Month: November 2020

28th November 2020

HS Admin Reflection 0 Comment

Dear Parishioners,

Alongside this weekend’s Newsletter and Readings for Holy Mass, comes a wish and hope that these greetings find you and your loved ones well and contented.

This weekend we begin a new year in the life of the Church as we move into the Season of Advent. Personally speaking it is one of my favourite periods highlighted on the liturgical calendar, and I would happily skip Christmas, the bit of Ordinary Time which occurs briefly as we box and store our decorations, and dismiss Lent in order to be able to celebrate Easter as soon as possible after Advent ! Aware of some of the headlines over recent days, offering hope of a more ‘normal’ way of life by Easter, I suspect that my imagined leap through time would suit many others too. However, we are where we are, and that is much nearer seeing the release of a vaccine against the dreaded Covid-19 than we were even a month ago. So let us continue to journey with necessary caution and common sense but also carrying with us the Advent gifts of hope and joy.

One of the necessary jobs carried out this week was the preparation of our churches for Advent. In both churches this meant putting away our “There but not there” soldier figures, and at St. Paul’s taking down the banners which have decorated church in Ordinary Time. Across two of these are the words Let Your Light Shine. Reflecting on those words may well have inspired numerous parishioners and others to do just that: allowing their own talents, gifts and personalities to bring light into the lives of others. During recent months there have been many instances of this taking place, often very quietly, and without the trumpet blast of public praise or accolade. Perhaps two simple words – thank you – gave reassurance that where there had been darkness, your gesture, word or presence had truly brought light.

Before anyone jumps to the conclusion that all I do is watch TV, can I just correct any straying thoughts in that direction, by saying my working day begins before 7.00 a.m. as I sit down over breakfast to read through, and respond to e-mails, so by 8.00 p.m. there is some justification in being able to sit down once more, this time to relax, and eat a meal often taken in front of the TV ! And I am very choosey about what I watch. Far from being any sort of domestic god, I confess that I have very limited capabilities in the kitchen. If I am told that something needs twenty-five minutes in the oven, it usually gets at least ten minutes more due to my own doubting nature and the fact that the oven is old ! However not being able to cook has never stopped me from being hospitable. At least when times allow me to be so. As a student I long ago learnt that a few Rich Tea biscuits and a bag of Twiglets could be turned into a veritable feast !

Over recent weeks as I have partaken of my Tuesday evening meal I’ve delighted in the skills and culinary imagination of the contestants in “The Great British Bake Off” tent. This years’ potpourri of bakers seemed from the outset a near perfect combination of truly lovely human beings. Their efforts come under the scrutiny of the Marmite-figure of Paul Hollywood, and everyone’s surrogate aunt, Pru Leith. Tuesday saw the three remaining contestants Laura, Dave and Peter thrash it out in order to claim the Bake Off trophy – an inscribed cake stand. Having seen all the contestants and their creations struggle with the heat within the tent, which included on more than one occasion the wearing of ice-towels (the temperature was in excess of 36 degrees some weeks), they all deserved some form of medal for stamina alone. However out of the final had to walk a winner. This honour went to Peter Sawkins, a twenty year old Accounting and Finance student at Edinburgh University. Throughout the series he was a real star. There was nothing showy about him. But he had it all ! Week after week he not only gave of his best but produced personal triumphs and twice was accredited the coveted award of Star Baker. A self-confessed fan of “Bake Off” it had clearly inspired him as a child to dabble in the family kitchen, and constantly he referred to the fact that he was living the dream by being a contestant on the show. Even Paul Hollywood acknowledged that Peter had a mature head on his young shoulders. This was evident in a comment made by Peter in the final episode, when he reflected that in comparison to his peers his life may not have been as exciting – devoid of a gap year or overseas experiences – but he enjoyed and felt privileged for the life he had. Amazing wisdom. He also had the quirky and successful technique of listening to his cakes before removing them from the oven. It was a trick, uniquely his, picked up from observing a contestant in an earlier series of the show.

