Remembrance, loss and sacrifice

Preparation and Planning

This lesson requires ICT access to play a Video and to project Slides. The Video is quite long and so you may choose to watch it in advance of the lesson and select sections to focus on. It comprises a number of personal stories which are all very relevant but you may feel some are more appropriate for the interests of your class.

The Video and lesson topic is quite emotive and so you will need to be aware of any sensitivity amongst your students.

You will need to photocopy enough copies of Student Worksheet 1 for pair work. The final Episode is preparation for homework or an extension activity and so you will need to decide how this will be set to your class.

About the MOD Topic

This lesson is focussed on the Armed Forces Memorial. However it does start with a general overview and introduction to the concept of remembrance, war memorials and veterans. Information on all these topics can be viewed on Slides 6-27.

The Armed Forces Memorial was opened in June 2007 to provide recognition and thanks for those who have given their lives in service of their country since the Second World War in 1948. Every year we are rightly reminded of the tremendous sacrifices made by men and women during the two World Wars that disfigured the 20th century and shaped so many of the political, social and economic frameworks we have today.

However, it is widely accepted that there is insufficient recognition of the men and women of our Armed Forces who have lost their lives in conflict, as a result of terrorist action or on training exercises since the end of Second World War. The Armed Forces Memorial engraves the names of all these 16,000 individuals, in date and Service order, grouped together with their friends and colleagues who died in the same incident. Unfortunately it is inevitable that more names will need to be added to the Memorial in future years and so empty panels have been left for 15,000 new names. The Memorial is unique for remembering those who die in non-combat situations as well as those in conflict.

Since the end of the Second World War servicemen and women have taken part in more than 50 operations and conflicts across the world. This has usually been as part of international forces such as NATO and the United Nations, or as part of coalition groups supporting peacekeeping operations, providing humanitarian and disaster relief or fighting national and international terrorism. During these operations and conflicts, 16,000 courageous men and women have lost their lives.

The Memorial is also non denominational, so it is a place for all faiths or none and a place where families should feel comfortable taking their children who can wander around and not feel restricted into behaving in a very formal and regulated manner.

It also acknowledges that it is not just the Servicemen and women who make a sacrifice. All their family, friends and colleagues who loved them pay a huge sacrifice. These people live with the pain of their loss everyday. The Memorial plays a huge role in helping them come to terms with their loss and to help manage their grief. It is particularly important for those who have no grave to visit; those who have been lost at sea, in air accidents or whose graves are on the other side of the world.

It is worth emphasising that the individuals who have died in the Armed Forces, both during training and in conflict, have made their sacrifice in service to the Crown. It is the Crown and the Government who make the decision to go to war. The Armed Forces fight the war on their command. The Armed Force Memorial does not represent any support for the political reasons or decision for war but it commemorates the bravery of those who lost their lives on the field of battle.

For further information on the Armed Force Memorial visit: http://www.forcesmemorial.org.uk/
Additional useful links:
Veterans UK website: http://www.veterans-uk.info/index.html
Commonwealth War Graves Commission: http://www.cwgc.org/
UK National inventory of war memorials: http://www.ukniwm.org.uk/
The Royal British Legion: http://www.britishlegion.org.uk/

Further Opportunities for Learning

Students should act as a journalist and research an individual veteran's experience of war for a remembrance magazine. They should develop literacy skills by writing the article.

Students could develop their literacy and ICT skills by design a poster or leaflet that promotes Remembrance Day or the launch of a new memorial.

Design a new memorial. This could be any object, local or national, in remembrance to a specific event, person or group of people.

Using the National Inventory of War Memorials website, you could encourage students to research the number of memorials in their own local area or particular regions. Students could develop numeracy skills by inputting the data into spreadsheets and could complete a number of data handling exercises. Students could also produce pie charts to show the relative proportions of memorials across the UK (see Slide 24).

'EN14 Writing to argue' requires students to write a letter to their local authority to make a case for creating a memorial in their local area.

Students to consider alternative ways of remembering people and to plan or design relevant events or symbols. Again ICT skills could be developed by encouraging them to produce a poster, leaflet or PowerPoint presentation.

Study of national war memorials from other countries to allow comparison e.g. Vietnam Veterans Wall in Washington or the newly established Second World War memorial in Washington DC.

Discussion and debate about how past conflicts impact on students own lives today.

Create a wall memorial in honour or remembrance of local veterans.

Write a news article about the Armed Force Memorial to develop literacy skills.

History lessons on the various events that are identified throughout the lessons.

Student worksheet answers

Download the teachers notes PDF to access the answers for this lesson.