Lest We Forget
Thousands of Melburnians turn out in the pouring rain in 1925, to honour the fallen of the First World War.
Lest We Forget
Thousands of Melburnians turn out in the pouring rain in 1925, to honour the fallen of the First World War.
Year: 1925
Length: 2:41
Production Company: Australasian Gazette
Credits: Master Pictures; Australasian Films
Source: National Film and Sound Archive of Australia
Catalogue Reference: NFSA title: 1194
Location: Melbourne, Victoria
Tags: Shrine of Remembrance, parade, memorials
Subject: Shrine of Remembrance, parade, memorials
Despite the pouring rain, 12,000 war veterans turned out for this 1925 parade, which included the laying of wreaths at a replica of the London Cenotaph outside Melbourne’s Parliament House. This memorial was temporary, but prompted a public discussion about a more permanent memorial. As a result, the Shrine of Remembrance, in Kings Domain on St Kilda Road, Melbourne, was unveiled on 11 November 1934.
The phrase ‘Lest We Forget’ is commonly used in English-speaking countries for war remembrance services, in particular Anzac Day. It is familiar to most Australians and New Zealanders as it appears on numerous cenotaphs and memorials – sometimes as the only text - and concludes many remembrance services, often seeming to substitute for the Christian affirmation, ‘amen’.
It has its roots in a Bible verse (Deuteronomy 4:7-9) and first appeared in a poem by Rudyard Kipling called ‘Recessional’, repeated at the end of each stanza of the poem.
The tumult and the shouting dies;
The Captains and the Kings depart:
Still stands Thine ancient sacrifice,
An humble and a contrite heart.
Lord God of Hosts, be with us yet,
Lest we forget—lest we forget!
- ‘Recessional’(second stanza)
Kipling composed ‘Recessional’ for Queen Victoria's Diamond Jubilee in 1897. Its use in Remembrance Day observations is a plea for the living not to forget the sacrifices of the fallen.
Lest We Forget
-
Melbourne, Australia
-
0:00
Intertitle: Lest We Forget. Melbourne's Tribute to the Fallen
-
0:06
Street parade in the pouring rain
-
0:44
Intertitle: Despite pouring rain, over 12,000 veterans took part in the Ceremony
-
0:52
Street parade in the pouring rain
-
1:13
Intertitle: The March past Parliament House, where a replica of the London Cenotaph was erected for the occasion
-
1:24
Crowds on the steps of Parliament House
-
1:29
The replica London Cenotaph
-
1:40
Laying of wreaths
-
1:49
Street parade in the pouring rain