Peace Medal

A certain Captain Lock, remembering his dead and wounded comrades of the Second World War, had his war medals melted down and recast as peace medals.  As an old boy of Gresham’s School, Holt, Cpt Lock presented six of these medals to the then HM (now HM of Malvern), who in turn presented five of them to selected schools, of which S.Anselm’s is one.  The medals are designed to make the children think about the waste and futility of war and to promote the cause of peace.  (Our medal is inscribed ‘Let Peace Be Indestructible’).

Captain Lock wished the children to write on the subject of peace and war, and for the best production to be awarded the medal, to be presented at our Remembrance Day service.  It falls to the Head of English to co-ordinate this noble effort, in which, of course, taking part is far more important than winning. 

The thinking about war and the futility of war is of course very vivid on a day like the 11th November. It therefore gave me great pleasure to announce the runner up and the winner of the peace medal for this year.

The Winner was:

Peace

by Fred B-B aged 10

Peace is the white swan as it glides in the mist.

Peace is the end of a rose and the beginning of another.

It comes like the dew fresh in the morning, glistening like a diamond.

When we make peace we become all of these.

The runner up was

I Remember

by Jemima W aged 12

As Big Ben strikes,

People stop, peacefully

Just waiting for two minutes

But I remember.

I remember

Little Jonny, not yet eighteen.

Eyes glazed over, dead.

I remember

I remember,

Mister Willingson always had his bible.

One screaming shell, all gone.

I remember

I remember,

My good friend Tom, funny.

Spluttering, coughing in the thick green gas.

I remember

Two minutes is up.

The silence is over.

They don’t care.

But I remember.

Very well done to everyone who took part.

SCN