Leuchars, about a 10-minute drive outside of St Andrews, is a small town that is home to a British Army installation and active airfield. It hosts about 1,000 servicemen and women. About half of these service members were present for our church's ceremony. It was absolutely incredible to see all of the church pews packed full, something that has not happened since I started attending the church in mid-September. The ceremony started at 10:30 AM, and at 11:00 AM we held silence for 2 minutes. The church bells and trumpets played in the moments leading up to and after the silence. At the end of the ceremony, the military exited the church first and began a marching parade down several streets to our local War Memorial, where we listened to a short speech and then witnessed the wreaths being placed in front of the memorial.
The phrase "Lest We Forget" is originally from a 1897 poem entitled Recessional by English writer Rudyard Kipling, written for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee. "Lest we forget—lest we forget!” repeats throughout the poem as a solemn warning against human pride, arrogance, and forgetting moral duties. After World War I, however, the phrase shifted from a general warning about arrogant power into a well-known motto for honoring military service and those who died in service.
Remembrance Day is officially held on Wednesday, November 11. This also happens to be on the same day as our national holiday, Veterans Day. I hope you are able to find an active or retired member of our military forces and thank them for their service. May we never forget those who have fought and died for our freedom.
