10th November 2016 Vilnius, Lithuania
Why I am – commemorating Remembrance Sunday in Vilnius
Every year, the British and Canadian Embassies in Vilnius organise a multi-faith Remembrance Sunday Service in Vilnius. We remember the end of the First World War and the supreme sacrifice of those who gave their lives then, and since, to secure and protect our freedom.
The focus of our remembrance is the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month when the guns fell silent on the Western Front of the First World War. Over 16 million men, women and children died between 1914 and 1918; communities suffered huge losses. In the whole of the UK, only about 50 communities, out of many thousands, saw all their soldiers return; in Scotland and Northern Ireland every community lost someone.
UK soldiers who died in 1918 are buried in Lithuania in Klaipeda, and in Latvia and Estonia. In Latvia and Estonia British sailors died supporting independence. On 17 October in 1919, for example, the British ship HMS Dragon which helped the Latvian army to protect Riga from West Russian Volunteer army was struck, and nine sailors lost their lives.
The First World War was not the ‘war to end all wars’ as many hoped. The Second World War and many other conflicts have followed. Conflict throughout the 20th century has also had a devastating effect on people around the world, including on people and whole communities here in Lithuania. And conflict continues to affect the daily lives of millions in the 21st century.
The UK remains committed to peace and security and wants to work with others to achieve this. Our commitment to our extensive security cooperation with international partners remains steadfast. This is why our diplomatic and defence partnership with Lithuania is important. We have worked together in the United Nations Security Council (the UK is a permanent member, Lithuania was a temporary member from 2014-15) to tackle conflict. We continue to work together bilaterally and through organisations like NATO, the OSCE and the EU to advance prosperity and security.
Service men and women of many countries continue to show great courage as we seek a world free of conflict. Only recently, for example, have comrades from both the Lithuanian and British armies, fallen in Afghanistan, been laid to rest in Lithuania’s soil.
We therefore commemorate Remembrance Sunday in Lithuania to show that those lives lost in war have not been lost in vain, that the memory of those whose death has impelled others to make a better world, and that we continue our quest for peace and security. For those who have made such a sacrifice, both named and unnamed, we will remember them.
