Remembrance Day
On the 11th November 1918 the Armistice was signed in a railway carriage in a forest at Le Francport near Compiègne in France. This was the moment that ended fighting on land, at sea, and in the air in World War 1. Initially it was called Armistice Day but this was soon changed to Remembrance Day. It is commemorated by all commonwealth countries. America celebrates it as Veterans Day.
The act of Remembrance is a two-minute silence which takes place at the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month. Remembrance Sunday is the second Sunday of November, as it is the nearest Sunday to the 11th November.
There are two pieces of prose that are said at Remembrance, they are:
The Exhortation: They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old, age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. We will remember them.
The Kohima Pledge: When you go home, Tell them of us and say, For your tomorrow, We gave our today.
The Poppy
The red poppy is a symbol of both remembrance and hope for a peaceful future. It is worn as a show of support for the Armed Forces community.
In the Spring of 1915, shortly after losing a friend at Ypres, a Canadian doctor, Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae was moved by the sight of red poppies growing at Flanders, amongst the chaos and bleakness of war, that it inspired him to write the now famous poem ‘In Flanders Fields’.
The Royal British Legion adopted the red poppy as its symbol of remembrance. In its first year the poppy appeal raised £106,000 and all the poppies that were made were sold. As a result, a poppy factory was built and employed wounded ex-servicemen to make the poppies. Nowadays millions of poppies are made each year at the poppy factory in Aylesbury.
There is no right or wrong way to wear the poppy and its leaf, other than wearing it with pride.
Thankful Villages
A Thankful Village is a village where all the armed forces personnel that left to fight in World War 1 returned home. Research indicates there are 54 Thankful Villages in Wales and England. There are no villages identified in Scotland or Ireland. There are no such villages in Hampshire and only one in Dorset called Langton Herring.
A Doubly Thankful Village is a village where all armed forces personnel returned home from both world wars. Only 14 of these have been identified so far.
St Leonards and St Ives Parish
Each year the Parish Council lays two wreaths to commemorate the fallen. One at the Two Saints Church Remembrance Service and one at the St Ives Ex Serviceman’s Club service. The PC gives a grant each year to the St Ives Club to assist with the cost of providing a buffet lunch for those attending the service.
The PC commemorates the fallen from this parish by placing plaques for each person on the playpark fence. The fallen are:
The First World War 1914 – 1918
George Brackley. Ordinary Telegraphist. HMS Africa, Royal Navy. Age 18.
Henry Thomas Chasmar, Private, Northamptonshire Regiment,
David Dowland, Sapper, Royal Engineers, Age 29
Jesse Dowland, Guardsman, Scots Guards, Age 25
Henry Dowland, Rifleman, Hampshire Regiment, Age 22
Harold Mayall, Private, 11th Battalion, Border Regiment, Age 19
Frank Melbourne, Private 3rd Kings Own Hussars, Age 32
James Walter Mescher. Gunner. Royal Artillery. Age 25.
Edwin Elliott Phair. Corporal. Army Service Corps. Age 36.
Arthur William Priddle, Private, 8th Battalion Royal Welsh Fusiliers, Age 20
Albert Steele, Private, 2nd Battalion Leinster Regiment,
Harold Frank Stickland, Lance Corporal, 2nd Battalion Hampshire Regiment, Age 20
Stanley Thorn Wilks, Corporal Hampshire Regiment, Age 21
Frederick Ernest Victor Willcox. DSM. Acting Sergeant. Royal Marine Light Infantry. Age 22
Arthur Frederick Albert Woodward, Second Lieutenant, 2nd Battalion, Rifle Brigade, Age 24
Ethelbert Frederick Young, Private 1st Battalion, Hampshire Regiment, Age 26
Frederick Walter Youngs, Boy 2nd Class, HMS Powerful, Royal Navy, Age 18
The Second World War 1939 – 1945
Ronald Charles Aburrow. Leading Aircraftsman. Royal Air Force Volunteer Reserve. Age 21.
Edward Peter Baldwin. Lance Corporal. Rifle Brigade. Age 27.
Hugh Dennis Beck. Squadron Leader. Royal Air Force. Age 26.
Henry Colin William Cobswood Cooke. 2nd Lieutenant. Royal Tank Regiment. Age 32.
Alfred William Hawkins. Driver. Royal Engineers. Age 25.
Percival Rice. Gunner. Royal Artillery. Age 33.
Thomas Joseph Bernard Sammers. Boy 1st Class. HMS Hood. Age 16.
Edward Frederick Shearing. Able Seaman. HMS Arbutus. Age 25.
