12 November 2023

‘Yes, the wars they will be fought again
The holy dove, she will be caught again …
Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering’

‘Salaam, Shalom, Peace’ at a recent exhibition in Coventry Cathedral … three words in Arabic, Hebrew and English (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

I plan to attend the Remembrance Sunday commemoration later this afternoon on Horsefair Green in Stony Stratford later this afternoon.

There are similar commemorations across the land today, and many churches observed a minute’s silence during their services this morning.

We are in constant need of reminders of the horrors of war, the brutal impacts of war on combatants and civilians alike, and the brutalising effects of war for both combatants and those caught up in war zones and violence.

I refuse to accept the term ‘innocent victims of war’ – it implies that some people deserve to die or be killed in war. It is a term that has the same ugliness as the one that refers to a victim of street crime as ‘the wrong person in the wrong place.’

All people who are victims of war are innocent, and everyone has the right to expect to be safe in any place at any time.

In a similar way, I refuse to accept the term ‘collateral victims of war’ – no one, no matter who they are, should be written off as one more number or one more consequence in violence.

‘Reonciliation’ … a sculpture in the ruins of the old cathedral in Coventry, destroyed during World War II (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

After more than half a century of active involvement in peace movements, of being an advocate of pacifism, and of speaking out against racism, bigotry, hatred and discrimination, I am still bewildered how the world has failed to outlaw war, just as the world has outlawed slavery, the slave trade, torture and genocide.

I am bewildered too that people I know, respect and value have failed to condemn the Hamas attack in Israel civilians over a month ago (7 October), killing civilians in their homes and taking hostages, and allow themselves to be pereceived as advocates for Hamas, a murderous terrorist organisation with an extreme ideology that is shocking to the overwhelming majority of Muslims.

I am bewildered too that people I know, respect and value might balk at my criticism of the present military policies of the Netanyahu government, when many people inside Israel express the very same criticism. Since I first spoke in a school debate as a teenager after the Six-Day War in 1967, I have spoken for Israel's right to exist, but I have been critical of the military policies of Israeli goverements and supoortive of the Palestinian right to statehood.

Peace and Shalom … words in frosted glass on the doors of the Peace Chapel in Saint Botolph without Aldgate Church, London (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

It is not a paradox, it is a matter of principle and consistency to condemn Hamas outright, to demand the unconditional and immediate release of the hostages, and at the same time to demand immediate access of aid convoys to the hospitals and people of Gaza and to speak out against the ferocity of Netanyahu’s indiscriminate onslaught on the people of Gaza.

It is not a paradox to be disgusted at the horrific rise in incidents of antisemitism across the globe and at the same time to be fretful about the rise of Islamophobia too.

Perhaps a minute’s silence is an appropriate way to reflect on the horrors of war on this day, and to remind ourselves of the need not just to hope for peace but to call out for it, to demand it, to clamour for it.

‘Ring for Peace’ … the peace bell in Holy Trinity Church, Goodramgate, York (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

The Defence of the Realm Act forbade ringing some church bells during war-time. So to ring out the bells is a sign of peace, a hope for peace.

Three bells that rang out in York more than 500 years ago were given new homes in the city in recent years as part of the events marking the centenary of World War I, and now carry a resounding message of peace.

Three mediaeval bells that were once part of the old church of Holy Trinity or Christchurch in King’s Square in the centre of York are now symbols of peace. The bells were made by Chamberlain’s of London ca 1440 for the mediaeval church once known as ‘The Butchers’ Church.’

The congregation was declining by the late 19th century and the parish was merged with Saint Sampson’s Church in 1886. Soon the church was disused, and by 1896 it was a place to house sheep on their way to slaughter. The furnishings were moved to Saint Mary Bishophill Junior, and Saint Everilda's Church, Nether Poppleton, and the church was finally demolished in 1937.

