QEH Remembrance Service

At QEH, pupils and staff from both the Junior and Senior Schools gathered together in the yard for our Remembrance Service to pay their respects and to reflect on the significance of this solemn occasion. There was a profound sense of gratitude and unity as the QEH community came together to honour those who gave so much, allowing us to live in the world of freedoms we enjoy today.

Our service began with a welcome from Mr Heathcote, Head, followed by readings from Major Tom Yaxley, Captains of School Saffron C and Luke M, and a passage from John 15 read by Megan R our Captain of Boarders.

Mr John Dunster, Old Elizabethan, read the Exhortation, before Rory H performed the Last Post, marking the start of the two minutes’ silence. The service concluded with prayers and the Act of Commitment, led by our School Chaplain, Reverend Mark Pilgrim.

From the archives – an anonymous QEH pupil in the July 1945 edition of The Elizabethan, wrote the following passage reflecting on the contrast between those on the frontlines and the younger generation who inherited peace.

“While firemen had climbed ladders into Hell and snatched children from the encroaching arms of Death, we, the children of England, had sat sleepily in shelters, safe from incendiaries which might explode.”

Below are a selection of photos from the service and the QEH archives, dating back to WW1.

We remember them.

Thank you to Mr John Dunster (OE), Captain Amy Challinor, and Major Tom Yaxley for attending.