Respects paid at Remembrance Day service

The arrival of the Pope the same day did not prevent the British Community from holding a well-attended Remembrance Day service in the Anglican Cathedral of St. John the Baptist last Sunday.

Following the Argentine national anthem and ‘God save the King’ and some introductory words by Anglican Bishop Brian Williams to pray for those who suffered and died in wars, the three Bible readings were delivered by British Ambassador David Seldon Cairns, his Embassy’s Defence Attaché, Group Captain Sally Cawdery, and British Hospital Matron Carolina Giuffré, intersected by the hymns ‘Abide with me’ and ‘O valiant hearts.’

The sermon was given by Methodist pastor Carlos Amarillo. On previous occasions this was usually the task of clerics of British birth or origin, who could point to some World War veteran or some experience related to those conflicts within their families, but Amarillo’s lack of such experience made his words more spiritual than most – perhaps the closest he came to the sacrifices of war was the text: “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends.”

Following the hymn ‘This is my song,’ the Poppy Day service proceeded to its core – the Royal British Legion’s Act of Remembrance, the exhortation “They shall grow not old” read by the British Embassy’s Deputy Defence Attaché Major Alexander Major, the Last Post trumpet solo and the Kohima Epitaph “For your tomorrow we gave our today” read by the American Legion’s Victor Honoré. Wreaths were then placed by  Cairns and United States Ambassador Peter Lamelas while the Scottish lament “The Flowers of the Forest” sounded from the bagpipes of Alan Oliver.

Respects duly paid, the service closed with the congregation committing itself to strive for peace, the Lord’s Prayer, the final blessing and ‘Amazing Grace.’