St Dunstan’s College commemorated Remembrance Day on November 10, honouring the selfless soldiers who died during the world wars.
About 30 veteran soldiers from various service organisations were celebrated at the event, too.
The event organiser, Dr Steve Whitelaw, said, “As a memorial school, annually, we hold a remembrance service for old soldiers who lost their lives in war.
“The service aimed to take some time and reflect on the past. This year, we had the privilege of having Aileen Thompson, the wife of Joe Thompson, who took tours to the battlefields of Europe,” said Whitelaw.
During the service, learners sang Remembrance Day songs as tributes to the fallen heroes while guests laid wreaths of bright red poppies.
Addressing the guests and learners, Thompson said from her earliest childhood memories, they always observed Remembrance Day annually on November 11
However, in 1998, when her husband, Father Joe, was appointed chaplain at St Dunstan’s College, Remembrance Day found expression for her within the St Dunstan’s community, in a school whose founding rested in the remembrance of all people from Benoni who lost their lives in WW1.
“As you are all aware, St Dunstan’s School was started as a living memorial to all who died. This living memorial has spanned 105 years, from 1918 to 2023, and for 25 of those years, Father Joe and I, together with our family, have been a part of this service each year.
“Father Joe has been active in his remembering and encouraging us to participate in remembering all who lost their lives in service for our freedom, echoing our St Dunstan’s school motto, I Serve.”
Thompson said her husband’s love for history and his interest in World War history forged a strong bond with Whitelaw, and together they designed a history tour, leading senior college students overseas in 2007, 2010, 2013 and 2017 to journey many of the battlefields and historical sites of both World Wars.
“Today, we are mindful that even though November 11 is traditionally dedicated to remembering the loss of life in the First and Second World Wars as symbolised in the scarlet poppies that flourished on the battlefields, it is also the opportunity for remembering all loss of life in the service of others, and in particular, in the fight for freedom.
“This is not about simple passive recollection. It is a much more complex activity. It is the purpose-filled with re-engagement with history,” said Thompson.
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