Dear Sir,

Can you imagine celebrating Christmas without hearing or singing O Come All Ye Faithful? Silent Night? Joy to the World? Silent Night? Deck the Halls with Boughs of Holly? Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.

Well, where were all those traditional well-known hymns with which our few faithful war veterans are familiar? Hymns that capture the mood of the moment.

Like Abide with Me,Eternal Father Strong to Save, The Day Thou Gavest Lord Is Ended, Onward Christian Soldiers, and so on. These mentioned hymns are the ones known to our present survivors. I am sure that they know these chestnut hymns by heart, having sung them since the end of the war some 80 years ago. And while singing them, they might have vividly visualise fallen comrades in the theatre of war.

To introduce new and unfamiliar hymns deprive the present veterans of participating in the service more so, as most of them do not and did not have copies at hand of the service programme.

I am patently aware of the youthful impetuosity of the generation of music directors of the Royal Bermuda Regiment to inject new hymns and new music into the service, but I respectfully observe that this day is a day of remembrance, and the old favourite hymns act as a poignant reminder of those colleagues who gave their lives for all of us.

Our present war veterans will not be with us for too long, so let’s play them out with what they are most familiar: Onward Christian Soldiers, The Day Thou Gavest Lord Has Ended.

Bermuda’s contribution to the war effort was about some 115 Bermudians, including one woman.

I trust that this humble observation is received in a constructive spirit of co-operation by those responsible for selecting the music for such a respectful, solemn and sombre occasion of remembrance.

In the words of Voltaire: “We owe respect to the living...”

Reveille: lest we forget.

LEIGHTON ROCHESTER

Hamilton Parish