Katie Byng-Hall

Waldegrave School for Girls

On the 11th of November 1918, armistice was signed to end the most destructive war ever to have been fought: World War I.   This date has been remembered from that day forth as Remembrance Day, a day for commemoration and mourning of all the soldiers who have ever died serving Great Britain.  This year is even more significant than ever, as 2014 is the centenary of the commencement of the Great War. 

Richmond Theatre chose to honour this landmark by bringing a performance of Nicholas Wright’s adaptation of Pat Barker’s war novel Regeneration to its stage this October.   

The play follows the famous war poet Siegfried Sassoon as he is admitted to hospital with a false case of shell shock to avoid court martial.  The audience watches as he befriends fellow poet Wilfred Owen, and they share stories of their war experiences.  Critics have called it vibrant and sharply delivered.

Question is, should there continue to be such a huge national commemoration a whole century after this terrible event, or should we try to forget the mistakes of our past and move on?   

The Royal British Legion website says the day is designed “to remember all those who have given their lives for the peace and freedom we enjoy today.”  The majority of the population agree with this statement, one person saying, “These people gave their lives for liberty, and we wouldn’t have the lives we have today without them; they deserve to be remembered.”

However, some people feel that since the war happened so any years ago, we should aim to move on rather than continually be forced to revisit something which can be painful.  Someone with this view said, “It’s an awfully long time ago and we should be looking to the future not to the past.”

This subject will always be a delicate one as so many people have a very strong emotional attachment to what happened.  In my opinion it is vital for us to remember and mark what our ancestors went through despite the fact that it may be traumatic.  We must learn from yesterday, to inform a better tomorrow.