0:00:13 > 0:00:16Hello there and welcome to a very special Songs Of Praise
0:00:16 > 0:00:18on this, Remembrance Sunday.
0:00:18 > 0:00:21It's a time to reflect and commemorate the men
0:00:21 > 0:00:23and women who've been injured or have lost their lives
0:00:23 > 0:00:28in two World Wars and in other conflicts past and present.
0:00:28 > 0:00:31We're also reminded of the families who've been left behind
0:00:31 > 0:00:33and join with them in honouring the sacrifice
0:00:33 > 0:00:35that their loved ones made.
0:00:35 > 0:00:37Today being Armistice Day,
0:00:37 > 0:00:42we remember the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month,
0:00:42 > 0:00:47when the guns fell silent, marking the end of the First World War.
0:00:50 > 0:00:52On this special day, the widow whose husband
0:00:52 > 0:00:56was killed in Afghanistan draws strength from her faith.
0:00:56 > 0:01:02The survivor of an IRA bomb 25 years ago remembers all of its victims.
0:01:02 > 0:01:05And Remembrance Day hymns from Enniskillen.
0:01:13 > 0:01:16We're in Northern Ireland's most westerly county
0:01:16 > 0:01:18in the stunning lakelands of Fermanagh.
0:01:18 > 0:01:21And it's a very poignant time to be here.
0:01:21 > 0:01:2525 years ago, people from the town of Enniskillen gathered,
0:01:25 > 0:01:28as usual, at this cenotaph to remember those
0:01:28 > 0:01:31who gave their lives during the First and Second World Wars.
0:01:31 > 0:01:34As the crowd of men, women and children assembled,
0:01:34 > 0:01:38a devastating IRA bomb exploded, killing 11 people
0:01:38 > 0:01:40and injuring many more.
0:01:40 > 0:01:42AGITATED CHATTER AND SCREAMING
0:01:42 > 0:01:45Images of Enniskillen were beamed around the world,
0:01:45 > 0:01:47with one of the fears being that this horrific event
0:01:47 > 0:01:51would turn Protestant and Catholic neighbours against each other.
0:01:51 > 0:01:55But instead, the people from Enniskillen worked together
0:01:55 > 0:01:57to promote peace and understanding.
0:01:57 > 0:02:01Today, the congregations of both traditions unite
0:02:01 > 0:02:04to remember the past and build a future together,
0:02:04 > 0:02:06here at St Macartin's Church of Ireland Cathedral.
0:03:50 > 0:03:54The cenotaph in Enniskillen is unusual in that,
0:03:54 > 0:03:58alongside the names of those killed in two World Wars,
0:03:58 > 0:04:00are inscribed the names of the 11 people
0:04:00 > 0:04:02who died on the 8th of November, 1987.
0:04:04 > 0:04:06Doves have been added to the memorial,
0:04:06 > 0:04:09one for each person killed in that Poppy Day bomb.
0:04:12 > 0:04:15One of those represents Samuel Gault,
0:04:15 > 0:04:17who was a retired police officer.
0:04:17 > 0:04:20He'd come to pay his respects on Remembrance Day
0:04:20 > 0:04:22with one of his sons, Stephen,
0:04:22 > 0:04:24when they were both caught up in the blast.
0:04:24 > 0:04:26I never heard the bang,
0:04:26 > 0:04:28but I remember a thud on the back
0:04:28 > 0:04:32and I must've been unconscious for 30 seconds.
0:04:32 > 0:04:35Coming round, this eerie silence, and then all of a sudden,
0:04:35 > 0:04:37there was just... A noise erupted.
0:04:37 > 0:04:39AGITATED CHATTER AND SCREAMING
0:04:41 > 0:04:44'The screaming, the shouting.
0:04:44 > 0:04:46'I started hearing the building falling round me.
0:04:46 > 0:04:49'I remember, I tried to move. I couldn't move.'
0:04:49 > 0:04:52I was buried to the knees and I thought, "Where's me dad?"
0:04:52 > 0:04:56And I looked down and I seen my father beside me
0:04:56 > 0:04:59and his head obviously had been pushed into the railings.
0:05:01 > 0:05:03Sammy Gault died instantly.
