Armistice Day Centennial in a small town

Armistice Day, 11 November, commemorates the end of the Great War, 1914 to 1918 which all too soon and all too sadly became renamed the "First" World War. Poppies are worn in memory of the poppies that grew all over the fields of Flanders field after the terrible slaughter there. Poppies spring up where the soil has been disturbed, and all the shells and the burials in Flanders disturbed the earth quite thoroughly. The picture of that awful springtime beauty has been immortalised in John McCrae's poem, "In Flanders fields the poppies blow, Between the crosses, row on row,"

For a week or two before the 11th, street corner collectors accept donations and hand out simple poppy badges. Donations to the poppy fund support veterans of wars. This year, 2018 is 100 years since the end of the "War to end all wars" that, tragically, wasn't.

Memorial parades and services happened all over the UK and elsewhere in the world. The Edinburgh Ward hosted a multi-faith service, Edinburgh City had a major parade starting from St Giles Cathedral on the Royal Mile and moving up to a ceremony at Edinburgh castle.. 

We chose to attend the memorial parade and service in Dalkeith, the small town where our ward meets. Dalkeith, like every town and village in Britain, has a cenotaph in the city park. As we travel, we often stop to look at these; it is always moving to see the lists of those who lost their lives in the war. We did not count, but Dalkeith organised the names of those who died by year, and the lists are long. One family lost three members in 1917 alone. Being a small town, the parade and the ceremonies were homey and rather personal. They followed protocol for the ceremony but also set some of it up before our eyes in the minutes before the ceremony. About eighteeen young cadets in camoflage uniforms participated, all taking their roles very seriously, standing up ramrod straight whenever they remembered that they were on parade. About half were girls, all with their hair carefully drawn back into buns. The memorial was quite simple. There was a parade from the headquarters of the British Legion to the town square, about a quarter of a mile away. The parade, as you would expect from a small town, was variegated with old soldiers in and out of uniform, wearing medals, walking with canes or just with dignity, mixed with civilians and the young cadets, very self-conscious, in their uniforms. Everything was done rather quietly. 

Dalkeith Cenotaph

The participants lined up in front of the cenotaph Prayers were said, with a plea for peace and an end to hostility. 

I couldn't help but reflect on the carvings on the cenotaph. When it was built it was to commemorate those lost in the Great War and the large inscription on front reads,

THE MEN OF DALKEITH

WHOSE NAMES ARE INSCRIBED

ON THIS MEMORIAL

DIED IN DEFENSE

OF HOME AND COUNTRY

IN THE GREAT WAR 1914-1919

Tragically this was not the war that ended war and so later on someone else inscribed below it the simple statement

AND

THE SECOND WORLD WAR

1939-1945

And, most poignantly, right at the bottom there is one more addition, the open-ended,

AND IN CONFLICTS SINCE

A trumpeter played haunting strains of the 'Last Post'. We observed a two minute silence with flags grounded.

Two minute silence. Flags on the ground

Wreaths of poppies were then laid by various local organisations, including our own Dalkeith ward.  The cadets stood in a row, holding the wreaths behind the official wreath-laying participants. One by one they accompanied the wreath layers to the cenotaph, handed over the wreath and then saluted as the wreath was laid. Then each one would turn ninety degrees, stomp, and retreat, leading the wreath-layer back to their place in the line-up. At least, that was what was supposed to happen. We suspect they had practised beforehand, and their instructions were repeated just before the ceremony. Most of them did the salute quite nicely. One or two of the younger ones forgot to stomp, and a couple of the wreath-layers missed their cue and led the way back to the line. This caused confusion for the cadet who had to then politely push through the packed first row to get to their position in the second row.

Still, overall everything went smoothly and well and everyone was respectful. After the "official" wreath laying people were asked if they wanted to place personal memorials. We were touched by the little white wooden crosses with names on, planted among the flowers in front of the cenotaph.

A lone piper played 'Flowers of the Forest' and other bagpipe numbers suitable for the occasion. 'Flowers of the Forest' was originally written to commemorate a terrible war in 1513, where many lives were lost, but over the centuries it has come to be a mournful lament for any lost in battle. Tradition has grown up around this melody such that most pipers will refuse to play it in public, except at funerals and memorial services.

After that another prayer was said and the ceremonies were over, children and dogs started playing in park while adults chatted and traffic started moving again. All this seemed very appropriate, memories are important but life must go on. A friend brought the piper a tiny silver flask with a shot of whiskey to set him up for the rest of the day. The piper was a sweetheart, an elderly man who came early and played a number or two to "warm up the pipes" and then chatted to us until the ceremony was ready to start. He confided that he didn't feel he was a proper soldier since he was in the navy, and an engineer to boot. He loves steam engines. He played very nicely, but on one or two notes his bagpipes sounded like a giant turkey being strangled. I suspect it may have been a problem with the pipes, not his playing of them

Louise and I took photos of ourselves in front of the cenotaph. She is wearing a hat she made which not only has poppies, but is most appropriately a post WW I fashion statement.

Louise with her hand-crocheted poppy hat

Wreaths (and Richard) at the cenotaph

It was moving and memorable and I hope ceremonies like this throughout the world encourage us to seek peace always, personally and as nations.