(An account
of the Commemoration Service held on 4 August 2014 in Cardiff)
It was almost
dark when I walked down the slope to Llandaff Cathedral to attend the National
Service of Commemoration to mark the Centenary of the outbreak of the First
World War. I was there to represent Quakers in Wales and felt slightly
apprehensive. Not because of the surroundings, I had walked down that slope
many times in my pre-Quaker existence, but because these occasions can so
easily turn into a celebration of victory or a glorification of war. I paused
to observe the crowd entering and was pleased to see the religious and cultural
diversity, from Jewish skullcaps to Muslim beards. Here and there a few
policemen for security because the Queen was represented by her cousin the Duke
of Gloucester and his wife.
Llandaff
Cathedral, like St David’s Cathedral, sits in a hollow and is the seat of the
Archbishop of the Church in Wales. It was severely damaged on 2 January 1941,
when a mine was dropped near it during the Cardiff Blitz. Of British
Cathedrals, only Coventry Cathedral was damaged more. Restoration was completed
on 6 August 1960.
The Cathedral
slowly filled with people representing our nation and by 21.30 all 350 seats
were filled. Most people were dressed up with chains of office, decorations and
other adornments. I felt rather plain in my simple black and grey outfit with a
single white poppy for decoration. I found myself seated between a Councillor
with three chains of office and a Member of the House of Lords, who was very
sociable. He noted my white poppy and during the half hour break till the start
of the service at 10pm we had a very amiable and varied discussion. He knew
about Quakers as he had been to a Quaker service in America recently but he was
unaware of Britain’s role in arming Israel, so I enlightened him and asked him
to do whatever he could about this injustice.
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