A time for reflection
This post was written by Paul Kaye, our Explorer Scout Leader in 2018. As it deals with important topical points of wider interest we are pleased to re-post it.
Armistice Day and the act of remembrance
The Armistice Day events are probably more relevant to the Explorer Scout age group than the other sections. It was boys of this age that were the unfortunate souls that went off to fight and sacrificed their lives for their country and the freedom that we all benefit from today. At this age, it is important not only to pay respects, but to also think about the past, try to empathise with those involved, and form opinion.
On Friday (9 November 2018, 100 years after the end of WW1) the Explorer Unit discussed the events of 100 years earlier, with context of the surrounding area. At the time, the commuter belt had obviously not come into being, and so the loss that is recorded on the local cenotaphs would have been proportionately more significant to the community, with of course, each and every loss being devastating to friends and family.
We also have Haileybury School locally, which was the Imperial Service College. A staggering 740 Old Boys lost their life in the Great War as is recorded on the cloister wall. Haileybury School kindly gave us permission to visit the school, reflect and consider how it would have felt to be Explorer age at the time.
Thoughts from the time were examined through a set of poems from Wilfred Owen, Siegfried Sassoon and Rupert Brooke.
More than 100 years on – We Remember.
