Anzac Day gatherings prompt me to reflect on words of hope given to people familiar with war and ongoing conflict.
This year, in preparing the presentation for the annual Middle School Anzac Day Assembly, I had the great privilege of listening to Carey staff member and member of a Carey foundation family Jane Simpson reading the thoughts of Lloyd Swanton as we worked to create supporting images for the tributes to Old Carey Grammarian Stuart Swanton – you can read the tribute by Carey archivist Helen Wolff and read more in the Middle School Anzac Day Assembly booklet. Stuart’s example reminds us of the need to work for the good of others no matter the circumstances as we wait for God’s Kingdom to come.
As part of my research into Stuart’s time on Ambon, I have come to learn more about a contemporary of Stuart’s, Charles Henry Patmore, who was the initial chaplain to members of Gull Force until he was killed in an explosion on 15 February 1943. I was particularly moved by the ways those who knew Charles remembered him, especially his wife, Helen, in ways like the memorial gate at a church in Toolamba in central Victoria.
Middle School chapels this term have had a slightly different focus as we learned about Vietnam veteran Edward King whose tribute can be accessed here. While Edward did not attend Carey, his war experiences serve as a reminder to current and future generations of the tragedy of war. In recent days, Edward was admitted to a major Melbourne hospital as part of a planned operation to try again to restore some of Eddie’s sense of taste, smell and hearing that was lost due to his deployment as a 21-year-old. Eddie is slowly recovering at home and may his words and experiences help us to be peacemakers.
If you have time in the coming days, can I encourage members of the Carey community to continue to remember those who have suffered and died in the defence of freedom and spend time in the grounds of the William Carey Chapel, particularly near the wooden cross which has at its base the 2024 Anzac Day wreath. May both the wreath and the space encourage us to pray for those living in troubled places. Hopefully the following prayer will help guide our decision making.
Let us pray.
God of love and liberty, thank you for the peace and security so many of us enjoy. We remember those who gave up their today to ensure we had a better tomorrow. We pray for those whose lives have been permanently altered by conflict. Make us a people zealous for peace, and hasten the day when nation shall not lift up sword against nation neither learn war anymore. This we pray in the name of the one who gave his life for the sake of the world: Jesus the Prince of Peace. Amen.
Lest We Forget.
Revd Scott Bramley
Middle School Chaplain
