Norman Saunders - Remembrance Day

Hello and Welcome to Van Life Devotions. Today is Remembrance Day, a day that is set aside to remember the men and women who gave their lives in the wars that Australia has participated in.

Remembrance Day falls on the 11th of November each year. It came about in 1918 when, in November, the Germans called for an armistice – that’s the suspension of fighting - in order to secure a peace settlement. They accepted the allied terms of unconditional surrender. Then, at 11 am on 11 November 1918, the guns on the Western Front fell silent after more than four years of continuous warfare.

The 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month attained a special significance in the post-war years and became universally associated with the remembrance of those who had died in the war.

In Australia and other allied countries, 11 November became known as Armistice Day – a day to remember those who died in World War One. After World War Two, the Australian Government agreed to the United Kingdom’s proposal that Armistice Day be renamed Remembrance Day to commemorate those who were killed in both World Wars. Today, the loss of Australian lives from all wars and conflicts is commemorated on Remembrance Day and a major way that we are encouraged to do this is pausing for a minutes’ silence. Actually, it was an Australian journalist Edward Honey who proposed the silence. At about the same time, a South African statesman made a similar proposal to the British Cabinet, which endorsed it. King George V personally requested all the people of the British Empire suspend normal activities for two minutes.

Where I am standing here in Roma, which is about 5 hours west of Brisbane, is this magnificent street known as The Heroes Avenue and along here are 93 bottle trees (Brachychiton rupestre) that were all planted by 1920. Each tree originally bore a brass plaque stating the name of one of the 93 local men who fell during the First World War. The bottle tree was selected as it was a species commonly associated with Roma and it is thought that the first was planted in 1918 to commemorate the death of local soldier Lt Cpl Norman Saunders who was killed in France in 1916. Norman and his family were people of faith and attended the Church of England. While they were from Roma, Norman attended Toowoomba Grammar School where in 1914 he was in the 1st XV Rugby team and again in 1915. Also, in 1915 Norman was in the 1st 11 Cricket Team and was a School Prefect. It was in this same year that Norman went to Brisbane and enlisted in the Army on 20 July 1915. In just 15 months he would be killed in action. He was only 19. They’ve never found his grave and so his name was placed on the Villers-Bretonneux Memorial, a place that Leisl and I visited in 2014. This is the tree that was planted in Norman’s honour. It is located outside the Post Office and is known locally as the Tree of Knowledge.

On Remembrance Day, we pause to remember all the men and women of the Australian Defence Force who have made the ultimate sacrifice.

We are reminded of the words from the Apostle Paul who has written, “It is for freedom that Christ has set us free”(Galatians 5:1 NIV). Jesus Christ has set us free from the penalty of sin. However, Jesus was sacrificed for our freedom. He died in our place. And each time we take part in Communion, or the Eucharist or The Lord’s Supper, we pause and remember Christ’s sacrifice.

On this Remembrance Day we pause to remember the sacrifice of men and women who died to keep our nation free. We also remember the sacrifice of Jesus Christ who has freed us spiritually.

Let’s pray.

Dear God. Thank you for the many men and women who sacrificed their lives to keep our nation free. We will remember them. We also thank our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who sacrificed His life for our spiritual freedom. O God, preserve us who travel; surround us with your loving care; protect us from every danger; and bring us in safety to our journey’s end; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.