The Military Cemetery of the British Commonwealth of Nations was the venue of Remembrance Sunday on November 13. At the Cross standing in the middle of the dead heroes’ graveyard, besides the diplomatic representatives and military attachés of the Commonwealth countries and other nations, also Minister of Defence Dr. Csaba Hende laid the wreath of remembrance.
As is well-known, Remembrance Day is attached to the armistice signed by the German and the Entente Forces in a railway carriage parked in the Compiegne Forest, North France “at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month” of 1918. With this event the First World War officially ended. Connected to this occasion, since then the memory of the heroes fallen in the line of duty is observed on the Sunday falling nearest to the historic day.
In the course of time this Sunday was elevated to the Memorial Day of the victims and soldier heroes of WW2 first, then of all armed conflicts; two weeks before Advent Sunday. Remembrance Day is also known as Armistice Day or Poppy Day.
Solymár is known not only as the final resting place of the British, Australian, New Zealand, South-African, Canadian as well as Polish and French soldiers, but also for the reason that it is one of the four Hungarian villages, which well before the officially declared memorial days, commemorated the soldier heroes and war victims, on the occasion marked as the day of the local heroes.
On the Sunday event Father Dr. Frank Hegedűs offered the prayer, calling for remembrance, and then the Ambassador of Great Britain, H.E. Mr. Greg Dorey and the Ambassador of Canada H.E. Ms. Tamara Guttman remembered the fallen soldier heroes.
In what followed, the Minister of Defence of the Republic of Hungary Dr. Csaba Hende, the Honorary Consul of New Zealand Consulate Mr. Rezső Gyula Sárdi, and nine ambassadors and military attachés, accredited to our Homeland laid the wreaths of remembrance at the marble Cross standing in the middle of the military cemetery, kept in exemplary condition.
After the wreath-laying ceremony, in the framework of an ecumenical service, prayers were said. Remembrance Sunday ended with the closing prayer of Father Frank Hegedűs.
(Ministry of Defence)