On the evening of 5th June we stood still in Bayeux Cathedral for the fallen of the Battle of Normandy, for those who returned bearing the scars of war, those who mourned, and all who are victims of war.

“I’ll Walk with God,” Webster and Brodszky, British Army Band Tidworth, conducted by Captain Peter Brydon

As well as singing, I also drew up the Order of Service. Peace was a major theme. For me, the reading by Dietrich Bonhöffer stood out: he wrote the remembrance is “seeing that which is past, and which we remember today, with all its terrors and all its godlessness, and yet not being afraid, but hearing the preaching of peace.”

With Pipe Major Tosh MacDonald and Jedburgh Pipe Band. You can just glimpse the Choristers of Worcester College, Oxford along with the clergy and standards bearer.

On 5th June, the Spirit of Normandy Trust organised a ceremony at the statue of Viscount Montgomery. Five veterans were present, along with other VIPs including Viscount Henry Montgomery. It was moving to sing for them and to see the veterans take part in the ceremony: reading the Act of Remembrance, laying wreaths, and joining in the singing.

William Joseph Cliffe of the Ox and Bucks Light Infantry is buried in Vauville. On 4th June, we held a ceremony at his grave, on which is written:

“In My Heart He Will Always Live, The Best Of Sons That God Could Give. Mother”

He was twenty when he died.

Two US Second World War veterans attended the ceremony at the C47 memorial on 4th June, along with the descendants of those killed in the plane, Brigadier General von Frischen, German Air Force, Lieutenant General Jason T. Hinds, Deputy Commander US Air Force USAFE COM, Maurice Renaud, president of the AVA Association, and Emily Cintora, US Consul for Western France.

I’m looking forward to singing in Normandy. This year, I’ll sing the official UK ceremonies at the British Normandy Memorial and at Bayeux War Cemetery, along with the British Army Band Tidworth and the choir of Worcester College Oxford, as well as ceremonies in Bayeux Cathedral, Vauville, and Arromanches.

I’ll be singing for US veterans at the C47 Memorial in Picauville, and at the city hall in Caen, which is located in a beautiful abbey. In Caen, the organisation has asked for Gregorian Chant to give a special atmosphere in the closters, so I’ve been busy preparing a beautiful programme which includes Hildegard of Bingen.

I’ll also sing at a memorial for Canadian airmen in Grangues, a stunning village in a valley with its own water source.

In the last few months, I’ve worked closely with CWGC to organize the music and liturgy for two of the ceremonies. I’m really excited to witness the ceremonies taking place, and to hear the choir and the band.

But most of all, it will be lovely to meet veterans and their carers again. This can also be sad, as each year I’m reminded of those who can no longer make the trip. As you may know, I’m recovering from shoulder surgery so it’s going to be a tough tour, but nowhere near as tough as it must be for the veterans, many of whom are over one hundred years old. It is really a deep honour to support them making their Normandy pilgrimage.

I was touched to have been invited to sing for ANZAC Day by the New Zealand Embassy to the Netherlands. The embassy organised the traditional dawn ceremony, with beautiful Maōri elements such as the karanga (a call) as we approached the war cemetery and a waiata (a community song) after the Ambassador’s speech. I sang “Going Home” and led the national anthems.

Perhaps most moving of all were the words of Atatürk from 1934: Those heroes that shed their blood and lost their lives… You are now lying in the soil of a friendly country. Therefore rest in peace. There is no difference between the Johnnies and the Mehemets to us where they lie side by side here in this country of ours… you, the mothers, who sent their sons from far away countries wipe away your tears; your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace. After having lost their lives on this land they have become our sons as well.

For me, this captures the spirit of remembrance: reconciliation, the acknowledgment of suffering, and, through this, the avoidance of future conflict and war.

CWGC Westduin Cemetery, The Hague, the Netherlands, 25th April 2025.