Dear Reader,
In the light of the centenary of the First World Armistice on November 11th 1918 and as one of the most important Remembrance Sundays approaches, it is important to reflect on the contribution that GirlGuiding as an organisation made and continues to make in order show our respects for soldiers of conflicts past and present.
On Sunday 11th November, units from Stalham District including the 2nd Stalham & Sutton Brownies, and 1st Stalham Guides will attend the local Remembrance service at St. Mary's Church in Stalham to remember the fallen soldiers of the local areas and around the world. This is just one small part that Guiding played and stills plays in support and commemoration.
Tonight 2nd Stalham & Sutton Brownies were busy creating their annual poppy display for the church service on Sunday. It was truly lovely to see the Brownies so engaged in the activity and wanting to put so much effort into their roles in the activity.
Girl Guides even played their own part in both of the major world wars, doing their best to help the soldiers and the cause. During the 1st World War, guides helped through fundraising, sending care packages to troops - including hand knitted socks - and learning how to deal with first aid emergencies. Some older members of guiding entered into war work, such as munitions.
During World War 2, girl guides 'knitted, nursed and dug for victory'; Margaret Collins (a guide living in Kent in 1939) even helped with the evacuation of Britain's children. Many guides stepped into war work, nursing and teaching, as well as learning first aid skills, farming, and helping distribute gas masks in their local communities.
Remembrance for myself and for my family is an important time of the year. We are heavily involved in the local British Legion Branch and the local poppy appeal;helping with the selling of poppies. As a family we suffered many casualties of the two world wars, and have laid our family wreath at the local remembrance service for many years - something I have also the privilege of doing twice at the Menin Gate ceremony in Ypres. I am absolutely devastated that I will be unable to attend with my family and my guiding district this year due to my new job, this will be the first service I have missed, but I hope that the Brownies give us as leaders every reason to be proud, including those carrying our unit standard.
In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.
We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved, and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.
Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.
By Major John McCrae – 1915 - Boezinge
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I promise that I will do my best, to be true to myself and develop my beliefs, to serve the Queen and my community, to help other people and to keep the Guide Law,
Yours,
The 17-Year-Old Brownie
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