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CW79: Just a name?

As a new curate preaching at my first Remembrance Service I wanted to get it right and do the best I could. I was very conscious of the war memorial that I passed daily each time I left the church. This is where I would be standing to give the two minute silence, a tradition inaugurated by George V in 1919.

I was aware that sometimes we go through the motions and do not really engage with the stories behind the names on the plaque or memorial. We know these men lost their lives in one of the World Wars but we don’t really know who they were.

So last year I picked a random name, Charles Lawson, and started to research who he was. From searching the Commonwealth War Graves Commission (CWGC) website I discovered his rank (sergeant), service number, regiment, when he died and where his grave was in France.

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