Today, Wednesday 11th November 2020, marks 102 years since the end of the First World War, and it has been a very different commemoration to previous years. As we are currently in the middle of a national lockdown due to the pandemic, we were not able to come together as a community and process on Remembrance Sunday to show our respects. The nation continues to remember the bravery of men and women who have fought for their country, and we wanted to show our support within the local community.
Head Boy Nathan and Head Girl Maty, joined Headteacher Mr Waller, on a walk from school to the Cenotaph in Memorial Gardens, Kirkham, to lay a wreath of remembrance. On the way, Maty and Nathan reflected on the current situation of Coronavirus and the continued impact on our lives in every way. "This year is definitely one for the history books" said Maty, "Future generations will study this year in their history lessons, much like we study 20th Century history now." With both students facing a week of Mock Exams starting soon and all the pressures that entails, it was a welcome relief to have some fresh air and a time of reflection. They have so many questions about what their future holds, with GCSEs looming and what/where to study for further education after they finish high school, a sometimes daunting prospect with their whole lives ahead of them.
Nathan and Maty laid the wreath from students and staff of Carr Hill, alongside others from Kirkham Prison, a local singing group, primary schools to name a few. Taking some time to read the names of some of the local men and boys who fell on the battlefield, it's hard to imagine the pain the local community must have felt when these men didn't return home. They took some time to admire the art installation poppies behind the cenotaph and the peaceful nature of the Memorial Gardens, with the rolling fields of the Fylde coast laid out behind, before returning to school to continue with the day.
At 11am, the entire school came to a stop for 2 minutes silence, followed by the Last Post recorded by one of our students.
We will remember them - Lest we forget
Remembrance Day 2020
In Flanders Fields, written by Lieutenant-Colonel John McCrae in 1915, inspires an enduring symbol of the war.
In Flanders' fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place: and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders' fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe;
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high,
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders' Fields.
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