This magazine
article for Sussex Coast Talking News was first published in June 2026.
In the year
1917, the great poet, Wilfred Owen wrote: “My subject is War, and the pity of
War”.
Like him, my own concern is more with the pity.
Humanity, or Mankind I should say, (there is a difference) has a marked propensity to start wars. This has been going on for millennia, or even since the Dawn of Time. Men will tend to go to war with each other at the drop of a hat.
Sometimes for a valid reason and sometimes not. Such as the War of Jenkin’s Ear. Which seemed to be about poor Captain Jenkins and his ear, but really was more about trade between Spain and Britain. Most often wars will be for economic reasons: we need more money, or booty, or slaves or to seize the means of control for something or other.
In the earliest of days, you could quite easily tell the opposing forces apart. One “side” may have been big imposing fellows with perfumed hair and spade beards whilst their opponents might have been much smaller and clean-shaven. And so, it continued and you could tell the warring parties apart fairly easily. Then, what happens when you get more factions involved or one army tends to grow and grow in size?
Alexander the Great for instance, the victorious son of Philip of Macedon. In his campaigns he often had large armies packed with soldiers from all over the place. How to tell they were all together? All under the same control?
Well, they managed somehow or other.
Then uniforms started to develop, over a long period of time.
Helmets first started off being leather straps or hats to protect the skull, then metal helmets took their place. There would be a huge variety of these over the centuries. Usually, a base metal would be used for the vast majority of soldiers. Then precious metals and designs would be brought into play for esteemed warriors and commanders to show their status, prowess and superiority. Nowadays, composite plastics are used to give the best protection for their wearers.
Soldiers, by their occupation bear the brunt of the damage of warfare, but since the earliest days of warfare, civilians and other non-combatants have suffered greatly when they get caught up or dragged into conflicts.
Now, when soldiers besieged a castle, fort, city or palace, then when they breach the defences, unlike in a Hollywood film, the work does not end right then. Once the besieging soldiers had made their breakthrough – then they would have to fight room by room through all the buildings in the area to secure their position.
Women would be seized for slavery immediately, children likewise. However, male children and adults over the age of ten (say) would be butchered on the spot. Although this was not the case all the time; circumstances and the type of war determined how besieging soldiers treated the civilians they found.
If you are
taking control of a building, you do not leave anybody alive behind you who
could potentially stab you. Brutal but
practical. And, Empires and great
kingdoms depend on slaves (whoever owns them) to do all their dirty work.
Soldiers tend not to be well paid and will, therefore, seize any plunder that they can to supplement their pay. Gold, silver and slaves tend to be very valuable.
Throughout history, taking slaves was one of the best ways for soldiers to make an income. Let us look at a couple of slaves from Homer’s annals, both captured while their homes were sacked; to get an inkling of the awful effect this had. The first was Briseis of Lyrmidon, whether she was a Princess or Queen is unclear from the myths. The Greek troops besieging Troy were in a bad way, they badly needed money, wine, food and slaves. So, while most of the armies kept the Trojans busy, a smaller force sailed rapidly down the sea to the next big city. They raided so quickly, there was little time to make any resistance and the city fell completely. The troops ransacked the area for all the goods they could seize. Briseis, the rest of the females and all of the males who were spared, were taken into slavery. The troops were impressed by Briseis’s beauty and presented her as a gift to their warlord: Achilles, prince of the Myrmidons. So, from princess or queen to slave then sex-slave or concubine within the space of a few hours.
When Troy was taken, Achilles was shot dead by Paris so Briseis (being owned by Achilles) was passed on to one of his warriors and disappears from history and myth.
Then, the Trojan princess, Cassandra the seer was herself taken by Agamemnon, the chief general of the Greeks and he carried her back as a personal slave to Mycenae. When they got there, Agamemnon was butchered by Clytaemnestra (his wife) then she did the same to Cassandra - just for being there.
Life was never good for civilians.
In early Biblical times, the tribes of the Israelites were taken into captivity and enslaved by the Babylonians. Then, later by the Egyptians. Both times they managed to make their escape and return to their homeland. But they were often at war with the Philistines and others over the generations to keep their own sovereignty.
Some years ago, I read the book: “The Holy Blood and the Holy Grail”, which looked to me like a re-hash of various conspiracy theories rooted in events from Biblical times affecting France and the Holy Land. One or two had a ring of truth though. Moving forward in the book, therefore, to France in the 8th or 9th Century CE (previously referred to as AD), the King of France was having troubles with heretics in the South of his country. He dispatched his army to wipe out the heretics. Which they did, moving across the South of France until there was only one stronghold of heretics left, locked into one of the cities. The siege of the city was proceeding well and, on the day, before the defences were expected to fall, a group of soldiers went to see their commanding officer with a problem they had.
Their quandary was, often they would take the citizens as prisoners to sell as slaves; the heretics and soldiery however would be killed. How then to tell the heretics apart from the bona fide citizens?
