50p
Remembrance Day Address
Below is the text of the address delivered by the Head of School, Mr Bud Patel, to the school community at our Remembrance Day Ceremony.
As you filed into the Killy Theatre, you would have seen one of our most treasured archival pieces from the old chapel in Brentwood Bay. This Honour Roll displays every Brentonian that served during World War II, with the center reserved for those who gave the ultimate sacrifice. Later in this service, those names will be read out by three of our student leaders - Oladimeji, Amelia and Ben. It is our way of binding you - today’s Brentwood students - to those of the past. Like you, they proudly wore the same blazer with the school’s crest over their hearts, De Manu In Manum.
One name that you'll hear is from the famous 1940-41 1st XV rugby squad whose remarkable season ended with a points total of 248 for and only 23 against – his name is Ian Gillespie. During that magical season, they lost only one match – to Navy. A teammate of Ian's, Colin Lytton Graham, immortalized his friend with this poem, “A Distant Time”. You will see the engraved version of this poem on the Gillespie Rock that sits outside the home change room of the Foote Centre.
It reads…
In the changing room
After the Navy game
He said, “Indian,
I’ve joined the Air Force.”
Through the steam from the showers,
He was already a ghost.
“Live forever, Pussycat,” I said.
“I promised you, you’ll live forever.”
We’re all immortal
When we go to war.
You were posted missing in action,
the next I knew. Your Beaufighter
went down on bomber escort
over the Channel.
At Runnymede, I saw your name
twenty years later. It seemed
a terrible waste
of the best fullback
the world had ever seen.
The citation said
you’d died drawing enemy fire.
What else?
You’d call for the mark
solid as houses. You tackled
like a rattle-snake.
You didn’t leave the kitchen
when the fire got hot.
I promised you you’d live forever.
Well, almost. While I live,
so do you.
Brentwood is proud to have students from over 40 nations. We are an array of ethnicities, ideas, and perspectives. We live, laugh, and cry together.
Why then, do humans constantly repeat the mistake of conflict. Misunderstanding and greed often leads to this most horrific alternative, war, that has left generations with loss, sadness, and regret. Unfortunately, war is not a concept of the past. As I speak today, there are over 40 military conflicts taking place. So the questions is, what can we do? What can you do? What can I do?
We can seek a deeper understanding of each other. We can find the things that bind rather than divide us. We can reach across the aisle to seek a solution that is best for all even if that means compromise for me. We can tone down our provocative rhetoric. We can choose compassion and kindness. We can respect each other.
This is not a philosophy of convenience.
We can practice this every day and with everyone. We can keep Colin Lytton Graham’s poem in our minds and hearts.
As we live, so do they. Lest we forget.
Please stand for the singing of the Canadian National Anthem.
One name that you'll hear is from the famous 1940-41 1st XV rugby squad whose remarkable season ended with a points total of 248 for and only 23 against – his name is Ian Gillespie. During that magical season, they lost only one match – to Navy. A teammate of Ian's, Colin Lytton Graham, immortalized his friend with this poem, “A Distant Time”. You will see the engraved version of this poem on the Gillespie Rock that sits outside the home change room of the Foote Centre.
It reads…
In the changing room
After the Navy game
He said, “Indian,
I’ve joined the Air Force.”
Through the steam from the showers,
He was already a ghost.
“Live forever, Pussycat,” I said.
“I promised you, you’ll live forever.”
We’re all immortal
When we go to war.
You were posted missing in action,
the next I knew. Your Beaufighter
went down on bomber escort
over the Channel.
At Runnymede, I saw your name
twenty years later. It seemed
a terrible waste
of the best fullback
the world had ever seen.
The citation said
you’d died drawing enemy fire.
What else?
You’d call for the mark
solid as houses. You tackled
like a rattle-snake.
You didn’t leave the kitchen
when the fire got hot.
I promised you you’d live forever.
Well, almost. While I live,
so do you.
Brentwood is proud to have students from over 40 nations. We are an array of ethnicities, ideas, and perspectives. We live, laugh, and cry together.
Why then, do humans constantly repeat the mistake of conflict. Misunderstanding and greed often leads to this most horrific alternative, war, that has left generations with loss, sadness, and regret. Unfortunately, war is not a concept of the past. As I speak today, there are over 40 military conflicts taking place. So the questions is, what can we do? What can you do? What can I do?
We can seek a deeper understanding of each other. We can find the things that bind rather than divide us. We can reach across the aisle to seek a solution that is best for all even if that means compromise for me. We can tone down our provocative rhetoric. We can choose compassion and kindness. We can respect each other.
This is not a philosophy of convenience.
We can practice this every day and with everyone. We can keep Colin Lytton Graham’s poem in our minds and hearts.
As we live, so do they. Lest we forget.
Please stand for the singing of the Canadian National Anthem.