Remembrance Sunday was on the 14th of November this year.

It was a solemn occasion which commemorates the millions of troops that gave their lives, not only in World War 1 but every single conflict ever since - as it is inscribed onto the Croydon War Memorial. This memorial, located in Croydon, on Katharine Street, has had inscribed within the words (from top to bottom): AND IN MEMORY OF THOSE / WHO LOST THEIR LIVES IN / WARS AND CONFLICTS SINCE. The base of the structure reads: A TRIBUTE TO THE MEN / AND WOMEN OF CROYDON / WHO DIED AND SUFFERED.

 

At Croydon memorial, there was a few minutes silence, in which the whole crowd of people thought and pondered over the millions of people who died in WW1 and the many more who suffered in the conflicts after. All the cadets from different organisations, scouts and the armed forces, stood together representing their own organisations with their unique uniforms but stood in solidarity - in unity, in silence, to remember those who fell.

 

What can we learn from the death of these millions of troops and civilians who did not even think to even imagine the death they would face the next day? There are so many lessons that we can unpick from the people who were killed in battle and those who were bombed and the civilians that were wiped out. We can learn to appreciate our loved ones around us and to appreciate the life that we have, making the most of it in the best of ways - showing good character to others, staying away from that which is wrong and immoral, and helping the people and community around us.