On the morning of Armistice Day (Friday 11 November) the school came together to honour the ultimate sacrifice made by former members of the College community, with two services of remembrance in St Luke’s Chapel.
Out of the 334 Old Epsomians (OEs) who lost their lives in active service – 163 lost their lives in the First World War, 151 in the Second World War and 20 died in other conflicts throughout the world.
Poppy crosses are displayed in the remembrance garden every year, each cross representing one of these 334 OEs. The labels on each features the name, House, rank, regiment details and details on the death of each individual. The Lower School Gardening Club assists in the planting of these in the run-up to Armistice Day.
The College grounds have been awash with red poppies for the past few weeks – from the striking display greeting visitors at the front entrance, to the Garden of Remembrance and the larger red poppies dotted around the estate. Head Gardener, Jason O’Keefe, creates impactful Tommy silhouettes and poppies on the grounds across the campus.
The College also runs the Fifth Form CCF ‘Adopt a Soldier’ project. The College Archivist, Rebecca Worthy, issues each Fifth Form cadet an OE soldier who died in conflict. They receive a page of information about the soldier’s life and the nature of their death in conflict. On Armistice Day each cadet wears the name of their assigned soldier on their uniform and a badge with the soldier’s details. They are then asked to speak about their soldier in their Houses, in class and to anyone who happens to stop and ask them.