However, the three bells of the church were rescued. In 2016, as part of York’s commemorations of the centenary of World War I, they were placed in the grounds of Holy Trinity Church Goodramgate, the garden of the Merchant Adventurers’ Hall off Fossgate, and Saint Paul’s Bookshop, Fossgate. In recent visits to York, I have seen two of these bells, in the grounds of Holy Trinity Church, Goodramgate, and the grounds of Holy Trinity Church, Micklegate. Both are hung from wooden beams carved with the words ‘Ring for Peace.’

Each bell has a Latin inscription: Sancta Margareta Ora Pro Nobis, ‘Saint Margaret, pray for us’; Sit Nomen Domini Benedictum, ‘Blessed be the name of the Lord’; and Eternis Annis Resonet Dominis Johannes, ‘Through eternal years, let John resound for the Lord.’

‘Ring for Peace’ … the peace bell in Holy Trinity Church, Micklegate, York (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2023)

My photographs this afternoon are signs of peace in churches and cathedrals, including those bells in York: ‘Ring the bells that still can ring / Forget your perfect offering / There is a crack, crack in everything, / That’s how the light gets in.’

In recent days, I have found myself once again turning to the words of Leonard Cohen’s poem-song ‘Anthem’ on his album The Future (1992):

The birds they sang, at the break of day
Start again, I heard them say.
Don’t dwell on what has passed away
Or what is yet to be.

Yes, the wars they will be fought again
The holy dove, she will be caught again
Bought and sold, and bought again
The dove is never free.

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything,
That’s how the light gets in.

We asked for signs. The signs were sent.
The birth betrayed. The marriage spent.
Yeah, and the widowhood of every government,
Signs for all to see.

I can’t run no more, with that lawless crowd
While the killers in high places say their prayers out loud
But they’ve summoned, they’ve summoned up a thundercloud
They’re going to hear from me.

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in.

You can add up the parts, you won’t have the sum.
You can strike up the march, there is no drum.
Every heart, every heart to love will come,
But like a refugee.

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in.

Ring the bells that still can ring
Forget your perfect offering
There is a crack, a crack in everything
That’s how the light gets in,
That’s how the light gets in,
That’s how the light gets in.

‘Pax, 1919’ … the Gardens of Remembrance in Lichfield, with one of the three spires of Lichfield Cathedral in the background (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Daily prayers in the Kingdom Season
with USPG: (8) 12 November 2023

Poppies tied around a tree in the churchyard at Saint Peter’s Church, Berkhamsted, Hertfordshire (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2023)

Patrick Comerford

In this time between All Saints’ Day and Advent Sunday, we are in the Kingdom Season in the Calendar of the Church of England. Today is the Third Sunday before Advent (12 November 2023) and Remembrance Sunday.

Later this morning I hope to be present at the Parish Eucharist in Saint Mary and Saint Giles, Stony Stratford, and I plan to attend the Remembrance Service on Horsefair Green this afternoon.

Before today begins, I am taking some time for prayer and reflection early this morning.

This morning, my reflections are following this pattern:

1, A reflection on Remembrance Sunday;

2, the Gospel reading of the day in the Church of England lectionary;

3, a prayer from the USPG prayer diary.

The War Memorial in the churchyard at Saint Michael’s Church on Greenhill in Lichfield (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2023)

Remembrance Sunday:

Instead of reflecting on any one particular church this morning, I have decided to post a collection of images – war memorials, monuments and churchyards – that I have seen in Berkhamsted, Lichfield, Oxford, Stony Stratford and Wolverhampton during my ‘church crawling’ in recent weeks.

Saint Michael’s Churchyard on Greenhill in Lichfield extends for nine acres and is older than the Church. It is said locally that the churchyard was one of the five ancient burial sites in England that were consecrated by Saint Augustine – the other four were in Glastonbury, Canterbury, Lindisfarne and York.

Other legends claim Saint Chad may have used the churchyard as a retreat for himself.

Trumpeter John Brown from the Charge of the Light Brigade is buried in the churchyard. Another grave has the bodies of the last three men who were hanged in Lichfield; they were hanged in 1810 for forgery.

