On the Home Front - Chapter One - A Message From The Vicar

Note: The following is a letter the Rev Leonard Buxton wrote to his parishioners in the September 1939 parish magazine.

My Dear Friends

On September 1st Hitler's troops and aeroplanes invaded Poland. And on September 3rd Great Britain and France, in fulfilment of their promise, declared war on Germany.

That very briefly, as we all know, was the immediate cause of war. But we also know that we are not only fighting for Poland but for those eternal principles of righteousness, mercy and good faith upon which alone security and peace can be based. It is those principles that we must keep in mind and thus carry on the struggle for victory and calmness with courage and confidence.

It is for this reason that I believe we, as Christians and members of the Church, have a supremely important part to play in this war. All that is best in our Western civilization is the result of the Christian faith.

We believe that Jesus Christ is the Saviour of the world and that in Him and Him alone, can be found the way of reconciliation between all nations. It is for us during war to lift high the torch of faith, hope and charity. We must show the spirit of Christ in quietly doing our duty, bearing suffering and loss without complaint in showing compassion to all who are in trouble.

We must eschew all feelings of hatred and bitterness, and endeavour to sow the seeds of justice and mercy, which, please God, will one day bring forth the harvest of peace.

In our parish we can try in every way to do our duty. One obvious task is to care for the children whom we are sheltering in our home, to provide occupation for them, and to make their lives happy. We can also volunteer for various forms of service and, as far as possible, give our time freely to the service of our country.

Above all we can attend our gatherings for public worship, whether at the Holy Communion or at other services. There we can meet God and find in Him unfailing sources of strength and courage. There too we can offer our intercessions for our rulers, for the men engaged in war, for our enemies, and for the final victory of the truth.

The Church is entrusted with the faith which alone can save mankind. Let us be sure of that ourselves and not be afraid to bear witness to it.

On Sundays, Evensong is being held at 3.30pm and, hitherto, good congregations have found it possible to attend at that hour. The morning services are held as usual, but there will not always be a sermon when there is a celebration of Holy Communion at 11am. In response to the request of several members, there will also be a mid-week celebration on Thursdays at 8.15pm.

Yours sincerely Leonard Buxton

On The Home Front - The People and Parish of North Mymms 1935-45
Index - On The Home Front
Chapter One - A Message From The Vicar
Chapter Two - The Special Constabulary
Chapter Three - The War Comes Home - Parish Bomb Damage
Chapter Four - The Auxiliary Fire Service
Chapter Five - Children in the Parish
Chapter Six - Keeping Busy on the Home Front
Chapter Seven - The North Mymms Auxiliary Hospital
Chapter Eight - The Secret Visitors
Chapter Nine - Church and People
Chapter Ten - Epilogue
Chapter Eleven - People

Bibliography
North Mymms Parish Magazine
Crockford's Clerical Directory 1939
Who's Who 1988
North Mymms Auxiliary Hospital 1940-46: A brief description by H.M.Alderman
Who Was Who (various years)

Note: Many thanks are due to Dick Colville and Leslie Abbott for allowing their reminiscences of the war years in the parish to be published. Also to Mr Colville for allowing the essay by his wife Dorothy to be reproduced. The North Mymms Local History Society

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