Remembrance for all

During the First World War, Britain relied heavily on fighting men from across its Empire. More than 250,000 soldiers from Canada, Australia, India, New Zealand, Africa and the Caribbean lost their lives. Nevertheless, there was no memorial specifically for African or Caribbean servicemen in the UK until 2017.

Britain became home to thousands of wounded Empire troops. The so-called ANZAC hospital in Harefield cared for soldiers of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps. Today, St Mary's  churchyard includes a war cemetery for 112 ANZACs. The village still commemorates ANZAC day as a community on 25 April, passing the act of remembrance through the generations.

"God dies in this dying light. The mists receive my spent spirit: there is no one to hear my last wish."
Meditation of a dying German officer by Herbert Read

Remembrance could be extended even to the enemy in wartime. In 1940, a Germanbomber was shot down over south-east England. The crew was buried with a posy of flowers and the message 'Perhaps someone's daddy'.

Recognised rituals of remembrance have been borrowed by many other countries. Both India and Bangladesh sound the Last Post to commemorate independence. It was also heard at the funeral
of Nelson Mandela in 2013.

Lest we forget

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Page last updated: 23 Nov 2021
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