Hundreds of people packed around Southport Monument on Remembrance Sunday as they heard Reverend Ben Dyer insist that “those who built this memorial dared to hope that the future could be different., that the world might become happier, kinder, more just, more loving”.
There was a huge turnout for the annual service in Southport town centre which saw a parade from the Armed Forces Hub on Wesley Street to Southport War Memorial ahead of the service, and then a second parade along Lord Street.
Veterans, cadets and other marchers took the salute from VIP guests including Merseyside High Sheriff Hazell Snell, Southport MP Patrick Hurley and Sefton Council deputy leader Cllr Paulette Lappin.
Extra security measures in place this year saw Lord Street and other town centre roads closed to traffic from 8am and buses diverted.
The service was led by Vicar of Christ Church Reverend Ben Dyer.
Christ Church Vicar Reverend Ben Dyer said:
“Around us today, carved into the stone of this memorial, are hundreds of names. Names of men and women who left this town, their families, their friends, and the lives they knew, and never returned.
“Each name represents a life. A son or daughter, a brother or sister, a husband or wife, a friend. “Someone with hopes and dreams, with plans for the future. Someone who might have imagined growing old, raising a family, enjoying the simple pleasures of life. Futures that were never lived.
“In 1923 this memorial was unveiled. And among those who took part in that ceremony were children whose parents had been killed in the war. Today we stand where those children once stood.
“And yet, carved into this memorial is this message of hope: ‘Remember that the men whose names live on these walls died in youth or prime that future generations might inherit a happier world and a human society more righteous and more loving than those brave men and their generation knew.’
“Those words were written for those children, for their children, and for generations yet to come. “They were written for us. We are the generations who inherited the future they never saw.
“And what strikes me is the hope those words express. In the aftermath of terrible suffering, surrounded by grief and shattered families, those who built this memorial still dared to hope that the future could be different. That the world might become happier, kinder, more just, more loving.
“And hope lies at the very heart of the Christian faith. The belief that suffering and death do not have the final word. That even in the darkest moments, God has not abandoned His world.
But hope is more than wishing things were different. It calls us to act, to work towards the future we long to see.
“And so today, we must ask ourselves: have we built the world they hoped for?
“We have much to be thankful for. Yet wars still rage, hatred still divides, and the hope of a more loving world remains unfinished. We cannot give back to those who died the futures they lost. But we can choose what we do with the future we have inherited.
“Where there is hatred, we can choose love. Where there is division, we can seek unity. Where there is conflict, we can work for peace. And so may we honour their sacrifice, not simply in the wreaths we lay or the silence we keep, but in the lives we lead. And with God’s help, may we leave to those who come after us a world a little happier, a little more righteous, and a little more loving.”
Southport Royal British Legion Chairman David Adams said:
“The act of Remembrance is as important today as it has always been whether through cultural tradition, collective commemoration or in quiet moments of personal reflection. It is important that we never forget.”
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