Forgotten Armies Competition: A Moving Tribute to Remembrance
This year’s Forgotten Armies Competition, hosted by the Western Front Alliance, was an extraordinary success. The sheer quantity and quality of entries submitted by our students were truly impressive and deeply moving. It was inspiring to see so students engage with the competition, reflecting on the sacrifices made during the First and Second World Wars.
At our school, remembrance holds a special place in our hearts. Over one hundred Old Boys gave their lives in WW1 and WW2, and their legacy reminds us why it is vital to keep these stories alive for future generations. Through this competition, our students demonstrated not only creativity and research skills but also a profound respect for history and embraced our CARES values.
After much deliberation, we are delighted to announce that the overall winner of the competition was Anania Fikru (8H) who also confidently read aloud his poem in our remembrance assembly.
In addition, several students were highly commended for their outstanding contributions:
- Rayan Abdul Khader (7G)
- Sufyan Khan (9W)
- Faizan Taheem (9W)
- Usman Ghani (10G)
- Rahim Rashid (10H)
Congratulations to all participants for making this year’s competition such a meaningful and memorable event. Your efforts ensure that the stories of the forgotten armies, and the values they fought for, continue to resonate within our school community.
Mrs Yates
The Forgotten Armies of World War 1
By Anania Fikru 8 Henry
They marched not for glory, nor medals nor fame,
But under strange banners, not bearing their name.
From sun-scorched savannahs, from Himalayan snow,
They came when the Empire called — and they did not say no.
The sepoys of India, in trenches knee-deep,
Fought battles in silence while Europe would sleep.
The Tirailleurs Sénégalais, brave in the mud,
Their blood mixed with Flanders — red rivers of blood.
From Jamaica and Kenya, from Fiji and France,
They laboured and fought, not given a chance
To write their own stories, to speak of their pain
Their valour unmentioned in victory’s refrain.
The Chinese Labour Corps, with picks not with guns,
Built roads for the warlords, unsung under suns.
The Anzacs remembered, but others erased —
The empire chose silence where honour was placed.
No statues in marble, no names carved in stone,
Yet they carried the war on their shoulders alone.
Forgotten in textbooks, in parades left behind,
But etched in the soil — in the memory of time.
So let us now speak what history forgot,
Of courage, of battles they fought.
For peace is a promise, and truth is a flame —
And remembrance begins when we say every name.
