The Spirit of Normandy Trust organised their annual ceremony at ‘Monty’s’ statue. This year, two British veterans, Ken Hay and Henry Rice, were present, making the pilgrimage to the battle grounds of Normandy. Ken Hay spoke about seeing the names on the memorial and being able to remember the faces.

Henry David Montgomery, 3^rd Viscount Montgomery of Alamein gave a speech together with representatives of the region. There was a strong presence from the British Armed Forces, including the Air Cadets and members of the Gurkha Regiment. It was really moving to see the veterans lay their wreaths and to experience the warm support of the public.

I led the hymns and anthems and sang with Jedburgh Pipe Band during the ceremony.

This year’s trip to Normandy began with a small ceremony at a single grave. Private William Joseph Cliffe, a batman, was only twenty when he was shot whilst delivering a message for Captain ‘Chum’ Budds. Chum visited the grave every year until 2004, having lived with the sense of guilt that it was due to his request that Cliffe was killed. His nephew, Shaun Caveney, continued the tradition and handed it to Paul Foster.

It is intensely poignant visiting a single grave and hearing the story of one person from the Normandy Campaign. Sometimes the scale of the tragedy of war becomes clouded in the face of statistics: hearing a single person’s story restores the focus on the human cost.

I’ll be travelling to Normandy to sing for the D-Day commemorations, including British, Canadian, and French ceremonies in Vauville, Colleville-Montgomery, Bayeux Cathedral, Arromanches, and in the beautiful commune of Grangues, for organisations including the Spirit of Normandy Trust and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. I’ve also worked behind the scenes for the latter putting together an Order of Service for the ceremony in Bayeux Cathedral, which will have some very beautiful moments.

This year I was honoured to be invited by the Australian Ambassador to the Netherlands, His Excellency Dr. Greg French, to sing the ANZAC Day ceremony in The Hague. He chose two poignant songs that were fitting: the first, the ANZAC version of “I am Australian” which is about how remembrance can unite people, and the second, “A Song for Grace,” which is the personal story of a lady who lost her brother in the war. You can listen in the video below.

There were over 250,000 casualties in the Battle of Arras. For perspective, that is the equivalent of the entire population of Brighton or Aberdeen. It was brutal: characteristic of the First World War it was men and boys fighting against machines, machines designed to obliterate.

Some 24,000 allied troops spent their last night in the tunnels under Arras, rushing out before dawn on 9th April into the first day of battle. Each year, at dawn on 9th April, ambassadors and representatives of the nations involved in the battle gather for a dawn ceremony at the Wellington Tunnels. This year there were representatives from New Zealand as the tunnels were dug by largely Māori tunnelers.

The ceremony included readings of letters and diaries: it focused on the experiences and memories of those who fought in the battle., not on politics or victories My two songs were also from the First World War. It was poignant to see the peaceful sunrise knowing the hell the men went through in 1917.

Together with singers Nataliia Cioban and Marnie Baumer, I joined the Band of Liberation for a fundraising concert for their trip to Normandy this June. The band will support ceremonies of one of the British Parachute Regimental Association. Although I won’t be able to join them in Normandy, I was glad to support their tour by singing during their concert in Leiden’s City Hall: it was so much fun sharing the stage with Nataliia and Marnie!

The Dutch Veterans’ Institution provides support for veterans and their loved ones. 

Singing at the Veterans’ Institution is a beautiful and emotionally challenging experience. On the one hand, there is the pleasure of sharing the joy I find in music with others. On the other hand, there is the awareness of the physical and mental suffering of those who chose to serve in the Dutch armed forces.

Lyrics can take on different meanings in this context. The silence of “Silent Night” May be a truce, rather than simply the middle of the night. “Amazing Grace” feels like it is about the luck – or grace – of surviving. 

It was a joy and an honour to join Natiliia and Slava Cioban, the Band of Liberation and Simon Dubbelaar to perform in their annual Christmas concert.