Peter Sawkins’ light shone into homes across the country for many weeks. His unflappability and stoicism when things did not go as planned, openness to the critical friendship of the judges, and an incredibly youthful face and sparkling smile that spoke of contentment and satisfaction on life’s journey. Despite the programme being aired quite some time after filming had finished the name of the winner remained a tight secret. When revealed, Peter was in his student flat along with his housemates, watching the show as they had done since returning to university. Sharing one of his cakes (lucky them !) they celebrated together when the judge’s verdict was announced just after 9.00 p.m. Perhaps not all that quietly as he apologized, during a radio interview, to others living in the same block of student accommodation who had heard the cheers and applause that had sounded as the announcement was made. Asked what was next for him by the BBC Radio 2 host, Peter simply said that he had an assignment to be completed by Friday, and exams in two weeks’ time. There is something reassuring to know that life goes on as normal even for a Bake Off winner ! Congratulations to him, and especial thanks to those who have, during his formation as a son and brother, cultured his light allowing it to shine in the triumphs and disasters produced in their family kitchen. A light that has shone brightly amid a nation of armchair bakers, revealing little less than perfection in all that he created from the ingredients presented to him week on week, but also in the pure loveliness of humanity that he conveyed by being himself.

Taking encouraging banners down does not mean that we should cease illuminating the lives of others. In fact Advent calls us to be a people of light, ultimately being drawn towards the True Light which is the gift of the Christ-child presented to us in the fragility of humanity in the darkness of Christmas night. It is from this encounter that we draw the strength to be light-bearers to and for others. In the wonderful days of Advent that lie ahead may we have the confidence to share our own light, but also recognize the illumination carried by others and encourage it to shine brightly too.

Holding you in prayerful remembrance and affection.

As ever, Fr. Nicholas

P.S. Having seen this prayer recently, I thought it was worthy of sharing !

Prayer for putting on a face mask:

Creator, as I prepare to go into the world, help me to see the sacrament in the wearing of this cloth – let it be “an outward sign of an inward grace” – a tangible and visible way of living love for my neighbours, as I love myself. Christ, since my lips will be covered, uncover my heart, that people would see my smile in the crinkles around my eyes. Since my voice may be muffled, help me to speak clearly, not only with my words, but with my actions. Holy Spirit, as the elastic touches my ears, remind me to listen carefully – and full of care – to all those I meet. May this simple piece of cloth be shield and banner, and each breath that it holds, be filled with your love. In your Name and in that love, I pray. May it be so. May it be so.

21st November 2020

HS Admin Reflection 0 Comment

Dear Parishioners,

Another weekend, and another Newsletter ! Hopefully its arrival finds you and those you care about in continuing good health.

Within all of us is there is an element that craves a feel-good factor. What satisfies this may well differ from person to person but certainly one TV programme that ticked this box for many during the first Lockdown, from conversations that I’ve had, was “This week on the farm.” Clearly it drew in the audiences as towards the end of the first run, it was announced that extra shows were being recorded. More recently it has aired again. It features Cannon Hall Farm near Barnsley, a place well known to many of the children in Holy Spirit School. Each year a class group enjoys a visit. Two of the main human characters of the TV show are the Nicholson brothers, Rob and Dave, who live, breathe, and simply ooze a passion for their chosen way of life. They are a great duo, and live a vocational life in relation to the concern that they show for the four-legged and two-legged creatures that they share their home and working environment with. Week after week it became clear that some of these enjoyed being under the spotlight, whilst others clearly found the cameras to be an intrusion into their natural shenanigans. In the earlier series one species of our four-legged friends always ready to step out into camera shots were goats. Their antics and frolicking, caught on the small screen, were often incredibly funny and most entertaining.

They certainly lived up to our stereotypical labelling of them as being adventurous, strong-minded, daring, escape artists, and being more prone to doing their own thing than showing any desire to follow, be directed or even guided. Their wiry frames, swiftness and natural dexterity allow goats, both in the wild and in captivity, to adapt readily to a wide variety of terrains. They are by nature curious, interested and nosey. When it comes to food they are browsers rather than grazers. A feature which has given them the reputation of being willing to eat absolutely anything without fear or favour ! The truth is that they have a tendency to try anything, and depending on its taste will either finish the meal or walk away from it.

Watching their enjoyment of life, simple as it might be, lived out beneath the blue skies of spring and summer, and observed during a time of strict social and travel limitations for ourselves, I could easily have been a touch envious of the goats at Cannon Hall. They seemed vastly more interesting than the grazing sheep.

