The last time I wrote on the theme of remembrance I wrote about how Remembrance Day can be a rare moment to reflect on those who have lost their lives in conflict, to think about loss in our own lives; a quiet personal moment amidst our busy day-to-day existence.
Yet, this year, it seems to be that the personal is very much public; the silence filled with sound. Everywhere we turn, the theme of remembrance is present, and rightfully so. This year the private reflection importantly merges with the public commemoration. A powerful symbol of this is the reaction to the poppies on display at the Tower of London. Last week, the public were warned that crowds at the art installation were reaching dangerous levels and people were advised not to go; this week Boris Johnson called for the poppies to become a permanent feature, so that this symbol of remembrance remains to remind us beyond this year, beyond this day. I visited the poppies a few days ago and it is impossible not to be overwhelmed by their beauty and by the sheer scale of the display – its size being the most poignant and breath-taking element of it. The First World War, more than any conflict before or after it, was interpreted and defined by the art that flowed from it, so it feels right that it is art again that is reaching out beyond the battlefield. As the crowds around the Tower showed, people from all over the world and from every generation wanted to visit, many almost felt it a duty – a way in which they could pay homage to the dead, but more than that – a way in which they could reach out and touch history, in a most historic of all locations.
Inevitably there are those who find the public crowds and the noise of these commemorations too much – those who feel that remembrance should be a private affair. Yet, all this sound seems to come from history itself. The way in which these past conflicts: the centenary of the First World War, the 70th anniversary of the Second World, the coming bi-centenary of Waterloo – have come together to remind us of the importance of remembrance. Perhaps this year it is less important that we stand still quietly and reflect, and more important that we stand still and listen to the voices of history itself, as it speaks out from these terrible conflicts to remind us that this overwhelming loss of life should never happen again. In a world where peace is still a far distant hope, we should allow the Last Post to ring out across the soundwaves in remembrance that men across the world on all sides have fought and still fight for a vision of a future without fighting and to them we owe our remembrance past and present.
