Bedales commemorates Remembrance Day
In a poignant ceremony of Remembrance, students and staff across Bedales School came together on Monday 11 November to pay tribute to those who have lost their lives in war.
On Armistice Day, members of the Pre-prep, Prep and Senior schools assembled by the steps of the Memorial Library where they honoured the occasion with a Remembrance service . Built in 1921 to commemorate staff and students who died in the First World War, the Library offered an apt setting for the Bedales community to reflect on the sacrifices made in wars of the past and current.
The service opened with a moving speech from Will Goldsmith, Head of Bedales, before Senior School Head Students Zeb, Sophie, Ege and Clara read out the student roll of former Bedalians who lost their lives in the First and Second World Wars. Trumpeters from the Prep and Senior schools then performed ‘The Last Post’, signalling the start of the two-minute silence at 11am.
The sounding of ‘Reveille’ marked the end of the silence, and the ceremony continued with a compelling reading of Isaac Rosenberg’s poem ‘Break of Day’, spoken by 6.2 (Year 13) student George. Head of Bedales Prep Colin Baty then introduced Rupert Brooke’s poem ‘1914: The Soldier’ and May Herschel-Clarke’s ‘The Mother’, which were read by Block 2 (Year 8) students Plum and Max.
The service concluded with final reflections from Will, who said: “Thank you to everyone who gathered to mark this important occasion, and for bringing your thoughts and feelings to such weighty - but sometimes hard to comprehend - events in our history. Thank you also to the musicians and readers from the Prep and Senior schools for their meaningful contributions to the day.”
Bedalians also commemorated the occasion in the local community, supporting Petersfield Town Council and the Royal British Legion during Remembrance Sunday events on 10 November. In what has become an important tradition for the School, 18 members of the Bedales community volunteered in Petersfield at the weekend, alongside other local schools and organisations. The students engaged with the public, handed out orders of service and collected an impressive £1263 for the Royal British Legion, helping the charity to continue its work in supporting armed services personnel during and after their service.
As part of the Remembrance events, Senior School students Jodok and Poppy from Block 5 (Year 11) laid a wreath at the Petersfield War Memorial on behalf of Bedales.
Petersfield’s Shine Radio covered Sunday’s Remembrance events, speaking with students from Bedales and other local schools and highlighting the importance for young people. Listen here.
Read more about Bedales and the First World War here.