The church and churchyard also have literary associations with the families of Samuel Johnson and Philip Larkin.

A trail around Saint Michael’s churchyard follows the theme ‘A churchyard journey – praying for a needy world.’

The prayer topics at the stations include, for example, ‘Governments, councils and leaders’ (Station 10). Station 2, at the War Memorial in the churchyard, takes the theme ‘Wars and Conflicts.’

The reflection at Station 2 reads:

‘Looking straight ahead we see the War Memorial that commemorates those from the parish who died in the first and second world wars. Around the churchyard we see many individual Commonwealth war graves. We pray here for the peace of the world, and for those made homeless.

They shall beat their swords into ploughshares, and their spears into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn war any more. (Micah 4: 3)

‘Loving Father, Prince of Peace, we pray for all those involved in conflicts around the world – in Ukraine, Yemen, Sudan and elsewhere. We pray for politicians and leaders, that they may seek a just peace; for those who mourn the death of loved ones; for those struggling with injuries; and for those who have been made refugees. May we be generous to help with their healing and to welcome those who need sanctuary. Amen.’

Israel, Gaza and the West Bank could have been added appropriately in recent weeks.

World War I may have been labelled ‘the war to end all wars.’ But over 100 years later, we realise what a rash claim that turned out to be.

We need constant reminders of the causes, consequences and terrors of war and war crimes if we are ever going to eliminate war.

The War Memorial at Saint Peter’s Church, Wolverhampton, was erected in 1920 and was Grade II listed in 1992 (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2023)

Matthew 25: 1-13 (NRSVA):

[Jesus said:] ‘Then the kingdom of heaven will be like this. Ten bridesmaids took their lamps and went to meet the bridegroom. 2 Five of them were foolish, and five were wise. 3 When the foolish took their lamps, they took no oil with them; 4 but the wise took flasks of oil with their lamps. 5 As the bridegroom was delayed, all of them became drowsy and slept. 6 But at midnight there was a shout, “Look! Here is the bridegroom! Come out to meet him.” 7 Then all those bridesmaids got up and trimmed their lamps. 8 The foolish said to the wise, “Give us some of your oil, for our lamps are going out.” 9 But the wise replied, “No! there will not be enough for you and for us; you had better go to the dealers and buy some for yourselves.” 10 And while they went to buy it, the bridegroom came, and those who were ready went with him into the wedding banquet; and the door was shut. 11 Later the other bridesmaids came also, saying, “Lord, lord, open to us.” 12 But he replied, “Truly I tell you, I do not know you.” 13 Keep awake therefore, for you know neither the day nor the hour.’

The War Memorial in Saint Mary and Saint Giles Church, Stony Stratford (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2023)

Today’s Prayers (Sunday 12 November 2023):

The theme this week in ‘Pray With the World Church,’ the Prayer Diary of the Anglican mission agency USPG (United Society Partners in the Gospel), draws on ‘A Prayer for Remembrance Sunday and International Day of Tolerance’. This theme is introduced today:

God of peace and gentleness
we remember with deep sorrow
the fault, fear, and failure
that repeatedly leads to the forming of enemies,
the escalation of hatred
and to war.

We repent of our complicity in cycles of violence
for colluding with anger
or defaulting to patterns of hostility
As we remember those who have
suffered because of our forgetfulness
or our inhumanity one to another,
that we may also disarm our desire to overpower, capture or vanquish.
Help us to resist peacefully every form of violence
so that we can follow you
in ways of gentleness and justice,
continually resolving to form life-giving relationships,
strengthened by the forgiveness of Jesus
the fearlessness of the Spirit
the transforming love of the Creator.
Amen Adapted from prayers from The Methodist Church

The USPG Prayer Diary today (12 November 2023, Remembrance Sunday) invites us to pray in these words:

Peaceful God,
Teach us to forsake division and violence.
Let us serve each other in peace,
And live side by side in harmony.