Their Captain thought for a moment and then responded: “Kill them all. God knows His own.”
“Kill them all. God knows His own.”
The troop went away, satisfied in their orders. They would not make any money selling slaves this time, but their captain had issued his instructions and was very clear.
As I said, not a good time to be a civilian. War was and continues to be a more and more brutal activity and peaceable civilians tended to be treated more and more badly as time went on.
“The only thing worse than a battle lost is a battle won.” That was said by the Duke of Wellington after the Battle of Waterloo. I do not know how many civilians got involved there, but the situation was truly awful and anybody too close would have precious little chance of survival, and, maybe this was one of the factors that led to later developments.
Then things started to change. In 1861, moves to found the Red Cross started in Switzerland. By 1864, and the passing of the first Geneva Convention, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) became fully operational. The Committee, and its Members, is unarmed, international, humanitarian and fully neutral enabling it to speak and act on behalf of all peoples.
The Committee acts to support victims of armed conflict and other violence. The Red Cross, Red Crescent or Red Crystal exists to protect wounded, sick and ship-wrecked members of the armed forces, prisoners of war and civilians. Nowadays, about seventy-five percent of the states in the world are signed up to the 1949 Geneva Conventions and Protocols. If your country is attacked by one of the non-signatory states then you can expect pretty brutal treatment, but, otherwise, well, you are not definitely safe but the Red Cross will do their best for you.
It is a difficult role the Committee plays to use moral suasion to persuade States to follow international humanitarian laws to protect victims of international and internal conflict.
In the Red Cross’s first years in the nineteenth century, it became more and more involved. More use was made of volunteers and their ambulances and hospitals became much more visible.
In the First World War period (1914 – 1918): the Red Cross first started visiting prisoners of war, supporting them and contacting their families to let them know that their loved ones were alive and (relatively) safe.
They made
efforts to ban the use of many weapons that caused massive suffering and also
started to support political prisoners.
Despite views that the world was getting better after the First World War. People soon realised that various scenes of conflict showed the necessity of keeping the Red Cross going.
In the Second World War period (1939 – 1945): the Red Cross continued their valuable work. They really stepped up a gear to carry out all their activities, acting and working on a number of fronts providing relief, support and supplies all over the globe. However, they were not able to provide the support they should have as an international entity for victims of the Holocaust. Red Cross rules have now changed to reflect this.
During the 19th century, the Red Cross was a positive benefit to civilian victims of war and other conflicts. However, the development of the aeroplane in the 20th century swung the scales very much in the opposite direction. The aeroplanes that were used for conflict in the First World War were relatively primitive but they still caused great disruption to civilian and military targets equally.
Now that slavery was largely abolished in most countries, military operations targeted civilians either to kill them or to take prisoners when it was possible.
Use of aeroplanes really expanded in their aggressive capacities during the Spanish Civil War and the Second World War. It is not much use explaining that you are a civilian; aircraft may attack a focused area, but they are indiscriminate about the destruction they cause in that area.
Sadly, tit-for-tat behaviour is very apparent, if one side achieves a tactical advantage, the other must move to close the gap. However, my father was not involved in the debate on this particular controversy as he was posted to the Far East to carry out his military service in the Second World War; he was a radio technician for the RAF working in the Pacific zone to help push back the Japanese. Interestingly, my father only used his Service bayonet once during his time in the forces – but that is another story. My father will appear again, in a little while.
After Dunkirk and still early on in the Second World War, the Nazi Luftwaffe attacked RAF bases and the City of London in attempts to break the Nation’s spirit.
At around
this time a new word entered the English language.
In German,
the word Blitz or Blitzen is a noun meaning lightning, or lightning-strike or
lightning-flash; it can also be made into a compound-noun such as
lightning-conductor.
This word
slipped into the English language in late 1939 as Blitz. I have never seen a dictionary definition of
the word, but I have come up with this description, I hope you will find it
fits the bill!
Our word
Blitz is a passive verb meaning: I have been pounded into oblivion by a
merciless aerial bombardment.
Well, I hope that you might agree with that.
Anyway, after attacking RAF bases and the City of London, the forces of the Luftwaffe turned their attention to cities around Great Britain. It tended to avoid towns and villages because they did not have the same devastating effect. But to Blitz a city really had an impact.
Portsmouth, Plymouth, Exeter, Kingston-Upon-Hull, York, Liverpool, Bristol – the list just goes on of cities being blitzed. Some of these said that they were the worst hit during the War, and I whole-heartedly agree with all these claims, as being bombed was so atrocious.
But, one city does stand out and that is Coventry. On the night of 14th November 1940, a very large force of Luftwaffe bombers radio-navigated their way to Coventry and commenced bombing that night. Some of the bomber pilots wrote afterwards that they could feel the heat from the fire-storm burning below even at their high altitudes.
Eventually, they finished dropping their bombs and the aircraft flew away, the “All-clear” sirens started to sound, the dust had settled and the survivors started to emerge from their shelters across the city.
