On The Beaches of Normandy – CIIIR
Eighty years ago, on D-Day, 6th June 1944, our Nation and those which stood alongside us faced what my grandfather, King George VI, described as “The Supreme Test”. How fortunate we were, and the entire free World, that a generation of men and women in the United Kingdom and other Allied nations did not flinch when the moment came to face that test.
On the beaches of Normandy, in the seas beyond and in the skies overhead, our Armed Forces carried out their duty with a humbling sense of resolve and determination: qualities so characteristic of that remarkable wartime generation. Very many of them never came home. They lost their lives on the D-Day landing grounds or in the many battles that followed. It is with the most profound sense of gratitude that we remember them, and all those who served at that critical time. We recall the lesson that comes to us, again and again, across the decades: free Nations must stand together to oppose tyranny.
As the years pass, the veterans of the Normandy campaign become ever-fewer in number. Over the past forty years I have had the great privilege of attending seven D-Day commemorations in Normandy and meeting so many distinguished veterans. Indeed, I shall never forget the haunting sights and sounds of thousands of be-medalled figures proudly marching past into a French sunset on these beaches. Our ability to learn from their stories at first hand diminishes. But our obligation to remember them, what they stood for and what they achieved for us all can never diminish.
That is why I am so proud that we have a permanent National Memorial in Normandy, by which to remember the more than twenty-two thousand service personnel in British units who gave their lives during the D-Day landings and the Battle of Normandy. It was built at the suggestion of a veteran, George Batts. He is sadly no longer with us, but lived to see it built and explained on the day it was opened why it means so much: “We left a lot of mates behind and now I know they will never be forgotten.”
A speech by The King at the D-Day National Commemoration British Normandy Memorial, Ver-sur-Mer, on the 80th anniversary of D-Day
Notices
We have successfully launched the Boys’ Brigade and Girls’ Association. We meet every Tuesday from 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm.
Our next PCC Meeting is on Sunday 24th November immediately after Mass.
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We will advertise Advent, Christmas and New Year services in next week’s bulletin.
As in previous years, on 14th November at 4 pm, the Hillingdon Council will hold the main event for Hayes Town Centre here in St. Anselm’s. There will be performances from local school choirs, a switch on the church Christmas tree (provided by the Council), and town centre displays by the Mayor.
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