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The Western Front Association held its Annual Ceremony of Remembering at the London Memorial, outside the Royal Exchange and the Bank of England, London, on Armistice Day, Sunday, 11 November 2012.

The ceremony was followed by a second remembrance service to honour the fallen of Lloyds Bank.

Members and guests then proceeded to St Lawrence Jewry Church for a Service of Remembering.

Thereafter, the WFA's annual Armistice Day lunch was held at the premises of Simmons and Simmons.

A full report of the day is to follow. In the meantime, below you'll find the programme and photographs kindly supplied by WFA members Jim Moore and Roy Backhouse, plus some Youtube videos of the commemorative music, hymns and bugle calls we heard.

Programme of the Day

10.50am Act of Remembrance at the London Memorial

Introduction by Canon David Parrott, Guild Vicar, St Lawrence Jewry

Psalm 23: Martin Hornby

Reading: Colin Wagstaff

The Laying of Wreaths

Bruce Simpson, The Exhortation:

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old.

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them.

 

The Last Post

11.00 am: The Silence

Reveille

Bruce Simpson: What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor human heart conceived, God has prepared for those who love him.

Prayers

Blessing

11.30am - at the Lloyds Banking Group War Memorial

David Roberts, Vice Chairman Lloyds Banking Group

Chaplain:

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old; Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn; At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them.

The Silence

Chaplain: When you go home tell them of us, and say, "For your tomorrow, we have given our today"

Prayers

Fall out and move to the church of St Lawrence Jewry, Gresham Street.

12 noon at St Lawrence Jewry

During seating: well-known Great War songs

The Russian Contakion (Kiev Melody)

Welcome

Hymn: this hymn was used by the Old Contemptibles at their annual Service of Remembrance. Words: Julia Ward Howe Tune: John Brown's Body

The Bidding Prayer

General Confession

Absolution

Lord`s Prayer

A Soldier`s Prayer, read by Barbara Taylor

Reading: Ecclesiastes, Chapter 44, verses 1-15 by Steve Oram

Address: Richard Hughes [this is available to be read as a separate article, in full - Ed]

Hymn: I vow to thee, my country

The funeral oration of Pericles, Jon Hammond, Simmons and Simmons

Anthem: Greater love by John Ireland

Sermon: Canon David Parrott, Guild Vicar, St Lawrence Jewry

Hymn: Jerusalem

The Exhortation, Jane Backhouse
Let us remember before God, and commend to his merciful keeping, those who have died for their country in war; those whom we knew or know of, and whose memory we treasure; and all who have lived and died in the service of mankind.

The Last Post

The Silence

Reveille

Prayers

Anthem: Ave Verum by Sir Edward Elgar

Poems: In Flanders' Fields, by John McCrae; and Aftermath, by Siegfried Sassoon, read by Cerys Matthews

In Flanders' Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Courtesy Wikipedia

 

Aftermath

Have you forgotten yet?...
For the world's events have rumbled on since those gagged days,
Like traffic checked a while at the crossing of city ways:
And the haunted gap in your mind has filled with thoughts that flow
Like clouds in the lit heavens of life; and you're a man reprieved to go,
Taking your peaceful share of Time, with joy to spare.
But the past is just the same-and War's a bloody game...
Have you forgotten yet?...
Look down, and swear by the slain of the War that you'll never forget.

Do you remember the dark months you held the sector at Mametz -
The nights you watched and wired and dug and piled sandbags on parapets?
Do you remember the rats; and the stench
Of corpses rotting in front of the front-line trench-
And dawn coming, dirty-white, and chill with a hopeless rain?
Do you ever stop and ask, 'Is it all going to happen again?'

Do you remember that hour of din before the attack-
And the anger, the blind compassion that seized and shook you then
As you peered at the doomed and haggard faces of your men?
Do you remember the stretcher-cases lurching back
With dying eyes and lolling heads - those ashen-gray
Masks of the lads who once were keen and kind and gay?

Have you forgotten yet?...
Look up, and swear by the slain of the war that you'll never forget!

March 1919

Courtesy Poem of the Week.

 

Hymn: O Valiant Hearts

The Blessing

National Anthem

Music for Retiring: Enigma Variations, No. 9 (Nimrod) by Sir Edward Elgar

1.00pm Service ends

1.30pm Lunch at Simmons & Simmons

 

Thanks

The Western Front Association wishes to thank all those involved in the arrangements for this day, and for the particular kindness, help and financial and other support extended to the Association by Michelle Young, the Guild Vicar and Church of St Lawrence Jewry, the City of London Police, Lloyds Banking Group, Lt Col (Retd) P Willis, Maj J Longbottom and the management, secretarial and printroom teams at Simmons & Simmons LLP.

This event could not have occurred without their support.

 

Slideshow of images supplied by Roy Backhouse. You can view the slide show full screen. Set the slide show running, and press the "expand" icon to enter the full screen mode. Press "Esc" on your keyboard to close and return.