The Mayors for Peace event was hosted by the Mayor of Winchester, Cllr Russell Gordon-Smith, to commemorate the 79th anniversary of the nuclear bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, on 6th and 9th of August, 1945, and also to advocate for world peace and nuclear disarmament.
The mayor welcomed to Abbey House representatives from many organisations including Winchester City Council, Eleanor Bell, founding member of Winchester Mayors for Peace in 2019, our local MP Danny Chambers, a group of Ukrainian friends, several members of Winchester Rotary, including President Paul Russell and Nick Bell, Peace Officer.
The morning began with a film depicting the horrific impact of the bomb exploding on Hiroshima, killing or maiming 350,000 people – men, women and children. The whole room was completely silent.
Every year on 6th August, the City of Hiroshima hold a Peace Memorial Ceremony to pray for the peaceful repose of the victims and for the abolition of nuclear weapons and lasting world peace. During this ceremony the Mayor of Hiroshima issues a Peace Declaration directed to the world at large. We listened to this Declaration being read out at Abbey House. A minute of silence was followed by gentle flute music by Debussy, allowing further time for reflection.
A representative from Winchester University showed us the ginkgo tree saplings they have grown from seeds that survived the nuclear bombings. They were presented to the Mayor of Winchester by the Mayor of Hiroshima last year. They will be used in schools locally as part of an education programme.
Rotarians Caroline Millman and Luke Addison spoke of PeaceJam‘s work to inspire young people to support and fight for peace.
Rotarian Nick Bell, speaking as Winchester Rotary’s Peace Officer, then spoke about Winchester Rotary’s peace initiatives. We support Peace Scholars around the world, in particular a Peace Centre at Bradford University UK and PeaceJam conferences at Winchester University. We have a very close connection with the Great Lakes Peace Centre in Kasese, Uganda, where we support many of their community projects. A group of 8 Winchester Rotarians visited Kasese in January 2023 to inspect these projects. We donate approximately £15,000 annually to support the work of GLPC.
To further facilitate and promote peace we have negotiated a Scholarship with Winchester University to enable one of the GLPC volunteers to study in the UK, with fees the same as for a British student. The fees are being funded by Winchester Rotary.
On Rotarian Richard Spalding’s behalf, Nick brought a Peace Pole, (only the 2nd in the UK to be adopted by a Rotary club), to Abbey House. It is very much hoped that the Peace Pole, which bears the message, “May Peace Prevail on Earth” in several languages, will find a home in Abbey Gardens. There are 200,000 Peace Poles worldwide.
Winchester’s City of Sanctuary movement highlighted the problem of conflict which is forcing refugees to flee all over the world to escape violence and persecution.
Our morning of remembrance ended with some beautiful, peaceful singing given to us by a trio of Ukrainian singers who have fled their war torn homeland and found refuge and a warm welcome in Winchester.
For more information see Hampshire Chronicle report here (also in print in 15 August edition)
A full report from Mayors for Peace has been received and can be viewed here. The Winchester event is featured on page 7.
For photos click here
Diana Brooks
