A personal expression by Veteran John Del Monte
It has become a cliché. Like International Woman’s Day, Mother’s Day and Christmas. They all had original deep meaning, but overtime lost this to a need for celebration on dedicated days. Perhaps, Remembrance Day is less commercialized than the other events, although one can now buy Remembrance trinkets on Temu.
Over time Remembrance as a value has shifted in its importance in our community. Who has the time in our ever-accelerating lifestyle to “Pause to Remember”. Another cliché. If one finds this a cynical statement, then question “what is the relevance to me personally”.
So, I have made my opening statement now allow me now to redeem myself. I shall briefly explore the history of Remembrance, then how it is practiced and conclude with some sentiments that I think may contribute to re-energizing this important cultural value.
According to Yuval Harari (author of the book “Sapiens”), man, while still “an animal of no significance” became conscious of the spiritual meaning of honouring a higher mystic force and the dead while we were hunter gatherers during what is termed our “Cognitive Revolution”. I mention this because the urge to remember our missing family members and friends is in our very being, it is primeval not artificially cultured.
Time prevents me from regaling all the acts of Remembrance through the ages. Being half Italian, I recall my many familial visits to Rome where I witnessed what the Romans did during their empire. The Romans believed that the deceased could achieve a form of immortality through constant interaction with the living. They were memorialised daily and a trip from Rome down the Via Appia Antica (south via Naples to Brindisi), Via Flamina (Northwards), Via Cassia (to Florence), Via Latina (Southwards to Capua) or the Via dei Fori
Imperiali (in Rome) will give one plenty of opportunity to view the Memorials, Cenotaphs, Arches and Mausoleums all commemorating the dead including soldiers.
Enough of the distant history. Armistice Day was first presented on 11 November 1919, when King George V asked the public to observe a 2-minute silence at 11am. King George V ordered the silence so "the thoughts of everyone may be concentrated on reverent remembrance of the glorious dead". This was one year after the end of World War One, a war that had been raging in the fields of Northern Europe for four long years.
After the conclusion of World War II, the British government, seeking to honour participants in both World Wars, officially replaced Armistice Day with the new Sunday observance, which was thereafter known as Remembrance Sunday. In 1956 the date was fixed as the second Sunday of November.
Incidentally and coincidently this year marks the 80th anniversary of the D-Day landings in the Second World War and the 25th anniversary of the end of the war in Kosovo.
This year also marks the 75th anniversary of NATO and the 120th anniversary of the Entente Cordiale (Apr 1904) between the UK and France.
It is understandable that Remembrance in the 20th Century took on such importance when the death of some 13 million soldiers in WW1 was fresh in everyone’s mind, not a family was unaffected.
Today in RSA and other countries, the light of Remembrance has dimmed. Veterans of World War One and Two are no longer with us to inspire remembrance and those who have died in service in more recent times are thankfully few by comparison.
I recall seeing photographs of Cape Town’s and London’s Main streets around the respective Cenotaphs, packed as far as the eye could see with its citizens who made the effort to be at the Armistice Day/Remembrance Sunday Service. Sadly, this is no longer the case given the uniquely important role that Cape Town played in giving the World the concepts of “Pausing to remember” and the “Two Minute Silence”. It is noticeable that today in South Africa, this event is attended in the main by few members of the various veteran organizations and Regimental and Corps Associations supported by very few ordinary citizens.
Sir Niall Ferguson is quoted as saying that “Amnesia seems to be a greater force than Remembrance”.
It has become a big effort to motivate the community to continue with the value of remembrance and appreciate the supreme sacrifice that was made on our behalf. These wars and their effect seem very distant or have taken on a more sinister meaning. In the UK, The Peace Pledge Union has claimed that annual ceremonies commemorate the fallen of armed forces 'gloss over the history and violence of colonialism'.
This is but one example of the Woke counterforce that brings with it various political views and objections to the remembrance of fallen soldiers. It is as if the Soldiers are to blame for war and it is as if there is an expression of schadenfreude in ignoring this duty to remember. Ignoring that the very fact that the purpose of Remembrance is also to express the mantra of “Never again war”.
How do we highlight the value and importance of Remembrance when the Commander in Chief of the most powerful country in the World is reported to have referred to Servicemen who fought and those who fell as “Suckers and Losers”?
Controversially, some far-right groups have used the poppy as a symbol of militant British nationalism, while some British Muslims have begun to reject it, seeing the poppy as a "symbol of Western imperialism".
Different coloured Poppies have now, in a sense, undermined the Red Poppy of Remembrance by copying it as a symbol to be worn in November.
The Black poppy is a fairly recent addition, having only been launched in 2010, was set it up and it is worn to remember the African, Black Peoples, West Indian, Caribbean, Pacific Islands & Indigenous communities' contributions in the great wars.
The White Poppy is primarily about the message of peace and not remembrance.
There is now a Rainbow poppy to bring attention to the brave soldiers who died for their country during WWI at a time when their sexuality was still criminalised.
The purple poppy is worn to remember all the animals that have been a victim of war. Such as the horses, dogs, and pigeons used during the war effort, particularly during World War One.
It appears that a single symbol of remembrance inclusive to all is no longer acceptable, but the various poppies has become a symbol of division.
It is therefore of great value to our society that the veteran organizations and here I also include non-veterans such as schools, history societies and Lodges are soldiering on to promote the culture and spirit of Remembrance.
In conclusion I would be amiss should I not name two areas that need equal prominence. One is the education of our children in the value of remembrance, which in my opinion is not prevalent enough.
Two, we spend so much time and resources remembering dead soldiers, yet we tend to forget the living and needy veterans. Let us not wait until it is too late to assist our needy veterans until there is a need to remember them.
Friends, much work has to be done to keep the significance of Remembrance alive, and organizations and communities must persevere and carry the Torch of Remembrance in the face of Woke winds from the front, “Lest we Forget”.
(Personal address to (Free Mason) Lodge De Goede Trouw, Cape Town 12 Nov
2024)
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