A Day of Memories

Like many other Salvation Army Officers I was involved in pastoral care at various locations after the 7/7 bombings - at the mortuary as families came to view their loved ones, at the Family Centre as people came in looking for information and Russell Square Tube Station as various teams searched and recovered people from the wreckage and train station.  I was also very privileged to attend a funeral for a young man who came from my area. A few months later I was also Chaplain to the survivors (served teas and coffees etc and was available if anyone wanted assistance) who came to the inquest and enquiry held at The City Hall, London.

So today it is good to 'stop' for a few minutes and remember those who lost their lives, their families and friends and also those who survived and now have to live with their injuries and memories.

This morning I attended The Creekmouth Preservation Society - the photo shows two of the members (Charlie and Iris).  The Society is endeavouring to keep alive the memories of a village that once stood at Creekmouth but which was destroyed in the 1953 floods. The Society (other than me) is currently made up of members who either lived in the village as children or had a relative who lived there. 

This is the first meeting I have attended for long time but I am interested in local history, the industries, how people lived, worked and died in such areas.. Also it is fascinating to listen to people's memories -take Charlie for example - he can remember as a young boy sitting on the wall along the River Thames at Creekmouth and watching London being bombed during the 2nd WW.

Today is the Commissioning and Ordination of New Salvation Army Officers and my mind ventures back to my own Commissioning and Ordination (alongside Nigel) in May, 1985 and all that has taken place since then to now - 27 years later...

Lisburn, Northern 1985-90
Jessore, Bangladesh 1990-93
Chalk Farm, London 1993-95
Paignton, Devon 1995-1998
Accra, Ghana 1998-2001
Leigh on Sea, Essex 2001-2004
Barking, Essex 2004 - and we are still here :))

To look backward for a while is to refresh the eye, to restore it, and to render it the more fit for its prime function of looking forward. ~Margaret Fairless Barber, The Roadmender