Who We Remember This Remembrance Sunday

“I think about my family and what they went through, along with everyone else who served and the people waiting for them at home.

My great-grandfather was captured by the Japanese during the Second World War and forced to work on the Thailand-Burma Railway. He was tortured and remained a prisoner until the war ended. It’s hard to imagine what those years must have been like for him.

Two of my great-uncles also served, one in the desert and the other in the Navy. We know very little about either of them, as my grandmother preferred not to talk about it.

My grandfather served in Korea with the artillery. He didn’t say much about his time there, although he did talk about his good mate ‘Jock’, who was from Scotland. That’s one of the few things we know. More recently, my cousin served in Afghanistan.

There’s so much we don’t know. I wonder what they went through, what they found difficult to talk about, and how many other families have those same unanswered questions.

There’s a quote I came across years ago that’s always stayed with me: ‘They gave their tomorrow for our today.’

I think about those who never came home, those who returned and had to live with what had happened, and the families affected by it all. Taking those two minutes to remember them feels like the least I can do.”

“For me, Remembrance Sunday is about reflecting on those who came before us, including my great-grandfather, who served in Burma during the Second World War. He passed away before I was born, but some of his stories have been passed down through the family. I still have his medals and keep them with mine.

While serving, I had the opportunity to visit the Somme on a battlefield tour. Seeing the Thiepval Memorial, covered with the names of soldiers who have no known grave, really brought home the enormous loss of life during the First World War.

I also take time to remember Jamie Readman, a colleague from my first unit who died in a motorcycle accident in 2015, and Brodie Gillon, a medic who was killed in a rocket attack in Iraq in 2020.

I never met Brodie, but we were deployed to Iraq at the same time. Her death had a big impact on everyone.”

“I think about how young so many of them were, and how little we really know about what they went through.

Both my grandads served during the Second World War. We’ve recently found lots of photographs of one of them, who served in the RAF and spent time in Italy and other countries.

One photo really struck me. It was August 1938 and he was just 16 years and one month old, about to start his RAF training. I look at him and wonder whether he had any idea what was ahead of him.

I wish I’d asked them both more. Where they went, who they served with, what they remembered. When I was younger, they were just my grandads. It’s only as I’ve got older that I’ve thought more about their lives before I knew them.

For me, that’s part of why we pause to remember. There’s so much we’ll never know, but we can still take the time to think about what they and so many others went through.”

“Remembrance Sunday isn’t just about two minutes’ silence. It’s about the long goodbyes, the fear, the silence when the world turns bad, the pain hidden behind loved ones’ eyes and the proudest moments.

The sacrifices of those who have served to give us a better outcome, the ones who continue to serve, and the families who carry the worry, the waiting and the longing for them to come home.

Lest we forget.”

“Remembrance Sunday always reminds me of my grandfather, Reggie Jones, as with many brave men who faced the horrors of war.

At the eleventh hour, I will think of the stories he rarely spoke of and the sacrifices he and so many others made. I’ll wear the poppy with pride, remembering him and thanking him for everything he gave.”