A ‘surprise’ Thorp family reflection for Remembrance Sunday

Some of you will know that sadly both of my parents have recently died, and it fell to my younger brother and I to sort out their estate and clear their house. We decided to start by clearing the loft. After a very tiring, hot and strenuous day we were left with one mysterious object neatly wrapped ‘from both ends’ in plastic sacks. When we eventually brought it down, we decided to take it out onto the driveway to unwrap it. What we discovered completely blew us away! It was a military holdall belonging to my grandfather Samuel T B Thorp who served in France during WWI as a 2^nd Lieutenant in the Suffolk Regiment. The holdall contained not only his tin helmet but also his peaked cap, leather gaiters and belts, two canteens and most surprisingly a pair of small children’s shoes which perhaps he had taken with him. We also found the kit bag belonging to my maternal grandfather, Drummer Hector Nicholls (nicknamed ‘Drums’) who served with the 2^nd Battalion Queen’s Royal Regiment. But this was not the end of the story, for some time later, we discovered that each grandparent had a neatly stored suitcase containing all of their medals and military belongings. When we opened Samuel’s suitcase, we found not only his journals, but a complete set of trench maps, the holster for his Webley Mk VI revolver, and a small leather pouch containing his dog-tags and silver ‘City Patent Trench Whistle’. I will always remember my brother Michael kneeling beside the open suitcase and blowing this whistle for the first time in many years. Its evocative sound was crystal clear and filled the air. It was an extremely poignant and moving moment as we appreciated that this was the sound that many men would have heard perhaps for the last time as they climbed out of their trenches.

I understand that Junior officers like Samuel were often the first ‘over the top’ and suffered disproportionately high losses compared to other ranks. They were therefore often quickly promoted and replaced just as rapidly. Indeed, Grandad Samuel was shot, but fortunately survived and was eventually sent back to convalesce in Cambridge where he met the woman who became his wife and my grandmother. Apart from his medals, he was awarded the Silver War Badge inscribed with the words “For King and Empire – Services Rendered” designed to recognise those who were honourably discharged and to protect them from public harassment by those who otherwise might mistakenly accuse them of cowardice.

My brother Michael described hearing the whistle as being like a ‘reality handshake’ from the past which encourages us all to consider the future and appreciate the peace that we all now enjoy.

The Bible states that, “Greater love has no-one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends” (John 15.13), often quoted on Remembrance Sunday. It’s true, there is no greater love than making this ultimate sacrifice. But it also needs to be remembered that that particular verse is set within a passage that not only commands us to be loving in death - but in life! “This is my command”, says Jesus, “Love each other as I have loved you” (John 15.12). War sometimes requires us to live and love sacrificially, but that same quality should also be the driving heartbeat behind every moment that we live. We should appreciate that God so loves us that he was determined that our lives should not be lost to sin nor defined by it, but rescued when we humbly and gratefully put our faith and trust in his Son, the Lord Jesus Christ, acknowledging the atoning, forgiving nature of his death upon the cross which was so wonderfully endorsed by his subsequent resurrection. I believe it is our individual recognition of Christ and his death upon the cross which is the ‘reality handshake’ that we need from the past to help transform our lives and those of our communities in the present and into the future.

So please join us this Remembrance Sunday as we collectively commemorate all those who sacrificially gave so much to serve our nation in times of war, so that we might be free to live and love in peace.

With best wishes. Stephen Thorp

John 15.13

Greater love has no-one than this, that he lay down his life for his friends.

This article will appear in the November edition of Parish Magazines associated with the Necton Benefice - Parish Link; Moonraker; The Pickenhams’ but is published here on Substack due to the timeliness of the situation.

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