Scott Sanders on Remembrance Day.
The Tradition that Makes a Difference
Scott Sanders, President of the Sub Branch, Cootamundra RSL, led the service. Sister Kathy Hodge, read the Prayer of Remembrance:
“Today we remember with thanksgiving those who made the supreme sacrifice for us in time of war. We pray that the offering of their lives may not have been in vain. Today we dedicate ourselves to the cause of justice, freedom and peace; and for the wisdom and strength to build a better world.
After the reciting of Psalm 23, The Shepherd Psalm and the reading of the poem, ‘In Flanders Fields’ there was the traditional wreath laying.
Representatives of the community stepped forward, wreaths in their hands. They placed the floral tributes at the foot of the cenotaph, stepped back, bowed and returned to their place in the gathering.
There were school children, too, dressed in school uniform, blazers, who also stepped forward. In the silence, they also performed this simple ritual. Older members of the community and young girls and boys were part of this solemn moment.
It was as if this tradition of remembering and honouring was being passed on. Not only the minute’s silence but sadness, reflection, gratitude and a sense of awe. This remembering and honouring is so important for our community.
The occasion called to mind a piece of music by the Australian composer, Peter Sculthorpe, ‘Small Towns’. The haunting tribute to small, country towns begins and ends with The Last Post.
The composer captures the atmosphere of countless Australian towns, all with their own memorials and lists. Year after year, people gather, quietly, and respectfully. They spend time, too, reading the names.
One woman spoke of grandfathers who had been there in The Great War. Another man told how this was his first experience of a Remembrance Day ceremony. For family reasons, this day, and Anzac Day, were not part of their tradition. He was greatly moved by the morning’s event. He, too, was looking at the names.
There were four or five people at the end of the ceremony, quietly looking through the lists. Maybe they were looking for a particular name. Maybe, like the man with whom I spoke, they were wondering.
These names were young men, who lived in Cootamundra. They had lives and families and people for whom they were dear. Remembering and honouring them, reading their names, and standing silent is so important. This is a tradition that enriches, preserves and unites Peter Sculthorpe’s ‘Small Towns’, which is an important part of Cootamundra’s tradition.
Richard White
