CCS was invited by Rotherham Council to take part in the Holocaust Memorial service
being held at Clifton Park, we were excited to be a part of such an important event, and felt it was really important for members of our school to represent us.
The RE ambassadors got to work on choosing a poem that would be suitable to share at the event. They chose to read Belsen Silence. This poem was written by Iolo Lewis who served in the British 11th Armoured Division, which liberated the Bergen-Belsen concentration camp in April 1945.
During the event, students from surrounding schools performed, faith leaders shared prayers and verses of their holy scriptures, to share the importance of peace in the world. We really appreciated being a part of this event.
#WeListenToOthers
BELSEN SILENCE – BY IOLO LEWIS
Long gone the sound of battle from this foreign dell,
As we tread again the Belsen grass,
Remembering comrades, young men all,
Who died to reach this awful Hell,
Hallowed now for Eternity,
As the clouds from memory swiftly pass.
Listen then, can’t you hear,
The silence here around,
Telling us of terror,
And ancient bestial fear;
How real is this silence,
That permeates from underground?
Only fifty years ago, but now,
Forever, the silence condemns,
For here there lie, anonymous,
‘Neath the soil, as we reverently bow,
Remnants of a living dead,
Whose silence still transmits, transcends.
Listen to the silence still,
And lift your head on high,
Are you waiting for a question,
Or an answer, and a void to fill?
Quicken then the pulse, breathe deeper still,
Answer the silence to question, why?
