Remembrance 2023

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Tomorrow will be Remembrance Day, as it has been since the eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month in 1918, when the Armistice to end World War 1 came into effect, having been signed at 5.45am that morning. I have marked this every year since I began this blog and am doing so again today. I think it is important that we never forget those who have made the ultimate sacrifice to protect our democratic freedoms. I have done so by writing comment pieces and by sharing poetry, but have only twice before included some music in my posts. The same tune has appeared both times, and you will be hearing it again today, but for today’s Remembrance I am sharing an edited and updated version of the post I gave you last year, with some English folk music from recent years which highlights the importance of remembering the fallen. Many of you have joined me since then so probably won’t have seen this before, and I think it worth a repeat anyway. A brief comment at the outset: after I posted this last year it soon became apparent that the three main videos weren’t available in N America. I found some alternative links which did work, though, and for today I have replaced the original official videos with those – fingers crossed they still work for you.

One of my favourite folk bands, who I have seen in concert several times, are Show Of Hands. Back in 2014 they were involved in a project to mark the centenary of the start of WW1, providing some of their own songs, plus the musical backing for an album of poetry read by husband and wife actors Jim Carter and Imelda Staunton. One of the poems I have regularly quoted is For The Fallen, by Laurence Binyon. Here is their version:

The singer’s voice you can hear on that is Miranda Sykes. To this day I recall turning red as I met her after a show and all I could think to say was “you have a beautiful voice.” I was brought up to tell the truth!

This next song is one of the band’s own, recorded especially for the album. It is an extended version of the backing music from the previous track, and highlights a sentiment many will have felt through the years:

There are 34 tracks on that album. It is a very moving listen, and I could play you just about any of them. I’ll share just one more – the album closer – which is based around another Laurence Binyon poem, Requiem, with additional lyrics by the band’s lead vocalist Steve Knightley:


Another favourite of mine, who I have also seen several times in concert going right back to my uni days, is the wonderful singer-songwriter Ralph McTell. In 2020 he wrote a song called The Unknown Soldier, to commemorate the centenary of the ceremonial funeral that took place on 11.11.1920. The video for this also features narration by Sir Billy Connolly, Sir Anthony Hopkins, and Liam Neeson. It was re-released last year: as Ralph says in the postscript, it is a bit of an epic, but it tells a story that may not be well known now after the passing of 103 years. All proceeds from sales of the record were donated to the Royal British Legion, the leading UK charity providing support for veterans. That story deserves to be remembered, and this is a fitting way to do it:

Sunday will see the annual Service and Remembrance Day parades in London and around the country. The main event – at the Cenotaph in London – is televised and I will, as always, be watching. The piece of music I have played for the past two years and am sharing again is Nimrod, from Sir Edward Elgar’s Enigma Variations, which for me it is always the most moving part of that ceremony:

War should never be the answer but, sadly, it often has been throughout history and still is today, in Ukraine, Gaza, Israel and elsewhere. It is hard to agree that it is the right thing to do, whatever the situation, but that shouldn’t prevent us from giving our thanks to those who have fought for us, to preserve the rights and freedoms we take for granted.

55 thoughts on “Remembrance 2023”

  1. Great to make your acquaintance via SSPS. I always either watch on TV or go to our local war memorial for the parade. I agree re Nimrod, it’s my favourite part and reminds me of my father, a proud serviceman.

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