0:05:03 > 0:05:05His son Stephen, who was standing beside him,
0:05:05 > 0:05:08was one of more than 60 people injured.
0:05:12 > 0:05:14Two days later,
0:05:14 > 0:05:17Enniskillen began the harrowing task of burying its dead.
0:05:20 > 0:05:24Do you ever think, "Why did I survive and others didn't?"
0:05:24 > 0:05:26At times, I would feel guilt.
0:05:26 > 0:05:28"Why was I not killed?"
0:05:28 > 0:05:32At my lowest point, I would think,
0:05:32 > 0:05:36you know, "I wish I hadn't survived that fateful day."
0:05:36 > 0:05:39Stephen's life has moved on to happier times.
0:05:39 > 0:05:40That's the poppy I was wearing.
0:05:40 > 0:05:43Seven years ago, he married Sharon,
0:05:43 > 0:05:46a Catholic from County Cork.
0:05:46 > 0:05:48She's been a great support, and helps him deal
0:05:48 > 0:05:51with the day-to-day reminders of what happened.
0:05:51 > 0:05:53Roughly two weeks after the bomb,
0:05:53 > 0:05:55I developed the skin condition psoriasis,
0:05:55 > 0:05:57'and then six years after that,
0:05:57 > 0:06:00'it transformed into psoriatic arthritis.
0:06:00 > 0:06:03'People say time's a great healer'
0:06:03 > 0:06:07and to me, every day I get up and I try to do anything with my pains,
0:06:07 > 0:06:11that is a constant reminder of what happened on Remembrance Day.
0:06:13 > 0:06:16Despite Stephen's current health problems,
0:06:16 > 0:06:19he volunteers his time at the Ely Centre in Enniskillen.
0:06:19 > 0:06:23It was established in the aftermath of the Poppy Day bomb
0:06:23 > 0:06:28to offer support to victims and survivors of terrorism.
0:06:28 > 0:06:30He hopes that he can help others
0:06:30 > 0:06:32by talking about his own experiences.
0:06:32 > 0:06:36I'm 42 years of age. I lost my dad when I was 18.
0:06:36 > 0:06:39He never saw me growing up into the man I am now.
0:06:39 > 0:06:43He wasn't there the day I got married
0:06:43 > 0:06:48so it's very difficult to come to terms that my father is not with me.
0:06:49 > 0:06:54November 1987 was a dark, dark day for our family.
0:06:54 > 0:06:57I know my mum was a great believer in faith.
0:06:57 > 0:06:59I think that's what helped us through.
0:06:59 > 0:07:02'Hopefully, with my experience
0:07:02 > 0:07:06'and how I came to live with it, I can help other people do the same.'
0:09:03 > 0:09:05The small market town of Enniskillen
0:09:05 > 0:09:08gives its name to not just one army regiment, but two.
0:09:08 > 0:09:11The Inniskilling Fusiliers
0:09:11 > 0:09:14and the Inniskilling Dragoons go back 300 years,
0:09:14 > 0:09:17when the Catholic King James and Protestant King William
0:09:17 > 0:09:19waged war on one another.
0:09:19 > 0:09:21By the outbreak of the First World War,
0:09:21 > 0:09:25the regiments were recruiting men not just from Enniskillen.
0:09:25 > 0:09:27Recruits came from all parts of Ireland,
0:09:27 > 0:09:30including towns that are now in the Irish Republic.
0:09:32 > 0:09:36In 1914, the entire island of Ireland was under British rule
0:09:36 > 0:09:39and both Protestants and Catholics volunteered.
0:09:39 > 0:09:42But after the war ended, the political landscape changed
0:09:42 > 0:09:46when Ireland gained its independence from Britain.
0:09:47 > 0:09:49For those Irish nationalists
0:09:49 > 0:09:52who signed up to fight for the British Army,
0:09:52 > 0:09:54their involvement was often seen as contentious
0:09:54 > 0:09:57and embarrassing for their families.
0:09:57 > 0:10:01Many relatives felt unable to publicly commemorate their service.
0:10:02 > 0:10:05But this year, more than 90 years on,
0:10:05 > 0:10:08the county of Cavan has, for the first time,
0:10:08 > 0:10:11officially remembered the men from the Inniskillings
0:10:11 > 0:10:13and other regiments who were killed in battles
0:10:13 > 0:10:15like the Somme and Gallipoli.