The Gospel at the core of our Sacred Scripture readings for this weekend cautions me, and others, of observing the rather cute, fun-seeking, goats with the green eyes of envy. The separation of the sheep from the goats is perhaps one of the best known Parables depicting end times. At its heart are the choices we make on the adventure of life’s pilgrimage. As a man of his time and place, Jesus would have been very familiar with sheep and goats, possibly even having to shoo a curious, free-spirited, straying goat from the open working environment of St. Joseph on more than one occasion. Sheep follow, can be rounded up, and are contented when enclosed in a space of their own. On the other hand a straying goat has to be caught, carried, harnessed or tethered, and if contained spends its waking hours seeking any means of escape. Described elsewhere as the Good Shepherd, Jesus offers through his own example and skillful leadership a blueprint for His sheep to follow. Within that some skills of the goat will be needed, such as the confidence to reach out, being prepared to take risks, but not those of journeying through life in isolation, leading to a blindness that fails to see the needs of others, not least those most in need. This is summarised in the question asked by those on the left of the throne of glory: “Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty, a stranger or naked, sick or in prison, and did not come to your help ?”

Our behaviour is very much at the fore of those who have guided us into another phase of Lockdown. Having come so far along the road of sacrifice this year, we have been asked to continue this often lonesome pathway. Despite the bright hope that announcements of the success of vaccines have offered in recent days, we are still quite some time away from the formation of queues to receive them. Our waiting continues. Even when they are accessible we are only one relatively small island community within a global family unit.

Our own very stringent adherence to the mantra Hands – Face – Space – within our church buildings comes from a duty of care that we have for one another. Whilst we may not like having to queue to get into our spiritual homes, grumble about being asked to stand two meters apart from people we’ve known all of our lives, or mutter about the need to wear a facial covering in God’s House, we do so because we are showing love for our neighbour, and in return allowing them to show their love for us. It is also worth remembering that whilst our churches have, since July 4th, been able to open their doors to congregations, thanks to volunteer Stewards, there are very many in the nation’s workforce who continue to work from home because their employers cannot offer a similar safe environment in which to conduct a ‘normal’ working life.

The reality of the need to adhere to guidance given, and like the sheep of the Gospel, to be counselled and directed, was brought home to me recently as I listened to a radio interview with Vaughan Gething, the Health Minister of Wales. He said: “You are most likely to get Coronavirus from someone you already know, a friend, a family member, a loved one.” It was a shocking statement. And to be sure that I’d heard it correctly I listened to it again, and for a third time. It reminds us that the things we believe we will get away with, or no one will know about can actually have serious consequences. Goats would take the risk. Sheep would listen and do the right thing, putting trust in the voice of the shepherd. Grazing at a social distance !

The sheep of the Gospel question as to when they treated others well, fairly, with kindness, compassion and as equals. The reply given clearly surprises them: “in so far as you did this to one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did it to me.” For all of us there is the opportunity to reach out to the hungry, the thirsty, the stranger, the naked, the sick, and those in prison. Our opportunity may have a 21st century twist on it but will be no less significant and relevant or even life changing or life saving to those who benefit from it. Perhaps it will be the extra item in our shopping trolley that is put into the collection point for the local Food Bank, the home crafted face masks that make them fun to wear, the knitting of clothing to be worn by premature babies we cannot name or the on-line donation made to an aid agency like CAFOD, the cheery card sent to someone who is unwell or on the road to recovery, a few thoughtful words of remembrance conveyed to the bereaved or a phone call to those who have not left the security of their homes for the majority of the year or who spend an entire day without hearing the voice of another human being.

Whilst our reaching out to others may take the confidence and daring of the goat, as we do not wish to seem intrusive into the lives of others, I pray that it maybe what we actually carry out in deeds motivated by love that will bring each one of us the reward given to those who sit on the right hand of the King in the Parable: “… the kingdom prepared for you since the foundation of the world.”

I continue to carry you in prayerful remembrance, together with your loved ones – living and, especially in this month of November, those handed back to God – and in affection.

14th November 2020

HS Admin Reflection, Uncategorized 0 Comment

Dear Parishioners,

With the arrival of another Saturday I am delighted to be able to send you the latest Newsletter and the Readings for Holy Mass this weekend. They come with the hope that you are keeping well and safe during these days. It was good to see a number of familiar faces visiting our churches during the times they were opened for private prayer during the last week, and I trust that parishioners will find in these times renewed strength and comfort as we each walk an unfamiliar pathway through life.

