CLIFTON School hosted its annual Remembrance Day on Friday 11 November.
Speaking at the ceremony, school executive headmaster, Brian Mitchell, said it was a day for South Africans to recall the sacrifices of those who fought in the First World War, the Second World War, the Korean War, the war that preceded the liberation of the country from apartheid, and, more recently, the peacekeeping efforts in Africa.
“It is a day when we commemorate all the lives that have been lost in the horrors of battle, where we consider the devastation of conflict wherever it may be, and where we pause, amidst the strains of the Lament, to think about the suffering of those caught up in the literal and metaphoric crossfire of combat. And particularly, we remember those young men who attended Clifton and who gave their lives to halt the tyranny of Nazism and Fascism. They were boys who learnt here, played here, laughed here, lived here. We remember those young men who remain as our brothers and our sons. They are a part of that community of which we sing – vast and proud. They went into battle, as did those who followed them, believing that they were fighting for justice and freedom and they did not return to live out the dreams that all young men have. The reason we hold this ceremony is to remember them and to remember all who have died in war,” he said.
In his address, Reverend Chris Meyer spoke of two images, a wall or barrier, and a channel or bridge. “On 8 November there was the 27th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall, and this was a moment of healing and reunification in Europe. We forget the hard lessons learnt of unity and togetherness and we need to deal with the walls in our own country. Today we honour those who died to build a better world and as Jesus also lay down His life for all, we are commanded to love each other. We need to live sacrificially full of love for others and set aside barriers of the past and seek ways to become bridges and channels which love can flow through,” he said.
Head of the prep school, Victor White, read the Prayer of Remembrance which was followed by the sounding of the Last Post, a two-minute silence followed by the Reveille. Headboy Jordan Strous read out the Ode to Remembrance, which was followed by a wreath laying ceremony.
