BSK hosts Remembrance Commemoration

Remembrance Day — also known as Poppy Day, Armistice Day (the event it commemorates) or Veterans Day — is a day to commemorate the sacrifices of members of the armed forces and of civilians in times of war, but specifically since the First World War, 1914-1918. It is observed on Nov 11 to recall the end of World War I on that date in 1918. Major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 with the German signing of the Armistice. The British School of Kuwait (BSK) held its annual Remembrance Commemoration with Guest of Honour Group Captain Finlay McLean, Defence Attaché at the British Embassy, and attended by Secondary students and their teachers at morning assembly in the

Photos from the event Marble Arch.

The VIP party included BSK Strategic Management Team members Madame Vera Al Mutawa MBE, Paul Shropshire, Mark Brisbane, Ms Emma Bowie, Nicholas Smith, Miss Rachel Sielski, Miss Heather Holsgrove, and also Lucian Anisia who placed wreaths and poppies on the cenotaph. A poppy bearer representing each tutor group, forty-eight in total, placed a poppy on the remembrance backdrop concluding the symbolic significance of this ephemeral flower. Once the conflict of World War I was over, the poppy was one of the only plants to grow on the otherwise barren battlefields. The symbolic significance of the poppy as a lasting memorial to the fallen was realised by the Canadian surgeon John McCrae in his poem, In Flanders Fields.

The ceremony included readings from Ian Masters and the BSK History Club led by Head Student Rodina Gad and Deputy Head Student Dylan Peacock. The Exhortation and Dedication was delivered by Group Captain McLean while the BSK Concert Orchestra, under the baton of Miss Elizabeth Lomas, provided the music which included the Last Post and Reveille played by Cian Williams of Year 10. The event at BSK was all the more poignant as it took place 100 years after the battle of Passchendaele. Also known as the Third Battle of Ypres, it is remembered as one of the bloodiest offensives of the First World War. More than 100 days of fighting in the summer and autumn of 1917, starting on July 31, left more than half a million men dead or injured on both sides. The ceremony concluded a series of BSK events held to support the British Legion. These included a Poppy Appeal and a visit to the British Embassy gardens for a group of history students to participate in the Remembrance Commemoration for children. The latter event was hosted by Group Captain Finlay McLean, the British Defence Attaché and the Assistant Defence Attaché, Richard Vessey.

The phrase ‘Lest We Forget’ is characterised by the wearing of the poppy, as we show support and empathy for all those who have made any sacrifice in past or present conflicts in order that future generations might not need to experience the same horrors of war.