Recent events across the Pond, as the Atlantic is often fondly called, played out against the backdrop of The White House, brought to mind a photograph I have of one of our diocesan clergy standing on the steps of 1600, Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington D.C., Fr. Richard Barry-Doyle. He was a relative of the Sherlock Holmes author Arthur Conan-Doyle and Commodore John Barry, the credited Father of the American Navy, in whose honour he added the name Barry to his original surname. Unlike the prevailing descriptive words of celebrity or personality, he is best described as a character. It is a phrase that we hear less of than we once did, but one that conveys fondness, affection, and often, more than just a hint of admiration too. There is also something reassuringly non-judgmental in its descriptive use. Characters just are ! Perhaps one reason behind the absence of the phrase is the reality that even humankind has been touched by mass production which has overtaken the time and care poured into the handcrafted.

Despite clamorous calls seeking recognition for diversity and difference within society, somehow we still seek to label others, maybe because it offers reason or a defined root-cause for why someone is as they are. Yet in the supermarket aisle we are encouraged to cherish (not to mention purchase !) the wonky vegetable. Reflecting on some of the characters that I’ve been privileged to know, a common factor seems to have been their openness to allowing life experience to colour, texture and shape them. Somehow they learnt the lesson of real life that the harsh cold metal of a chisel being hit with the blows of a mallet or hammer is as necessary as the fine detailing tool and gentle blowing breath of the artist removing the finest dust particles in order to produce a masterpiece. Whilst eager to embrace the misshapen vegetable in aspiring to do our bit to avoid food waste, we often approach with great caution and suspicion – if we do at all – the quirky fellow pilgrim who, in the process of climbing out of the proverbial box, has managed to lose their descriptive label !

Lockdown has seen an upsurge in reading, and even demand for the book I produced on the clergy of the Diocese of Leeds last year has seen a some growth in sales. Stood on a doorstep recently, making a socially distanced delivery, the purchaser was regaling tales of some of the clergy they had known in childhood. The names of these men were all familiar to me through my research, but I invited them to look amongst the names they had not heard of to discover some real characters, and diverse life-stories. Amongst the ranks of these is Fr. Barry-Doyle (1871 – 1933). The photograph of him on the steps of the home of the President of the United States depicts not a fee-paying tourist but an invited guest of President Calvin Coolidge. Ordained for the Diocese of Waterford in 1894 (at an age when he would not have been allowed Canonically to hear the confessions of female penitents !), his academic interests were rewarded when he was elected to Ireland’s premier cultural institution the Royal Irish Academy. However, within a decade later, officially, he tendered his resignation from the Curacy that he held. Another account says that to avoid being declared bankrupt by a judge he did a midnight flit from the Presbytery decamping to England in only the clothes he stood up in !

Taken in by the Diocese of Nottingham, he later arrived in Leeds to serve initially at Halifax and then Brighouse where, as the Priest in Charge, he covered the absence of Fr. Patrick McMenamin who was serving as a Chaplain to the Forces. In Halifax during a St. Patrick’s Day celebration Fr. Barry-Doyle took to the stage offering a series of recitations of works by Irish authors to the wide acclaim of the audience, and in Brighouse his charismatic preaching on topical issues brought such numbers to St. Joseph’s Church on Sunday evenings that people had to be turned away. From Yorkshire he went to the Front, serving as Chaplain to soldiers in France, Palestine and other theatres of war. After the signing of the Armistice he returned to one of these, Constantinople as it still was, in Turkey where Allied Forces from Britain, Italy, Greece, America and Japan occupied the centre of the Ottoman Empire. It was a divided city and Fr. Barry-Doyle hovered between its opulence, which for him included being feted at a reception given in his honour at the lavish Pera Palace Hotel and being the first British Prelate (he was a Monsignor) to be granted an audience with the last Ottoman Sultan, Mehmed VI, and a tremendous poverty witnessed by him in many forms of deprivation. His charisma and dynamism became a tool for opening the eyes of the privileged to the desperate plight and needs of those living in poverty and squalor. He did so initially by opening an orphanage in Athens and subsequently undertaking speaking tours to raise funds for it. In 1924 he founded the Catholic Near East Welfare Association, which still exists, to assist where poverty, war and displacement shatter innocent lives. Travelling to America he challenged those who attended his series of country-wide lectures to raise a million dollars for the charity. His flamboyant personal appearance, wearing military dress, dripping in decorations given him by the British, French, Greek and Russian Governments, and dramatic manner of presentation brought him limited success as the American Catholic clergy became suspicious of his motives. Unfounded rumours alleging a luxurious lifestyle abounded, perhaps fueled by the green eyes of envy. Despite this he was welcomed to the home of the First Family of the land, no doubt managing to secure a donation for his beloved Association from a President who was known for his frugality ! Although handing the Association’s reins over to the Holy See and the American bishops, he still continued to fund-raise, travelling to Australia to promote its work.

