"Anzac Day Ceremony at the Cenotaph, London - 1930" by Queensland State Archives is marked with Public Domain Mark 1.0.
What is Remembrance Day you may wish to know. It is when all members of the former British Imperial Empire remember all those who went to fight in both World War One and World War Two, and all other battles with which these countries have been involved since. With representatives present from India to Asia, as well as Britain laying wreaths of poppies, this fact was most clearly illustrated.
On Remembrance Day, 11th November 2024, I joined fellow members of the Western Front Association thirty minutes before the Armistice of one hundred and six years before, the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.
Why is it therefore that in the UK, Remembrance Sunday is the one everyone remembers, you may rightly ask. It was moved to the closest Sunday to the eleventh of November during World War Two, so as not to disrupt war production.
I shall let you in on another lesser known fact. The first of the two munutes of silence observed is for all those who went to battle on those global conflicts. The next minute is to remember those who did not return.
I would love to share with you a photograph or two of the lifelong experience memory that followed over the following forty five minutes or so. However;
We were told in no uncertsin terms by the marshalls on duty before we marched out to the pipes and drums of the London Scottish Regiment, "all mobile phones off!", instruction we all instantly obeyed.
Rabbie Burns, Scotlands national poet, also wrote much about war. I first learned a little more of this during my time in London. I hope you enjoy an excert of this writing below;
glory is the sodger's prize,
The sodger's wealth is honor:
The brave poor sodger ne'er despise,
Nor count him as a stranger;
Remember he's his country's stay,
In day and hour of danger.
These words were very present in my mind, as the late autumn leaves floated to the ground from still well laden trees of greenery, in the immediate vacinity of the Cenotaph.
There are still plenty of soldiers left, ready to brave another day.
Fraser Paterson
Freelance Writer and Tour Guide