It is on this day that we give thanks to the great sacrifices made by those who came before us. It is certainly true that, given the actions of many of our past pupils and staff, there is a lot to be grateful for to those at the college who lived through the turmoil of two world wars.  

During the First World War, 650 Hurst boys and Johnians saw war service, of which 101 were mentioned in despatches, 37 received British decorations and 26 received foreign decorations. Of the 90 overall who received a military decoration, 62 were awarded Military Crosses, 3 with Distinguished Service Crosses, and 3 with Distinguished Flying Crosses. Written out in this way, this is quite an impressive record for our former Hurst boys, of 108 who lost their lives in combat. Those who put their lives at such risk included John Norton, who received a Military Cross for completing a reconnaissance at 300 feet, driving off two attacking planes in the process, and later putting out two anti-aircraft guns, all whilst wounded. William Wolstencroft (School Captain 1915-16) became a Second Lieutenant in the Royal Scots Fusiliers and lost his life saving another man, and Thomas Le Mesurier, who received a Distinguished Service Cross, flew his plane painted in Hurst colours.  

The actions of those Hurst boys who did join the military demonstrated incredible bravery, but we must also not forget the hardship experienced by the younger boys left at the college. Boys faced the tough challenges of freezing winters, rationing, blackouts and air-raids throughout both world wars, and it really must have been a terrifying experience. The college was forced to incorporate the constraints of wartime into their daily lives; on the 11th April 1916, a concert in the chapel was given in complete darkness as the electricity supply was cut off, and on Ascension Day in 1940, boys walked in the direct path of German invasion and had to make their way through barbed wire as they crossed the fields. OJ memoirs are filled with sightings of the Battle of Britain, and the Hurst Johnian reported in July 1944 that “we lay in bed listening to the planes – some had gone over low and slowly – we wondered afterwards if they were airborne troops”. In August 1942, there was even a threat that the college and chapel would be demolished and replaced with an aerodrome – luckily this didn’t come to pass!  

If plane sightings and the constant threat of bombing wasn’t enough to disrupt daily life at Hurst, during the Second World War especially, almost every aspect of the boys’ lives at Hurst was affected by shortages. In 1940-41 a lack of hot water meant that basins would be frozen every morning, and in 1942 hot baths were cut to once a fortnight. The swimming pool couldn’t be filled, chapel services took place with no heating, and in 1944 the organ ground to a halt during a carol service! By 1942-3 crockery and cutlery had almost completely run out too, and in 1944 the cross-country run had to be replaced by a 6-mile walk because of a shortage of gym shoes. It is difficult to imagine pupils having to cope with these types of challenges today!  

It is important also to remember that the tradition of remembrance and commemoration began immediately, and it was in 1920 that a panel in the chapel was installed, bearing the names of all those that had lost their lives in the Great War. The OJ Club helped considerably with the funding for this project, and the altar and piscina were given in memory of the late Biology teacher R.J. Wood. The Richard Linott and John Sidley cups were both established in their memory with the help of both boys’ parents, and from 1922 it became a tradition that an Old Johnian wreath would also be laid at the Remembrance Service. Such commemorative action continued post-WW2 as well, and in 1946 the Headmaster Howard set up a War Memorial Fund, as well as more prizes in memory of boys who had lost their lives. On the 17th October 1948, a memorial bearing the names of the 79 war dead was installed in the Memorial Chapel.  

It is now also one hundred years since the pavilion was built in the south-east corner of the North Field. Opened on 23 July 1921, it is one of the memorials to the 108 boys and masters who lost their lives during the Great War. This occasion will be marked with a new plaque presented today in the company of OJ guests.

We will finish with the famous words of Robert Laurence Binyon: “They shall not grow old, as we that are left grow old; Age shall not weary hem, nor the years condemn. At the going down of the sun and in the morning, We will remember them”.