Lest We Forget: Remembrance & Commemoration

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, we will remember them.' These words, spoken in front of war memorials across Britain on 11 November every year, encapsulate how this country commemorates its war dead. Lest We Forget looks at how we remember not only those who died in battle, but also those whose memory is important to many people in other ways: Holocaust Memorial Day, recognition of the evils of slavery, the Hillsborough Disaster and the Diana, Princess of Wales Memorial Fountain, as well as the Cenotaph and the National Memorial Arboretum, amongst others. With an endorsement from the Royal British Legion, which celebrates its 90th anniversary in 2011, this is a timely study - the spontaneous and entirely unorganised honouring of coffins brought back from Afghanistan by the people of Wootton Bassett is testament to the fact that the public has a deep concern for the memory of those who have died.