The War Memorial in Saint Barnabas Church, Jericho, Oxford (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2023)

The Collect:

Almighty Father,
whose will is to restore all things
in your beloved Son, the King of all:
govern the hearts and minds of those in authority,
and bring the families of the nations,
divided and torn apart by the ravages of sin,
to be subject to his just and gentle rule;
who is alive and reigns with you,
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, now and for ever.

The Post-Communion Prayer:

God of peace,
whose Son Jesus Christ proclaimed the kingdom
and restored the broken to wholeness of life:
look with compassion on the anguish of the world,
and by your healing power
make whole both people and nations;
through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

Additional Collect:

God, our refuge and strength,
bring near the day when wars shall cease
and poverty and pain shall end,
that earth may know the peace of heaven
through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Yesterday’s Reflection

Continued Tomorrow

The War Memorial in the Chapel of Keble College, Oxford (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2023)

Scripture quotations are from the New Revised Standard Version Bible: Anglicised Edition copyright © 1989, 1995, National Council of the Churches of Christ in the United States of America. Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide. http://nrsvbibles.org

The War Memorial in Saint Aloysius Roman Catholic Church, Woodstock Road, Oxford (Photograph: Patrick Comerford, 2023)

The Battle of Britain
and remembering the role
of Harry Comerford
on Armistice Day

The Battle of Britain Monument on the Victoria Embankment, London (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

Patrick Comerford

Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday commemorations and services are taking place across the land today (11 November) and tomorrow (12 November), at war memorials and in churches and cathedrals.

Apart from competing attention for news coverage with today’s large Palestinian protest in London, many news outlets focussed inrecent days on the Battle of Britain, in which 1542 British pilots were killed, 422 were wounded and 23,002 civilians were killed.

BBC television news earlier this week interviewed the last surviving Battle of Britain veteran, Group Captain John Hemingway, who lives in Dublin and who is now 104.

He joined the RAF as a teenager before World War II. When he was 21 he was a fighter pilot in the Battle of Britain, a three-month period when air force personnel defended the skies against a large-scale assault by the German air force, the Luftwaffe.

He was shot down four times during the war – twice in the space of eight days, during the Battle of Britain. The last incident was in 1945 when he was flying a Spitfire behind enemy lines in Italy. ‘I don't think we ever assumed greatness of any form,’ he told the BBC this week. ‘We were just fighting a war which we were trained to fight.’

Flight Lieutenant Harry Alfred George Comerford (1905-1956) is one of the RAF fighter pilots named on the Battle of Britain Monument on the Victoria Embankment, London

The Battle of Britain was fought entirely in the air and was a dramatic turning point in the war. Churchill said of the pilots: ‘Never in the field of human conflict has so much been owed by so many to so few.’

Flight-Lieutenant Harry Alfred George Comerford (1905-1956) is one of the RAF fighter pilots named on the Battle of Britain Monument on the Victoria Embankment, on the north bank of the Thames, about 200 metres from Westminster Bridge, and almost directly opposite the Millennium Wheel.

Not all fighter operations during the Battle of Britain involved dogfights with the Germans. Many involved long routine patrols along Britain’s shores, without so much as a sighting of a German aircraft. Yet the story of how Harry Comerford became an RAF officer and how he eventually came to be named on the Battle of Britain Monument is another story in the Comerford family history.

Harry Alfred George Comerford was born on 13 August 1905, the eldest son of Harry William John Comerford (1874-1955), a popular music hall and variety comedian and actor whose stage name was Harry Ford.

Harry Comerford or Harry Ford married Rosina Sarah Sipple (1881-1958) in 1903. Rosina’s sister Aggie married Harry’s brother, Albert (Bert) Albert George Comerford (1879-1973), known on stage as Bert Brantford. Together, these Comerford brothers and Sipple sisters almost created a theatrical and movie dynasty at the beginning of the 20th century.

