Brentwood School holds Remembrance Service

Brentwood School pupils and staff joined forces today to mark the centenary of the end of The Great War and remember all the men and women who have given their lives in the two World Wars and subsequent conflicts.

Special Remembrance Services were held across the campus, but this year’s tributes, on the eve of the Armistice Centenary, held a special resonance. “We gather today, just a few days from the most important act of remembrance that we are likely to witness in our lifetime”, said School Chaplain, the Revd Dr Adrian McConnaughie.

Addressing a congregation of Fifth and Sixth Formers in Brentwood Cathedral, the Revd Dr McConnaughie also reminded students and staff of the important role the School had played during the First World War and asked those present to renew their commitment to peace.

As temporary barracks for Territorial Battalions – so packed, that many men had to sleep on tables in the Chemistry laboratories – to a Voluntary Aid Detachment Hospital, the School played its part in the war effort. In fact, the School field, a compound for three battalion transports, was so damaged that traces of dug trenches could still be seen 10 years later