Inauguration

The Friend reports on the inauguration of the Quaker Service Memorial in Staffordshire

Several hundred people travelled to Staffordshire from all over Britain, on Saturday 20 April, for the inauguration of the Quaker Service Memorial at the National Memorial Aboretum.

A number of members of the Friends Ambulance Unit (FAU) and Friends Relief Service (FRS) were in attendance, together with family members and friends, people involved in creating and building the Memorial, as well as Friends and attenders from Meetings across Britain and representatives of Britain Yearly Meeting.

The programme for the day involved a variety of contributions, readings and worship. These were held both in a marque, specially set up for the occasion, and at the memorial. It was, a Friend said, a ‘day of remembrance, reunion, celebration and fellowship’.

The formal inauguration, at 12.00, was held at the memorial sculpture, which commemorates the work of the FAU and FRS between 1939 and 1948.

Sibyl Ruth, a Birmingham-based writer and Friend, read UA Fanthorpe’s poem ‘Friends Meeting House, Frenchay, Bristol’. 

A very moving Meeting for Worship was held in the open air. Anthony Wilson, clerk to the Quaker Service Memorial Trust, reflected on ‘the sound of oyster catchers, chaffinches and blackbirds’ in the background.

An attender said: ‘At the Memorial a strange silence descended upon the Meeting; not really a silence at all, but an almost tangible welter of thought and remembrance, to which each ministry added more layers, raising its volume, hastening its tempo.

‘Amidst the testimonies of service given, of courage and sacrifice made, perhaps the most poignant reminder: not all who wished to serve had been able to do so; their witness to peace, though hidden in solitude and obscurity, equally as valiant.’

In the afternoon Guardian journalist Martin Wainwright talked of the involvement of his father Richard with the FAU. Michael Snellgrove and Christa Appleton read extracts from the memoirs of Edith Snellgrove, who had served in the FRS.

Jenny Carson, of the University of Manchester, reflected on the research she had undertaken for her PhD, interviewing members of the FAU and FRS. Jenny spoke of the experience as ‘a privilege.’ She talked of the generosity of Friends, the help given, of hearing stories, of digitising archives, and also of the close ties she had formed with her contributors.

Guests, during the day, were also able to enjoy, in the marquee, the Quaker Service Memorial exhibition. It was conceived and produced by the University of Manchester Humanitarian and Conflict Response Institute.  The exhibition, which is available for loan, contains factual accounts, images and stories of the work of the FAU and FRS.

Lois Lodge, of Dorking Meeting, reflected: ‘I think it is so symbolic and significant to have a circular Peace-related memorial, to counterpoint the Armed Forces Memorial, situated in a clearing in the woods between bee hives and a meadow, with a flypast of fowl and a chorus of birdsong rather than military bands.’

A Friend commented: ‘The beautiful weather really made the day. The quality of the light around the stone was marvellous.’ 

For a non-Friend present, whose father had served in the China Convoy, it was ‘a moving and important day ... the full extent of which will take some time and reflection to fully make sense of.’

Ken Russell, of Leicester Meeting, said: ‘It was the most inspiring Quaker event I have been to. Sometimes it is difficult to comprehend the extent of Quaker service at that time. I felt it there - especially seeing people who had served in the FAU and FRS.’

Lyn Smith,  author of Pacifists in Action: The Experience of the Friends Ambulance Service in the Second World War, described it as ‘a truly superb occasion: a lovely spring day full of sunshine, bird song and good company.’

She added: ‘The whole occasion was poignant, moving and so appropriate to the ethos that had guided these young men and women into their humanitarian service, whether on the home front, or in far-flung places abroad.’

Linda Skallam, of Leek Meeting, praised the simple design of the sculpture and the ‘warm, golden colour of the stone’ and its location.  She echoed the opinion of many in describing the quotes that had been selected for the memorial as ‘just right.’  ‘I felt’, she added, ‘at one there - at one with nature.’

Berry Dicker, of Lichfield Meeting, said: ‘The day was incredibly moving. The Meeting for Worship was so meaningful and the ministry inspiring in its depth. It was so full of the Quaker spirit. It was wonderful to see people in their nineties, who had served, who had put Quaker ideals into practice. It was one of the most special days of my life.’

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