Weekes' Weekly News

Dear Sacred Heart Kew Families,

Last Friday we paused at school, as we remembered those brave men and women who fought and served in wars, sacrificing their lives for the freedom we enjoy today. We not only remembered the people who died in battle during World War I, but we also remembered the men, women and children who have died due to the many other wars and conflicts since. Remembrance Day is a special time, a time to stop, to pray, to listen, to remember and to thank those who gave the ultimate sacrifice for us. 

Our Year Four children led our service as we prayed for peace in our world. We all prayed that people all over the world may have the chance to live in harmony, respecting all cultures and religions. It was our Year Four children who asked for guidance to become peacemakers, having the courage, wisdom and strength to build a better world. 

We also prayed for those who have died in war and given their lives for our country. That they may find peace in Heaven with God. We prayed for all those who have suffered as a result of war. May they know true peace and be comforted and helped by the love and care of others. We also prayed for the families who have lost a loved one because of war. That they find peace knowing their loved one is safe in Heaven. We also prayed that the children of Sacred Heart Primary School Kew treat each other justly and fairly in the classroom and on the playground. May we find peaceful solutions to our problems and the courage to stay strong when times get tough. 

As is tradition at Sacred Heart Kew each year when we observe Remembrance Day we hear different stories and different poems about the past. This year we heard about the Unknown Soldier. Each time I hear about the Unknown Soldier, I think of the thousands of different faces who went off to war so young. I also think of the many different faces of the older soldiers who returned, who march and remember their lost mates, the many lost unknown soldiers. It’s through these stories and poems that we remember these young and brave men and women who fought and served our country all those years ago so that my life and the lives of us all, would be better, so different in 2023.  

The Unknown Soldier (Australian War Memorial)

The original unknown soldier was entombed in Westminster Abbey in London on 11 November 1920, two days after being brought from France. His body had been selected by General Wyatt from among four, each draped in the Union Jack; they had been recovered from the British battlefields of the Somme, Aisne, Arras, and Ypres. The soldier was assumed to have been British (though he could have been a Canadian, a New Zealander, or even an Australian) but he was intended to represent all the young men of the British Empire killed during the Great War. On the same date, an unknown French soldier was buried under the Arc de Triomphe, and several other allied nations soon entombed unknown soldiers of their own.

Plans to honour an unknown Australian soldier were first put forward in the 1920s but it was not until 1993 that one was at last brought home. To mark the 75th anniversary of the end of the First World War, the body of an unknown Australian soldier was recovered from Adelaide Cemetery near Villers-Bretonneux in France and transported to Australia. After lying in state in King's Hall in Old Parliament House, Unknown Australian Soldier was interred in the Hall of Memory at the Memorial on 11 November 1993. He was buried with a bayonet and a sprig of wattle in a Tasmanian blackwood coffin, and soil from the Pozières battlefield was scattered in his tomb.The Unknown Australian Soldier represents all Australians who have been killed in war.

After hearing about the Unknown Soldier we gave thanks and paused for our own thoughts. In our hearts and minds we thanked those who fought and served for us. We thanked those who cared for and supported our soldiers. We thanked those who gave their lives for us. We thanked those who returned to Australia and who were never quite the same. We thanked those who supported our brave men and women, lending our country their precious family members as they set sail to all parts of the world. We thanked all those who, to this day, ensure that we live in peace in 2023. Our Year Four children led us reverently and respectfully, doing all our fallen heroes proud.  

Lest We Forget.

Wishing everyone a lovely weekend. 

Kind Regards, 

Ed Weekes 

School Principal