Rosina and Aggie Sipple were descended from some of the most interesting Sephardi Jewish families in Europe. Many of their immediate ancestors were married in the Bevis Marks Synagogue in London, and they could trace their ancestry directly to leading Sephardi families who lived in Amsterdam, Livorno, Venice and Seville, including Spanish Marrano families who had been forced to convert to Christianity in Seville during the Inquisition but had maintained their Jewish faith and practices in their private family and domestic life.

Harry Ford was at the peak of his career while the likes of Dan Leno, Marie Lloyd and George Robey dominated bill-topping positions at the Tivoli, Oxford, and the Pavilion, London. At the London Pavilion in particular, he was a recognised favourite for many years. He frequently did top bills throughout London, as well as in the major provincial cities. The Variety Theatre once described him as a true star of the Metropolis.

Harry Comerford (Harry Ford) died in Birmingham on 31 March 1955, aged 80. Harry and Rosina Sipple were the parents of two daughters and three sons:

1, Rose Comerford, born in 1904.
2, (Flight-Lieutenant) Harry Alfred George Comerford (1905-1956), who is named on the Battle of Britain Monument in London.
3, Georgina Comerford (1909-2001). She was born on 4 August 1909, and died in April 1996 in Lincolnshire.
4, Leonard Jack Comerford (1914-1993). He was born on 16 February 1914 in Wandsworth. He was a driver in the Royal Army Service Corps during World War II and was a prisoner of war in Germany. He died in January 1993 in Boston, Lincolnshire.
5, John Comerford (1920-1996), who was born in Surrey in 1920 and died in April 1996 in Leicester.

Harry William John Comerford (1874-1955) was a popular music hall and variety comedian and actor under the stage name of Harry Ford

The eldest son in this family, Harry Alfred George Comerford, was born on 15 August 1905 in Wandsworth. He joined the RAF on a short service commission in January 1927, and was posted to 2 Flying Training School Digby in Lincolnshire for flying training.

When he qualified, Harry joined 16 Squadron at Old Sarum on 19 December 1927, equipped with Bristol Fighters. Within a year, he was posted to 28 Squadron at Ambala, India, near the border with Punjab, on 20 October 1928, and he served on the North-West Frontier in 1930-1931.

While Harry was in India, he married Georgiana Alicia Betty Davidson (1903-2001) on 5 November 1931 in Ambala, Bengal. She was born in Maidenhead, Berkshire, on 11 November 1903.

Some months later, Harry moved to 31 Squadron at Quetta – now in Pakistan – on 18 March 1932 and he became adjutant.

Harry returned to Britain on leave on 20 December 1932, returned to India, and was then posted back to Britain on 22 November 1933. He joined 40 Squadron at Abingdon on 15 March 1934, and when he completed his term of service, he went on to the Reserve of RAF Officers on 7 October 1934.

The name of Flight Lieutenant HAG Comerford on the Battle of Britain Monument on the Victoria Embankment, London (Photograph: Patrick Comerford)

With the outbreak of World War II, the RAF recalled Harry on 13 January 1940 and posted to 7 Flying Training School, Peterborough, as a flying instructor and ‘C’ Flight Commander.

Harry was remanded for Court Martial on 5 July 1940 on a charge of becoming unfit for duty due to excessive consumption of alcohol. He was tried by General Court Martial on 24 July 1940 and acquitted.

Harry was then posted from 7 FTS to 6 EFTS Sywell and from there that he joined 312 Squadron at Speke on 1 October 1940 as ‘B’ Flight Commander.

Not all fighter operations during the Battle of Britain involved dogfights with the Germans. Many involved long routine patrols along Britain’s shores, without so much as a sighting of an enemy aircraft. After chaotic air battles over France, these patrols may have seemed mundane. But they were not without their own dangers as Harry and a flight of Hurricanes from Squadron 312 found as they were patrolling the coast of Lancashire that October.

Harry flew operational sorties on the 11, 12 and 13 October 1940. On 13 October 1940, Blenheims K7135 and L6637 of 29 Squadron were aloft from Tern Hill when they were attacked in error by Squadron-Leader J Ambrus, Flight-Lieutenant Comerford and Sergeant J Stehlik over the Point of Ayr, south-west of Liverpool.

