FFFAIF Belgium member Johan Durnez continues his report on ‘a wonderful and emotional Remembrance Day 2008’, which included the spontaneous presentation of ‘a warm scarf for greatgreatuncle Will’.
Johan says:
In the night of 10-11 November we had lots of rain and there was also a very strong wind. The weather forecast promised that it would stop raining in the morning and… yes, this turned out to be right! The clouds opened and we got some sun but the wind was still strong. As you can see on this picture it was pretty cold!
We were happy to welcome at least 50 people who attended our service. Among them the Mayor and Aldermen of the town Harelbeke, members of the town council, a fine delegation of the local fire brigade and police, patriotic associations and their standard bearers, the representative of the Australian Embassy Mr Allen Bryce, agriculture counsellor, and his wife Niki Francis who would lead in prayers as a Minister of the Uniting Church in Australia. And of course there were also several of our colleagues from school who had already attended many of the ceremonies we have had on this cemetery. We were also pleased to see that some of them brought their sons and daughters with them for the first time. I was really pleased to see that even some of my students turned up !
And of course, there were the Leggett relatives and their host family for these days, our very good friends Dirk and Mieke Decuypere-Denys. (Dirk was the man who did the research on William Leggett and, who was, together with me, the initiator of the Leggett Memorial in Geluwe.)
On the left : Tim and Catherine Leggett, Hamish and Grace
on the right : Mieke and Dirk Decuypere-Denys
I once more had the honour to be the master of ceremonies of this service.
This year we started with a prayer over the graves by Reverend Niki and then we had the official wreath laying by the Mayor of Harelbeke Mrs Rita Beyaert. (The town authorities always place their wreath at the Cross of Sacrifice as on Remembrance Day they want to pay tribute to all the men who are buried in this cemetery.)
Then we had Last Post – silence – Ode ………After that, Grace Leggett (19) and her young brother Hamish (9) read a eulogy for their great great uncle.
After the eulogy, we all went to the grave of William Leggett.
Flowers were presented on behalf of the Australian Embassy (“From the People and Government of Australia” said the ribbon.) This wreath was made in green and gold colours and had the big chrysanthemum balls (which in Belgium is a typical flower to honour the dead).
The other wreath had flowers in blue and red, the colours of Leggett’s Guards Division. The Australian wreath was laid by Tim Leggett and Allen Bryce, the other wreath was laid by Hamish and Grace.
Everyone who wanted, then came and laid a flower in front of the headstone or touched the headstone to pay his/her respects. Very emotional as you saw all ages pass in front of this grave…
While we were standing there, we heard (on cd) Flowers of the Forest and Soldiers of Australia (a slow march on the melody of Waltzing Matilda.)
And then… when everyone had passed the headstone, little Hamish stepped forward and tied a scarf to the headstone of his great great uncle. The scarfs that the family were wearing on this European trip and that were knitted by Tim’s mother. And one of these scarfs… will from now on keep ‘uncle Will’ warm here in Harlebeke ! A most beautiful and moving tribute !
Then everyone returned to the Cross of Sacrifice (almost at the entrance of this cemetery) and we left the Leggett family for a while at the grave of their (great) great uncle.
Our thanks to Johan for sharing his Remembrance Day 2008, in Belgium, with us.
LEST WE FORGET
*****
The Families and Friends of the First AIF thanks the Australian, UK and French governments for affording Australian and British soldiers – presently buried in mass graves at Pheasant Wood – dignified individual reburials in a new CWGC cemetery at Fromelles, and applauds Minister Snowdon and his British counterpart, Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State for Defence and Minister for Veterans, Kevan Jones MP, for their joint decision to DNA test the remains at exhumation and use every reasonable method to attempt identification of each soldier.