The annual Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance at is taking place at London’s Royal Albert Hall this weekend. The year’s event will celebrate the men and women who fought in World War Two in 1944, commemorating those who fought on D-Day and at Monte Cassino and Kohima. The event will also look back on recent conflicts – this year marks 10 years since UK forces ended combat operations in Afghanistan – and there will be a celebration of the children of those that serve in the armed forces.
Grief, pride and optimism were at the forefront of a ceremony which included stirring performances from Tom Jones and the military bands. The symbolism is always moving. As the autumn leaves fall, reminding us of the past glories of summer, so the old soldiers and their children and grandchildren gather in the Royal Albert Hall to remember old comrades, and witness a silent rain of red poppy petals.
In this year’s festival all the familiar elements were in place. There was the procession of standards of the Royal British Legion – whose festival this is – founded just over a century ago to care for injured and retired members of the armed forces. There was the procession of Chelsea Pensioners, the muster of men and women of the three armed forces, the ceremony of drum-laying, and finally the hymns and prayers of the Service of Remembrance. Actor Adrian Lester was the evening’s quietly dignified host.
What felt somewhat different this year was the sheer weight of memory, which meant that the displays of musical prowess from various armed forces bands, the Orchestra of the Household Division, and the Countess of Wessex String Orchestra seemed less prominent than usual. What took centre-stage were the tales of bravery and sacrifice associated with anniversaries of significant military campaigns. We saw these projected on screens, told by service personnel or their families in cases where the soldiers themselves had been killed in action or have passed on.
This year was especially rich in them. There’s the 80th anniversary of three campaigns from the Second World War: the Battle for Rome, the little-known but bitterly fought battles to defeat the Japanese in North-Eastern India, and most momentous of all, the D-Day landings and Battle of Normandy. There’s the 25th anniversary of the war in Kossovo, where British soldiers are still keeping the peace, and the 10th anniversary of the end of the Afghanistan campaign. And there’s the 75th anniversary of the founding of NATO, a date which may not hold much resonance for the President-Elect of the US but which still inspires hearts and minds over here, if the stirring performance of Allied Resilience by the Band of HM Royal Marines Portsmouth is anything to go by.
The stories spoke of pride and a joy in service, even in the midst of deep grief. We heard from two comrades in the Afghan campaign who helped each other recover after almost being killed by a Taliban car-bomb. We heard from a veteran of the Battle of Kohima who said of that gruelling campaign: “I was only 24 but I felt as if was 100”. We also heard from a nine-year-old member of an armed forces children’s choir in Catterick who said without a trace of self-pity, “My daddy has been away for half my life.” Most moving of all was the long, winding procession of members of all three armed forces, each laying one of 457 roses in memory of every soldier killed in Afghanistan.
But as always, optimism and pride were the keynotes of the festival, embodied in those wonderful marches and themed classical pieces from the aforementioned bands, along with the Central Band of the Royal Air Force. Alongside them was a clutch of big-name singers which for me were the only slightly jarring note in the festival. Mostly they brought a poppy, sentimental quality to the evening, which compromised the stoicism and dignity shown by everyone else on that stage. But full marks must go to Tom Jones for bringing a rugged, bluesy quality to I Won’t Crumble With You If You Fall, and to South African soprano Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha. Her floating, rapturous rendition of the Pie Jesu from Fauré’s Requiem was the festival’s musical highlight.
With the BBC televising the event, read on for everything you need to know about how to watch the Festival of Remembrance 2024 on TV. The Festival of Remembrance will be available to watch on BBC One and iPlayer at 9pm on Saturday 9th November. Adrian Lester will host the annual tribute to the fallen and there will be a line-up of talented artists, including Welsh singing legend Sir Tom Jones, Jack Savoretti, Alexandra Burke, Masabane Cecilia Rangwanasha, Samantha Barks and Jake Isaac, performing at the event. The Central Band of the Royal Air Force and The Bands of HM Royal Marines will also provide military music. Tim Davie, BBC Director-General said: “The BBC is honoured to bring remembrance content to our audiences with special programming to commemorate those who served in the armed forces and to pay tribute to all those who made the ultimate sacrifice.”