What they
found was almost unprecedented, from the very centre of Coventry right out for
a huge distance in all directions: the City was demolished.
All the
buildings there were destroyed, the Blitz attack had hit everywhere. A few walls were left standing, but no
structures remained.
The City
authorities had to move swiftly. At the
time, there was no “Government Task Force” that could be dropped in wherever it
was needed to carry out re-building, and sadly to say, there still is not one. So, they had to get together carpenters,
builders, electricians, plasterers’ etcetera locally to re-build the
most important parts of Coventry.
Housing (of course, as almost everybody was made homeless by the Blitz),
hospitals, factories and war work buildings, and the official Guildhall (the City
Hall). Non-essential buildings had to
wait of course. Eventually, most of the precious, medieval
buildings were re-constructed but this was a pain staking process.
And this process
included the Cathedral, although the Church authorities started thinking about a
new building right from the beginning.
The original building was too badly damaged in the Blitz to rebuild safely
and they intended to use this as a calming and contemplative entrance to the
new cathedral.
The remnants of the old cathedral were “made good” and left in place. Whilst clearing inside the “old” building, one of the Wardens saw that three nails from the original roof had fallen together in the nave and landed forming the shape of the Cross. These were kept together and conserved on the High Altar of the new Cathedral. They became the focus of a new organisation: the Community of the Cross of Nails.
This
Community is dedicated to fostering peace and reconciliation between all
peoples. In the beginning, this was particularly
between Britain and Germany, but now many nations are involved in the
Community.
One of the abiding principles of the Community is: learning to live with difference and celebrate diversity. This, in my opinion, is one of the fundamental bench-marks in stopping people from going to war with each other; as Winston Churchill once said: “Jaw-jaw is much better than War-war.”
The new Cathedral was itself built on land just to the North of the old one and used the old cathedral as an entrance point. The architect chosen for this new edifice was Basil Spence (later Sir Basil).
This, new, Coventry Cathedral is unique in one particular way. It is the only Christian church or cathedral in the world, as far as I know, that is built with the congregation facing to the geographic North. All congregations everywhere else face to the East, to the morning’s Rising Sun. Instead, Coventry Cathedral’s geographical North wall has an enormous tapestry behind the High Altar that is the object of the congregation’s focus. This is “Christ in Glory” and it is huge. The tapestry is, I believe, the largest in the world and was designed and created by the artist Graham Sutherland who lived from 1905 to 1980.
(Graham
Sutherland lived part of his life in this area in Sea Road, Rustington and I do
hope he was happy living so close to the coast).
Finance for the re-building came mainly from the people of Coventry. Money did not come centrally and the Diocese had to raise almost all of the money by collections from the people of Coventry and gifts from elsewhere. But eventually, the Cathedral was completed and the dedication service was held in 1962. The congregations for the dedication services were, mainly, drawn from the citizens of Coventry, plus a number of royal guests and dignitaries, plus representatives from all the Church of England Dioceses across the country. My father was, by this time, a Licensed Reader for the Diocese of Wakefield and was privileged to be selected as one of the ticketed representatives for his Diocese along with the Bishop of Wakefield at one of the full dedication services.
The service also included the first performance of Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem, which drew heavily on the First World War poetry of Wilfred Owen.
On principle, the Cathedral authorities made strenuous efforts to forge links with the people of Germany, regarded by many as the aggressors in the recent conflict. But the Church wanted to build bridges not erect barriers. The words: “Father, Forgive” are inscribed above the altar of the destroyed Cathedral.
Whilst Communism was still in control of East Germany after the War, a group of young parishioners of Coventry Cathedral travelled to Dresden to help re-build one of the city’s main hospitals. This was a gesture of reconciliation and solidarity not recompense to the city of Dresden which had been systematically destroyed by Allied fire-bombing near the end of World War Two, similar to the experience of Coventry earlier.
And so, when Communism collapsed and the Berlin Wall was smashed down. The Diocese of Coventry sent helpers to Dresden. The local people, who had secreted some of the stones for the re-building of the Frauenkirche (the Church of Our Lady) were now ready to start their process of re-building.
This started in 1993 when all the stones were gathered together, cleaned up and sorted out. The completion of this monumental work took place between 1996 and 2004. The work was eventually finished and they held a rededication service for the Frauenkirche in October 2005.
The Frauenkirche
itself joined the Community of the Cross of Nails very shortly after its
rededication.
Together,
all the cathedrals, churches and organisations around the world that are
members of the Community of the Cross of Nails pray regularly for peace and for
forgiving one’s enemies.
They pray and hope collectively for peace.
We all want peace between Nations and we continue to pray for peace.
Will we ever get true peace?
Well, we must continue to pray and hope.
I would like
to express my thanks – among others – to Ms Dianne Morris MA Archivist Curator,
Coventry Cathedral and the welcoming team in Coventry Cathedral, to the
websites of Coventry Cathedral and also the International Committee of the Red
Cross for providing me with much useful information.
