organization which makes and sells those iconic red plastic and paper flowers, is 100 years old. So for a century the RBL has been collecting for, and supporting those in the armed forces and emergency services who have done so much to preserve life – and the British Way of Life – since the early part of the last century. 100 years of campaigning; 100 years of supporting service families and ex-service men and women; 100 years of remembrance for those who have given so much. It’s a good time to think about who remembrance is for and how and when it happens; though on Sunday morning it may feel that the focus is all on Whitehall in London, it’s just not that way. Remembrance is a global thing, and is marked in many different ways because conflict has, very sadly, a global dimension. The following are some stories and characters from this year’s page on the RBL website…
For some it is all about not letting personal memories fade away and become lost - Bill Taylor served in the Royal Navy and was on HMS Emerald, a light cruiser stationed off Gold Beach on D Day in 1944. You don’t have to be on parade in a public display to honour the memories of those who were lost; your own doorstep will do just fine. Johnson Beharry, based not far away from here in Bulford and one of only 5 living recipients of the Victoria Cross, had an image of the medal tattooed on his back as a living memorial to those that he left behind in Iraq. But public memorials and events matter too. In most villages in Britain there is a place where the names of local soldiers, sailors and airmen are listed, and of course Bishop’s is no exception to that. Memorials don’t have to be be tied to places though. Many Sikhs, for example fought for the Allied Armies in both World Wars, and memorials ensure that the sacrifices will not be forgotten. Here Captain Jay Singh-Sohal stands beside a Sikh memorial in the national Arboretum in Staffordshire. Military parades are important too, as we’ll see on Sunday – but this one is in the sunshine of Barbados, commemorating the tens of thousands from the Caribbean who served in the Second World War. There are special days, often public holidays, in other parts of the Commonwealth, for example Anzac day in Australia and New Zealand when dawn services mark the anniversary of the landings at Gallipoli in 1916. Over 65,000 people from Ghana served in the allied forces in WW2, and 11th November will be marked by services and musical performances in the tropics of the West African Coast. And many of us wear poppies; a symbol of our own remembrance and wish for peace.
On Thursday, at 11am, there will be a bell at 11.00am and it would be great if we could experience a silent school site for two minutes. The Exeter Street traffic will continue to rumble past no doubt, but you should also be able to hear a bugle sounding too. A wreath will be laid by the Head Girl and Head Boy during the silence, and another bell will sound at the end. Each of us will have our own thoughts during that two minute pause – so here are some things for you to reflect on while the world around you slows for a moment."
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HJIulcbrR0U
