REMEMBRANCE DAY
LEST WE FORGET... A TIME FOR
SILENCE, A TIME FOR REFLECTION
A
s Remembrance Day approaches we turn our
attention to the act of observing a Two Minute
Silence which began in 1919 following the
Armistice at 11am on the 11th November 1918
at the end of the First World War.
The observance of a silence, heads bowed in
reflection and prayer - these and other solemn acts
transcend boundaries and borders.
In themselves, they may amount to small
individual acts. Carried out at the same time, they can
go from ‘individual’ to ‘collective’ - rare moments
when whole nations can stand together, remember
and reflect on the price and value of freedom.
“If we are to maintain our peace and freedom, we
must always remember.”
More than three quarters of the population will
pause for the two minute silence at 11am on Monday
11th November 2013, to mark the moment the guns
fell silent at the end of the First World War. This has
become the biggest annual demonstration of public
support for any cause in the country.
In Leek hundreds of people are expected to turn
out to Church services and war memorials on
Sunday 10th November where the tradition
of the two minutes silence will be
observed and thoughts will turn to all
those who have lost their lives fighting
for their country.
On Sunday, 10th the town’s main
Remembrance service will take place at
St Edward's Church starting at 9.30am,
followed by a parade to the Nicholson War
Memorial where a short service will be held at
10.45am. The parade and service at Ball Haye Green
war memorial will then begin at 2.00pm.
As part of the Remembrance weekend
commemorations Leek will host visitors from Este
in Italy and Bad Windsheim in Germany.
Approximately 35 Italians and 15 Germans are
expected to make up the party of visitors including
seven German and three Italian students.
All visitors will take part in the town’s
Remembrance services on the Sunday including the
St. Edward’s church service, the parade through town
to the monument and then to Ball Haye Green in the
afternoon.
The foreign students who have been invited to the
town will also be taking part in a joint debate with a
small number of students from Westwood College
and Leek High School. They will meet each other at
Westwood on Friday 8th November in the morning
38 Leek Life November/December 2013
to work together to decide a list of issues important to
them as youngsters. European elections are due to
take place in May 2014 and the students want to
select the issues they would like MEP candidates to
address.
After lunch the Leek, Este and Bad Winsheim
students will all go to visit the Staffordshire
Moorlands District Council Chambers where they
will make a presentation to an audience of their peers
from the two Leek high schools. They will present
their top five issues and then ask the audience to vote
on the ones they feel are most important.
Later on in the month on Friday 22nd November,
two MEPs will come to Leek to take part in a s