Returning to England without personal funds, and exhausted, it was recommended that he travel to the south of France for a diet of pure air and sunshine (I doubt this is currently available on an NHS prescription !). In renewed health he took up an appointment in Leicester where he set about providing the parish with a new school. He addressed this with his usual enthusiasm organising an Empire Fair, at which goods from across the world were made available for sale. His organisational skills and powers of persuasion unsurprisingly won over the assistance of the local titled Catholic gentry, offering his cause enhanced kudos. Sadly he did not see the completion of his educational dream for Catholic children in Leicester as he died suddenly in 1933 at the age of sixty-one. A character to the last, a newspaper report of his demise mentioned that feeling unwell on the day of his death he asked his valet to call for the ministrations of a neighbouring priest ! His personal estate included a small treasure trove of religious jewellery, amongst which was a bejewelled ring, presented to him by British soldiers. This, he stipulated, should be presented to a priest about to become a bishop.

At the centre of our Scripture Readings this weekend is the Parable of the Talents. It speaks of gifts being given on trust for useful purpose. The recipients respond to the talents entrusted to them in differing ways through their unique perception of the One who has given them responsibility. The terms celebrity or personality are not applicable to those spoken of in the Parable, instead we are presented with part-players each fulfilling their unique role in a story. Each is a characters and a character simply is. The finest and best of characters take what they have been given and gifted with and get on with the task in hand. Without definition their chameleon-like skills of adaptation allow them to identify with their surroundings, and whilst not always blending in they become a feature, beloved and cherished for being what many dare not to be: themselves.

Fr. Richard Barry-Doyle was certainly his own man, comfortable in his own skin for which at times he also carried the cross of suffering. In this month of remembrance we commend the soul of one of God’s own characters to the safe-keeping of the Greatest Giver of all.

I continue to carry you in prayerful remembrance, together with your loved ones – living and handed back to God – and in affection.

As ever, Fr. Nicholas

7th November 2020

HS Admin Uncategorized 0 Comment

Dear Parishioners,

Once more it is good to be able to send greetings alongside distributing the Newsletter and Readings for Holy Mass this weekend. A technical blip last week meant that not everyone received the e-mail containing the Newsletter. If this happens again please do go to our Parish websites where the Newsletter is also displayed and from where it can be downloaded.

This weekend will be different for us all as we have entered a new phase of Lockdown. For those who have returned to church, sadly, we too have closed our doors for a second time this year despite some impassioned calls from the Bishops for the Government to make an exception for Places of Worship. Whilst it is a loss, it also reminds us of the centrality of sacrifice to ourselves as Christians. It is often easy to forget that Holy Mass is celebrated on the altar of sacrifice and connects us directly to the events of Calvary. At the core of our individual and collective identity is sacrifice for a greater cause. On Good Friday the sacrifice of the Son was for the redemption of the entirety of humankind. In our own country during Penal times the sacrifice was the inability to worship publically, and the price paid by those who were caught doing so was martyrdom. Our sacrifice now is for the health of the society of which we are a part, not least for the protection of the vulnerable and weak and to maintain the NHS’s ability to cope with unprecedented demands on its wonderful human resources.

After sacrifice comes hope. More correctly, sacrifice is made because of hope. After the burial of Christ the faith-filled women went to the tomb, initially to offer veneration to the physical remains of Jesus of Nazareth, but ultimately they came away with news that Christ had risen. That which the Son of God had come to destroy and which appeared to have claimed Him was itself vanquished forever: death. On the eve of the closure of our church doors Max George received the Sacrament of Baptism. For the first time since our churches opened in early July I had to put out the sign saying that church had reached its maximum seating capacity ! And before any subconscious link is made between the baptism and a surge in numbers, I have to say that the personal guests sharing Max George’s special day were well within our Covid-secure guidance at just four which included his parents. On a bright, sunny morning, parishioners gathered to be spiritually fed before a time of fasting began. Despite many entering church with heavy hearts and a sense of foreboding, they departed cheered and with the gift of hope in what they had just witnessed and participated in: spiritual birth, and a small child whose happy face and sense of presence, gave us all a hopeful optimism about an unknown future.

