News from Mr Grady
9th November 2023
Hello Everyone,
I hope you managed to have a restful and/or productive half term, and that those of you celebrating Diwali this coming weekend are looking forward to a wonderful celebration – can I take this opportunity to wish all those of you celebrating, a very happy Diwali!
This weekend is also Remembrance Sunday, and as we approach the weekend, and the Remembrance activities we may be undertaking for Armistice Day, it is a time for reflection as much as remembrance.
I spoke in assembly this week to years 7-11 about what and who I remember, during the two minutes silence that we will be holding on Friday at 11am. I spoke about my memories of seeing Dame Vera Lynn alongside my grandmother, and my parents many years ago in Coventry town centre. Young as I was, it was impossible not to be moved by the way in which the two minutes silence was marked: Instead of a bugle playing the last post, what the crowds heard was one of Coventry’s air-raid sirens.
In the mid 1980s, we were 40 years on from the siren being sounded in actual alarm, but in that crowd were many people with a living memory of having heard and needed to respond to the siren for their protection and the protection of their families. It was a spectral and deeply haunting sound, even to a 10 year old who had no real idea of what hearing it for real would have meant. For many in the crowd it was a real act of remembrance.
In 2023, playing the siren would have a different impact, as the living memory of the blitz of Coventry in the 19040s is of course a very faint one now. And so, as I said to our students, we should perhaps consider reflection as much a part of the two minutes silence as remembrance.
We may have connections to the armed forces or experiences of conflict at first, second or third hand, and we may have real remembrance that we can undertake in the two minutes silences, but where that isn’t the case, we can certainly reflect, empathise and consider the impact of conflict on communities across the globe.
In that reflection we can consider how lucky we are to live in such a safe and supportive environment. We can go to work or school with no disruption, we can visit family and friends safely and with no fear for any risk to ourselves or those around us. Increasingly, it seems to me that this relative comfort is something to be treasured, and in the two minutes silence, is certainly something to reflect on.
So, whether you are engaging in reflection or remembrance, there is plenty for everyone of us to consider in the two minutes silence.
With all best wishes,
Mr Grady