Despite firing the colours of the day, L6637 was shot down with the loss of Sergeant RE Stevens, Sergeant OK Sly and AC2 A Jackson. K7135 with Flight Office JD Humphreys, Sergeant EH Bee and AC1 JF Fizell was able to break off and return to base.

On Tuesday 15 October 1940, 550 German fighters and bombers attacked London, the Thames Estuary and Kent in five waves. That night saw an even heavier assault on London as some 300 bombers, in the light of a full moon, gave Londoners a foretaste of the Blitz to come.

But for now, this intense activity was focused to the south. Early that evening, two flights of hurricanes, Red and Yellow sections of No 312 Squadron, took off from Speke at 17:30 for a dusk patrol over the Lancaster area, with instructions to return at 18:25. Red section landed as instructed, but there was no sign of Yellow section, consisting of Squadron Leader Jan K Ambrus flying No V6846, Pilot Officer T Vybiral flying No V6811 and Flight Lieutenant HAG Comerford in Hurricane No V6542.

It appears that Yellow section was lost over the sea in deteriorating weather conditions and the failing light, after Ambrus, who knew his position, followed Comerford, whom he believed had sighted a German aircraft.

Although the flight was fortunate in regaining the coast and found themselves once again over land on the Barrow peninsula, their fuel situation was critical and both Comerford and Vybiral were soon forced to abandon their aircraft.

Comerford ran out of fuel and bailed out at 19:00, landing near Dalton-in-Furness with slight injuries, having struck his head on the tail of his aircraft as he left it. His aircraft dived vertically into farmland at Gleaston, narrowly missing a cottage by only 20 yards. Comerford was subsequently rendered non-effective for a while due to his injuries.

At about the same time, Vybiral also ran out of fuel and bailed out, leaving his aircraft to crash into farm land near Dalton-in-Furness. He landed close to Whinfield Farm Lindal, where he was mistaken for a German airman, due to his accent, by the farmer’s wife. He could not convince her otherwise, and she locked him into a barn until his identity was confirmed.

The flight had been observed by a number of people in the Dalton-in-Furness area who recalled seeing the aircraft flying overhead and then observed two of them fly into the ground. But, to their relief, most soon saw the two parachutes blossom in the sky.

A local police officer saw one of the pilots on his parachute, and commandeered a Ribble bus to take him to the spot where the pilot landed. When he arrived at the farm, the policeman found himself rescuing the unfortunate airman from the barn.

Ambrus continued flying until his fuel ran out and then carried out a well-executed wheels up forced landing on farmland south of Over Kellet, near Carnforth at 20:00, leaving a furrow across the field. He was not injured, and the aircraft was not too badly damaged and was subsequently repaired.

The official inquiry into the incident later concluded that the flight should have kept sight of land and landed 20 minutes before blackout as instructed. No further action was taken against the pilots and this was the Squadron’s last accident of the Battle of Britain period.

Comerford’s aircraft, serial No V6542 had dived vertically into farmland and was completely destroyed. However, the crash site was located in 1977 by the Warplane Wreck Investigation Group from Merseyside. They carried out a full excavation and recovered the propeller hub and a few other fragments that were donated to a museum in New Brighton.

Harry was posted non-effective sick on 20 October and declared fit for light duty only on 26 October. He did not fly again operationally. He was posted away to the Air Ministry on 13 November 1940, for attachment to Vickers at Weybridge. He was awarded the AFC on 30 September 1941 and left the RAF when he resigned his commission on 19 April 1943.

After World War II, Harry and Georgiana Comerford were living in Sutton and Cheam in Surrey, in 1945, and in Basingstoke, Hampshire, in 1948. He died in Leicester in September 1956; she later lived in Cambridge (1960) and died in Chiltern, Buckinghamshire, in May 2001.

The decorations and medals awarded to Flight Lieutenant HAG Comerford