"We shall remember them'

Today, 8 November, is Remembrance Sunday here in Britain, the Sunday nearest to Remembrance Day itself (11 November) and the day most communities large and small hold services to commemorate those men and women who have served their countries in the two World Wars and in subsequent military conflicts.

This morning I was one of the thousands who paid their respects by attending the service at the Welsh National War Memorial here in Cardiff. Although it was a solemn and sombre occasion, it was also heart-warming to see old soldiers greeting comrades from years gone by and to see the depth of public appreciation for the efforts of the armed services.

Most people know the words from the poem ‘For the Fallen’ by Robert Laurence Binyon. It seems appropriate today to cite them in Welsh:

Byddant yn tyfu nid yn hen, gan ein bod yn cael eu gadael yn mynd yn hen:
Ni fydd oedran yn eu drethu amynedd, na'r blynyddoedd condemnio.
Ar fynd i lawr yr haul ac yn y bore
Byddwn yn eu cofio.

Here are some images from this morning’s commemoration.

Shenkin III, the mascot of the 3rd Royal Welsh Regiment, is a Kashmir white goat selected from the Queen's own herd of Royal Windsor Whites. He poses here with his keeper, the Goat Major, and gets a scratch on the head for behaving so well.