Sacrifice is very much at the fore of our thoughts this weekend as we mark Remembrance Sunday, giving the nation an opportunity to reflect on the human price paid for the purchase of a fragile peace achieved after world-wide conflict. Not only do we recall the fallen of the Great War (1914 – 1918) and the Second World War (1939 – 1945) but, appropriately, all subsequent wars and conflicts. Any life lost, is the ultimate sacrifice paid. Whilst some of the dignity and pageantry of Acts of Remembrance may well be absent this year, it remains important to take time to reflect, pause, and recall.

To assist with this there is now a list of the Fallen on our websites, together with some images. This has been the fruit of several years of personal research, and has continued to grow. In reality the number of Catholic casualties with direct links to our two churches is smaller than the published list. The expanded list names other family members of ‘our men.’ In my eyes to have omitted these family connections and failed to acknowledge some remarkable life-stories would have simply been wrong. As I wrote last weekend, I have truly befriended these men and the harsh reality of some of their lives not only makes them worthy of remembrance for the manner in which they died, but also for the incredible stamina with which they faced they own particular journey through life. Having hoped that by this juncture I may have been able to produce a publication rightfully acknowledging the sacrifice of our war dead such aspirations remain on hold due to the necessary limitations of not being able to conduct primary research at this time. Perhaps by another Remembrance Sunday their stories may have been brought to light for the benefit of a wider audience.

Aware that customary Remembrance Sunday activities will be different this year the town centres of both Heckmondwike and Cleckheaton have beautiful War Memorials. If when out, perhaps for exercise or the necessity of a food shop, you have the opportunity to pause in the memorial gardens and scan the large numbers of names on them, you may have the opportunity to befriend some in prayer. As I heard quoted recently; Even small pebbles make large ripples, so the lives of single casualties of war contributed to the wave of peace which was borne through sacrifice.

Of the twenty-eight casualties of the Great War so far listed on our websites, here are some facts about the men, hopefully ensuring that they are more to us, over a century on from their sacrifice, than is suggested in Eric Bogle’s lyrics for Willie McBride (or The Green Fields of France) when he writes: “or are you a stranger without even a name enshrined forever behind a glass pane in an ould photograph torn, tattered and stained?”

18 hailed from Yorkshire, 5 from Derbyshire, 2 from Liverpool, and 1 from Lincolnshire, Cheshire and Ireland.

5 were born on a Monday, 6 on a Tuesday, 6 on a Wednesday, 4 on a Thursday, 1 on a Friday, 4 on a Saturday and 2 on a Sunday.

4 died on a Monday, 2 on a Tuesday, 5 on a Wednesday, 3 on a Thursday, 3 on a Friday, 8 on a Saturday and 3 on a Sunday.

8 Received the Sacrament of Confirmation in the same ceremony at St. Patrick’s School-Chapel, Heckmondwike, in 1904.

2 of the men shared the same birthday, although were born in different years.

Prior to the outbreak of War 9 worked in the Textile industry, 8 as Miners, 4 as Labourers in various fields of work, 2 worked at the Heckmondwike Boot Company, 2 on the Railways, 1 was a Gardener, 1 for a local Gas Company, and 1 had served as a member of the Royal Irish Constabulary.

2 men were captured and died as Prisoners of War.

9 left a Widow. 18 Children lost their Father-figure; 1 child was born posthumously. 22 left one or both parents to survive them.

The eldest man to lose his life was 45: the youngest 18. The average age of the men was a little over twenty-five and a half years.

Of the 28 men, 12 had a blood or marital connection with another man whose name appears on the list; this includes 3 sets of brothers.

3 of the men spent some of their formative years “in care” away from their families. 1 of these was awarded the Military Medal.

2 Military Medals were awarded to our men for Acts of gallantry and devotion to duty under fire.

17 men have graves: 10 men have no known graves and are commemorated on collective Memorials: 1 man has a commemorative headstone in the Commonwealth War Cemetery where he is known to be buried.

In prayer we commend those associated with our churches who paid the ultimate sacrifice to the eternal care of Almighty God in the words of a couple of verses of the Hymn “O Valiant Hearts”:

“These were His servants, in His steps they trod,
Following through death the martyr’d Son of God.
Victor He rose; victorious too shall rise
They who have drunk His cup of Sacrifice.

O risen Lord, O Shepherd of our Dead,
Whose Cross has bought them and whose Staff has led –
In glorious hope their proud and sorrowing land
Commits her children to Thy gracious hand.”

(O Valiant Hearts J.S. Arkwright 1872 – 1954)

May we continue to be united in prayer, kindest thought and affection.

As ever, Fr. Nicholas