If you’ve visited the Remembrance Garden recently, you may have noticed that our Unknown Soldier had been standing a little wonky. Time, weather, and a worn post had left him leaning, his stance less certain than when he first arrived. Over the past week, we’ve given him a gentle wash and polish, and replaced the rotten post that had been struggling to hold him up with two sturdy new ones. He’s now standing straighter and prouder, if a little taller, ready to weather a few more seasons. In time, we’ll look to replace him, as the years and weather have begun to leave their mark and are beginning to show his age.
Our soldier is one of the Royal British Legion’s commemorative silhouettes, life-size, weather-resistant, and created as a striking tribute to those who served and never came home. These figures have been placed in gardens, churchyards, and public spaces across the UK, quietly holding their place in our landscapes and reminding us of the human cost of war.
Here in Whittington, our Unknown Soldier stands within the Remembrance Garden – a space for reflection and gratitude, now cared for by a small group of local volunteers. We have only recently begun tending this place, but already it has become a garden where we nurture not only plants, but also the symbols and stories of those who served and sacrificed.
Tomorrow, 15th August 2025, marks the 80th anniversary of Victory over Japan (VJ) Day, when Japan announced its surrender, bringing the Second World War to an end. For many in the UK, it brought relief and homecoming. For others, the day is bound up with loss, grief, and the memory of battles far from home. It is also impossible to mark VJ Day without acknowledging the devastating atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki just days earlier, acts that hastened the war’s conclusion but caused unimaginable suffering. The history is complex, and its moral weight is not easy to reconcile.
For me, VJ Day is also personal. My grandfather was aboard HMS Cornwall when it was sunk by Japanese forces in 1942. Many lost their lives that day, and the flowers I will lay tomorrow are for him, for them, and for those whose names we do not know. The flowers will be red and white, the colours of remembrance poppies, but also the colours of the Japanese flag. They are a small gesture to honour the lives lost on both sides, and to recognise the shared hope that such conflicts never happen again.
We are fortunate here in Whittington. The Remembrance Garden contains no fresh graves, no new names to carve. Our work is the tending of memory – cleaning, straightening, planting, and keeping these stories alive for future generations. It is a privilege to stand in peace among the flowers, to care for an Unknown Soldier who represents so many, and to remember the cost of the peace we enjoy.
