World War 1 Anniversary Service
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A moving service to honour those
who died in The Great War
A moving service took place on Sunday evening at the Parish Church to remember the start of The Great War and particularly those from this village who took part in it, five of them never to return.
Specially remembered on this day were the five who made the ultimate sacrifice: Edwin Bowes, William Heath, John Richardson, James Cussans and Robert Lowther, all from Bishop Monkton. (The two honour boards reproduced above are for those men who still have family in Bishop Monkton).
In a church dressed with honour boards detailing the five who died, the congregation started by singing World War One songs such as 'Keep the home fires burning', 'Pack up your troubles' and 'It's a long way to Tipperary' to conjure up the years of the war.
Then, in a service specially tailored to honour the fallen, there were prayers for reconciliation and peace.
Sheila Parsons
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Glyndwr Smith
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Particularly poignant were the readings by Sheila Parsons and Glyndwr Smith who honoured each of the five fallen heroes in turn, giving details of their short lives and their deaths on the battlefield, and in one case remembering graphically the horrendous scenes in the trenches and at the front line.
'The front line was still in a horrible condition. Mud terrible, most posts now up to the knees in liquid mud ... the two communication trenches to the front line were impassable for mud' referred to the conditions experienced by Corporal William Heath when the 2nd Battalion, West Yorkshire Regiment, moved towards the battle in which he died'.
Bob Forbes
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There were many other poignant and moving moments in the service such as when the congregation joined in to sing 'I vow to thee my country, all earthly things above', when Bob Forbes movingly read from the poem, written in September 1914 with the now so familiar lines:
'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'.
Roger Baker
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Roger Baker read from 'Christmas Day in the Trenches' by John McCutcheon, which recalled how late on Christmas Eve in 1914, British soldiers heard German soldiers singing carols and saw them sow lanterns and small trees along their trenches. Messages were shouted between the lines. And the following day the soldiers met in No Man's Land and exchanged gifts, took photographs and played football (with no penalty shoot outs for the Germans this time!). This was a unique event on the Western Front.
The final verse reads:
'As soon as they were finished and a reverent pause was spent,
'God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen' struck up some lads from Kent.
The next thing they sang was 'Stille Nacht'. 'Tis Silent Night', says I,
and in two tongues one song filled up that sky'.
The eight readings, all hugely significant on this occasion, recounted how injustice breeds strife, the horror and hurt caused by conflict and the all pervading commitment to peace.
The readings were by Pat Field, Rodney Wilson, John Eden, Judy Hague, Bob Forbes, Roger Baker, Shirley Behrens and Pip Garside.
Jonathan Singh
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As part of a responsorial prayer of commemoration, the presiding priest, The Revd. Dr Jonathan Singh, summarised the purpose of the service in this way:
'On this day we especially ask that you would hold for ever
all those who suffered during the First World War,
those who returned scarred by warfare,
those who waited anxiously at home,
and those who returned wounded, and disillusioned;
those who mourned,
and those communities that were diminished and suffered loss,
those who bravely risked their own lives for their comrades,
and those who in the aftermath of war,
worked tirelessly for a more peaceful world.
Grant us peace in our time and a longing for the day
when people of every language, race and nation
will be brought into the unity of Christ's kingdom'.
Pip Garside
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In the concluding message of hope, Pip Garside read from Amazing Peace by Maya Angelou.
The lasting message to be taken away from the service was thus:
'In our joy, we think we hear a whisper,
At first it is too soft. Then only half heard.
We listen carefully as it gathers strength.
We hear a sweetness.
The word is Peace.
It is loud now.
Louder than the explosion of bombs.
We tremble at the sound.
We are thrilled by its presence.
It is what we have hungered for'.
This was a beautifully conceived service, careful in its content not to glorify war, but to honour those who took part and to pray for peace in the future.
Thanks to those who had worked so hard to make this such a special and memorable occasion were expressed by Jonathan. The Community Choir was also congratulated for its excellent contribution.
The Community Choir
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Enjoying refreshments after the service
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MORE ABOUT THE GREAT WAR will appear on the village website over the next fortnight. Part 1 will go live at 11pm tonight at the exact moment 100 years on from when Great Britain declared war on Germany in 1914.
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