１． Beautiful lilies, White as the snow, Speak to us softly Of long ago; Telling of Jesus, Who from the grave Rose all victorious, Mighty to save.
[Refrain]: Beautiful lilies, White as the snow, Speak to us softly Of long ago; Beautiful lilies, Beautiful lilies, Speak to us softly Of long ago.
2. Lilies of Easter, Blossoms of spring, Wake from their slumber Gladness to bring. O they are ever Heaven’s bright sign Of life beyond us, Endless, divine. [Refrain]
3 E’en as our Father From winter’s night Waketh the lilies To summer’s light, So His dear children His love will keep, Waking them softly From death’s long sleep. [Refrain]
Although I have attended services at Hodogaya for ANZAC Day and for Remembrance Day, this is the first time that I have attended the Prisoner of War Memorial Service. I was moved by how different the circumstances are. Here we have a group of people who have made an amazing step at reconciliation in order to highlight the dreadful circumstances experienced by the Allied Prisoners of War. 私はこれまで、ここ保土ヶ谷の墓地でアンザック・デーとリメンバランス・デーの式典に出席して参りましたが、この戦没捕虜追悼礼拝に参加するのはこれが初めてです。その様子があまりに異なることに心動かされております。ここに集う皆さまは、和解を目指して素晴らしい一歩をすでに踏み出し、連合国の捕虜たちが体験した恐るべき境遇に光をあてようとしておられます。….
In every war there have been specific battles or incidents that draw our attention to the human toll. We frequently remember those who have died in war, and we honour their sacrifice. But in war, there is one constant that we may overlook: its prisoners. Prisoners of War often account for a large proportion of the combatants. Yet the sheer scale of war means that we sometimes reflect on the enormity of the battles, and sometimes we are overwhelmed by the many other parts of war, and miss seeing what we should. どの戦争にも際立った戦闘や事件があり、私たちはその犠牲者数に気をとられます。私たちはしばしば戦いのさなかに死んだ者を想起し、その犠牲を讃えます。しかし、戦争について相も変わらず見過ごしてしまうことがひとつあります。戦争捕虜たちのことです。戦争捕虜が戦闘員の大部分を占めることもしばしばです。それでも、こと大戦争となれば、諸戦闘の烈しさをふり返ったり、他の要素に圧倒されたりはしても、見るべきものを見逃してしまうのです。
from the Greeting at the 26th POW memorial service by Group Captain Nicholas McMillan, Defence Attache, New Zealand Embassy ニュージーランド大使館付武官 ニコラス・マクミラン空軍大佐の第26回英連邦戦没捕虜追悼礼拝挨拶より
