We shall remember them
Remembrance Sunday this year falls on 14th November when churches across Sussex will poignantly observe periods of silence during special services and commemorations as we once again remember those who gave their lives in different types of conflict.
A replica of the Unknown Warrior's Coffin
The Royal British Legion stress: “We remember the Armed Forces, and their families, from Britain and the Commonwealth, the vital role played by the emergency services and those that have lost their lives as a result of conflict or terrorism.”
Many parishes join with civic services which are usually ecumenical also.
Where parishes have their own memorials these are also the focus of remembrance too.
In the parish of Ewhurst and Bodiam in East Sussex, there will be a short Act of Remembrance at 11.00am on November 11th at The Cavell Van at the Kent and East Sussex Railway Station at Bodiam.
The Cavell Van (named after Edith Cavell) transported the bodies of three heroes from the ‘Great War.
Fr Christopher Irvine SR, the Priest in Charge of Ewhurst and Bodiam and the Rural Dean of Rye said children from two local Primary Schools, Staplecross Primary School, and Bodiam CofE Primary School, will join church members from both parishes for the service.
Built in Ashford in 1919, the first of the Cavell Van’s journeys from Dover to London was made during May of the same year, when No.132 carried the body of Nurse Cavell. Thereafter, it became known to railwaymen as the Cavell Van.
Nurse Cavell helped allied soldiers in Belgium escape the Germans. She was arrested, confessed, was court-martialled and shot on October 12, 1915, for assisting the enemy.
Van 132 also carried the remains of merchant seaman Capt Fryatt. In 1916 his ship was surrounded by enemy destroyers and boarded. Capt Fryatt was charged with attempting to ram a German U boat and was shot after a show trial.
The van’s most poignant duty came in November 1920, when it conveyed the remains of the Unknown Warrior – the war’s highest profile casualty who represented the many soldiers who had not returned from the ‘Great War’
The Unknown Warrior’s return was a huge ceremonial event attended by the whole royal family and Government; his grave in Westminster Abbey was visited by one million people in the first week and much visited today.
The Van was built in 1919 in Ashford and now contains a replica of the Unknown Warrior's Coffin built by volunteers and the grandson of the original builder.The Van today is entirely maintained today by volunteers for us to remember our heroic ancestors.
Share your parish Remembrance events with us - email details to communications@chichester.anglican.org