Although current restrictions meant that Remembrance Week at ESMS looked a little different this year, the Schools still held a number of events across the week to honour our fallen Former Pupils alongside all who have made the ultimate sacrifice at war.
Ahead of Remembrance Week Mr McLeish, Archivist at SMC, organised for the refurbishment of our antechapel to mark the 75th anniversary of the end of World War 2. With the WW2 Memorial regilded and new up-lighting allowing the space to be lit up red for Remembrance Day, we are confident that our antechapel is a fitting tribute to our fallen Former Pupils. It is particularly poignant that Mr McLaren, who undertook the regilding process, was a Merchant Seaman who carried the stretcher of Simon Weston in the Falklands War.
A big thank you must go to the ESMS Thrift Shop, whose generous donation made this important refurbishment possible.
The Schools held a smaller wreath-laying service for Remembrance Day this year on Monday 9 November during an evening CCF parade in-line with current guidelines, after a three-school virtual Remembrance Assembly earlier that day. 441 poppy crosses representing each of our fallen Former Pupils were planted next to the War Memorial at Stewart’s Melville College, where CCF cadets gathered under floodlights and fog to represent the schools in laying wreaths and observing a two-minute silence to commemorate our fallen Former Pupils amongst millions of others who died at war.
In support of Poppy Scotland’s ‘Light Up Red’ campaign, ESMS also proudly lit Old College in red to mark Remembrance Day and raise awareness of the Scottish Poppy Appeal. The Poppy Appeal provide life-changing support to our Armed Forces community and Old College will continue to be illuminated until the end of Remembrance Week.
Alongside such visible acts of Remembrance, classes across ESMS have been marking the week with their own activities and lessons.
The ESMS Community joined in the Remembrance events by sending in their stories of wartime school during WW2 to feature in a video presentation. Alongside stories of former pupils who were on active service, Mary Erskine ladies in the war effort and stories from current pupils about their family members, the video is a moving tribute to all connected to ESMS who were involved in the war and it's available to watch here.
Please also take a look at our Remembrance Week album on Flickr to see some of our acts of Remembrance.
Lest we forget.
