Remembrance Day events
With one of the largest school cadet forces in the country, Eastbourne College was honoured to be the only school to be selected to provide 20 cadets to participate in the Remembrance Day march past the Cenotaph on Sunday. This annual march is one of the cornerstones of British society and represents a moment for permanence, reflection, and a moment to connect and clarify common strings of thought. The cadets performed admirably on the day, marching down Whitehall, laying a wreath at the Cenotaph and saluting HRH Princess Anne at Horse Guards Parade.
You can watch the parade on the BBC website here. (Eastbourne College CCF on screen on minute 02:28:55)
Back in Eastbourne, the College held their own Remembrance service and Combined Cadet Force Parade, which took place in front of the iconic Memorial Building. An address, delivered by Colonel Anthony Lamb MBE DL, focused on the less tangible effects of the colossal human sacrifice. Attention was brought to the loss felt by the families of those that did not return home, the local communities, and the ripple effect on British society as each community, and the country, began to rebuild.
The College then welcomed former Chairman of Governors, Admiral Sir Ian Forbes and Captain (retired) Andrew Jelinek, both ex-pupils and ex-servicemen, who laid wreaths which will be placed beneath stone tablets that bear the names of the 174 boys and one teacher that gave their lives in the Great War.
After the service, 174 cadets each placed a small wooden cross in front of the Memorial Arch around a ‘Tommy’ silhouette. Following the Act of Remembrance, the College unveiled a memorial to Old Eastbournian Lionel Rees VC (Victoria Cross), who earned his VC as a pilot in the Royal Flying Corps in WW1 and after whom the new dining hall has been named; a fitting end to the day’s remembrance events.
