SYMONS, Joseph Henry Fulton. Gunner, Bermuda Militia Artillery (Royal Garrison Artillery), no. 1099, killed in action October 20, 1918 (aged 32), listed among Bermuda men who arrived in England on Active Service in June 1916. He was son of William and Elizabeth Symons of St. George's, born 1886, baptised August 12 at St. Peter's Church, and left a daughter. His death was reported in the column "East End News" in The Royal Gazette, December 3, 1918.

WHITECROSS, Harold Collins. Private, Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps, reported missing October 4, 1917 (aged 22), born September 2, 1895 in Pembroke, son of John Samuel Whitecross and Elizabeth Tucker, née Young. A wreath in his memory was laid by his mother at the Bermuda Cenotaph on the day of its unveiling on May 6, 1925.

Remembrance Day in 2008 began with a dawn rain, but cleared and remained a clear, early winter day of the type that has to been seen in Bermuda to be truly appreciated, especially the light upon the ocean.

It was a new day to remember and a day of remembrance to reflect upon those of old who went to war "for all our tomorrows", and to think of the others who came not back. A crowd gathered at the Cenotaph on Front Street and the lawn between the monument and the Cabinet Building was awash with the magnificent dress of the Band and Corps of Drums of the Bermuda Regiment.

Later, the Salvation Army Bermuda Divisional Band, the North Village Band, the Bermuda Islands Pipe Band, the Somerset Brigade Band and the Wesley Methodist Church Choir brought more pageantry to the ceremony, which was attended by the Governor of Bermuda, the Premier of Bermuda, and other dignitaries, representing the veterans, the Parliament, the Police and Fire Services, the Defence Board and Bermuda Regiment and the Corporation of the City of Hamilton.

Before Governor Sir Richard Gozney and Premier Ewart Brown arrived, the surviving veterans of the Second World War and representatives of other veterans and a few Bermudian soldiers of more recent conflicts marched eastward on Front Street to the Cenotaph to applause from the crowd. The mustering of these members of former forces was then inspected by His Excellency the Governor, prior to the laying of wreaths in memory of the Bermudians who were lost on active duty in the major wars of the 20th century. His Excellency brought a great smile, upon inspection, to the face of Corporal Debbie Symons of the Bermuda Regiment, who marched with the veterans in honour of her grandfather, Corporal John W. DeShield, Bermuda Contingent of the 1st Battalion Caribbean Regiment.

Corp. DeShield, who passed away in January this year at the age of 100, was at that time the oldest veteran of World War Two. Corp. Symons carried the medals and a portrait of Corp. Deshields in the parade. As has been the tradition for 90 years, at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month all stood in silence for two minutes in remembrance of "The Glorious Dead". The time records the end of the First World War on November 11, 1918, by which time 1.7 million men, including 90 Bermudians had perished on home and overseas duty.

In the Second World War, 34 men and a woman died in service, and one Bermudian was killed during the Korean War that followed. Bermudians have since served in Vietnam and other conflicts of recent decades.

Remembrance Day is a period of remembering departed comrades, and of reminding, for some of later generations have been spared participation in war, largely due to the abolition of conscription in some places. Thus some of us need to be reminded of past sacrifices of our families and ancestors and that is increasingly the case, as the last veterans of the 1939-1945 war decline in number through natural causes.

Reminding and remembrance are also about record keeping, which, in time of war, often presented great difficulties. Of the 1,700,000 lost in the First World War, for example, the remains of many men, including some Bermudians, were never recovered. Thus the memorial at Thiepval on the Somme is a monument to 73,357 soldiers whose bodies were never found.

The headstone of one Bermudian in France states in stone that in the grave is "believed to be the remains" of the lost serviceman. Most cenotaphs exhibit the names of war losses, but here "The Glorious Dead" remain quite nameless and a Book of Remembrance in the Cathedral contains but blank pages.

A series of plaques hang in the Warriors' Chapel in that church, but they are incomplete. A smaller cenotaph, once given a place of honour in the middle of Square at St. George's, but now to the side, records the men of the Bermuda Militia Artillery lost in World War One, while a similar obelisk in Victoria Park notes the dead of both great wars of the Bermuda Volunteer Rifle Corps.

Further research by Mrs. A.C.H. Hallett and the Bermuda Maritime Museum suggests a complete list of the war dead is now at hand, so perhaps for the 400th anniversary of the settlement of Bermuda next year, suitable bronze plaques could be added to the Bermuda Cenotaph. Would you like to donate such memorials?

War records present many difficulties for remembrance, as in the example of the two men mentioned above. Joseph Henry Fulton Symons, was noted in the official British records as having returned home, but the local newspaper clearly states that he was killed in action. He is not listed on the "Debt of Honour Register" on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission web site, a casualty of the historical record, if you will.

Harold Collins Whitecross, of my grandmother's family, was lost in action and has been lost in the British military records, as he does not appear on the Debt of Honour Register. It was to the end of such remembrance and reminding that the Bermuda Maritime Museum opened its permanent gallery in the Commissioner's House on the military forces of the island in 2002, with the Bermuda Regiment and many war veterans in attendance. A database has been compiled for those on the Roll of Honour and it is being expanded to include all Bermudians who served in local and overseas forces as a full time occupation.

Remembrance Day comes but once a year, but the museum with its exhibits of "The Glorious Dead", and of many who served and survived, is open every day. You may come at any time to pay your respects and be reminded in words, pictures and artifacts of their sacrifices then, for your security and good life now.

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Dr. Edward Harris, MBE, JP, FSA, Bermudian, is the Executive Director of the Bermuda Maritime Museum. This article represents his opinions and not necessarily those of persons associated with the Museum. Comments can be sent to drharrislogic.bm or by telephone to 799-5480.