Longhouses

On a recent business trip to The Gambia, I made an unexpected stop at Fajara Commonwealth War Cemetery. It turned out to be one of the most moving experiences of my visit. Fajara is the final resting place of 203 Commonwealth servicemen from the Second World War. British, Canadian, Australian, New Zealand and African soldiers and airmen lie there. Christians, Jews and Muslims, from different countries and backgrounds, united in service and sacrifice. We remember Dunkirk, the Battle of Britain and Normandy, but rarely the role West Africa played in the war. The Gambia was an important Allied naval and aviation base, protecting Atlantic shipping and supporting military operations. Walking between the headstones, reading the names and ages, I was struck by how young so many were. Joe Shulman, a Canadian airman, died in January 1943 when his aircraft crashed shortly after take-off. Sergeant Henry Beanland, a 22-year-old RAF airman from Yorkshire, died in July 1944. He left behind a wife, Mary Betty. Young men whose lives had barely begun. My thoughts inevitably turned to my own family. Both my grandfathers served in the Second World War, while my great-grandfather fought in the trenches of the First. All three survived and returned home. Had any of them not returned, my family might never have existed as it does today. My children are here because those men survived. Standing among the graves, I thought about the families who were not so fortunate, the marriages cut short, the children never born and the generations that never had a chance. I am now in my forties. Many of those buried around me were barely half my age. I also wondered how many of their relatives had ever been able to visit. Some lie thousands of miles from home, yet more than eighty years later, their graves remain beautifully maintained by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and its dedicated local staff. That deserves enormous gratitude. We can never repay those who gave their lives, but we can remember them and appreciate the freedoms their sacrifices helped secure. This Armistice Day, spare a thought for those who never came home, especially those resting far from their families. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them. Lest we forget. 🌺