0:10:15 > 0:10:18Today, as part of a Peace III project,
0:10:18 > 0:10:20the Northern Ireland Phoenix Group
0:10:20 > 0:10:23are bringing ex-servicemen and women from Enniskillen
0:10:23 > 0:10:25to Cavan in the Republic of Ireland
0:10:25 > 0:10:29to meet with retired members of the Irish Defence Forces.
0:10:29 > 0:10:31It's something I couldn't have done 20 years ago
0:10:31 > 0:10:34because around the border area, the IRA was very active.
0:10:34 > 0:10:37'Today, it's very relaxed.'
0:10:37 > 0:10:41You don't think of any danger or anything you would have 20 years ago.
0:10:41 > 0:10:46Today we are reaching out to our counterpart across the border,
0:10:46 > 0:10:49who we've seen but never spoke to.
0:10:49 > 0:10:55Today we have an invested future with both North and South.
0:10:55 > 0:10:58- You're welcome, now. - Hello, are you well?
0:10:59 > 0:11:02Now, standing shoulder to shoulder,
0:11:02 > 0:11:06they remember all those who were killed in the First World War.
0:11:07 > 0:11:10We've come together to worship God
0:11:10 > 0:11:15and to remember those who have lived and died in war
0:11:15 > 0:11:19as they sought to serve others.
0:11:19 > 0:11:21It's important to us as a country
0:11:21 > 0:11:23that we can look back to our ancestors
0:11:23 > 0:11:25and say, "He was one of mine."
0:11:25 > 0:11:28Not alone does it highlight
0:11:28 > 0:11:31the way Irishmen fought side-by-side
0:11:31 > 0:11:37but the different denominations that did participate within the war.
0:11:37 > 0:11:39My great-grandfather was part of that
0:11:39 > 0:11:42and I'm very proud to wear his medals.
0:11:46 > 0:11:49In the recently changed political climate,
0:11:49 > 0:11:52the men from the counties of Fermanagh and Cavan
0:11:52 > 0:11:54can at last join together to commemorate
0:11:54 > 0:11:58all the soldiers who fought and died in the First World War.
0:12:09 > 0:12:14# Oh, the snowflakes fell in silence
0:12:14 > 0:12:18# Over Belleau Wood that night
0:12:18 > 0:12:22# For a Christmas truce had been declared
0:12:22 > 0:12:26# By both sides of the fight
0:12:27 > 0:12:31# As we laid there in our trenches
0:12:31 > 0:12:36# The silence broke in two
0:12:36 > 0:12:40# By a German soldier singing
0:12:40 > 0:12:43# A song that we all knew
0:12:46 > 0:12:51# Though I did not know the language
0:12:51 > 0:12:55# The song was Silent Night
0:12:55 > 0:12:59# Then my friend, he smiled and whispered
0:12:59 > 0:13:04# "All is calm, all is bright"
0:13:04 > 0:13:08# Then the fear and doubt surrounded me
0:13:08 > 0:13:13# For I'd die if I was wrong
0:13:13 > 0:13:17# But I stood up in my trench
0:13:17 > 0:13:20# And I began to sing along
0:13:24 > 0:13:28# Then across the frozen battlefield
0:13:28 > 0:13:32# Another's voice joined in
0:13:32 > 0:13:36# Until one by one, each man became
0:13:36 > 0:13:40# The singer of the hymn
0:13:43 > 0:13:47# Then I thought that I was dreaming
0:13:47 > 0:13:52# For right there in my sights
0:13:52 > 0:13:57# Stood the German soldier
0:13:57 > 0:14:00# 'Neath the falling flakes of white
0:14:01 > 0:14:05# Then he raised his hand and he smiled at me
0:14:05 > 0:14:09# As if he seemed to say
0:14:09 > 0:14:17# "Here's hoping we both live to see us find a better way"
0:14:20 > 0:14:25# Then the devil's clock struck midnight
0:14:25 > 0:14:29# And the skies lit up again
0:14:29 > 0:14:33# And the battlefield where heaven stood
0:14:33 > 0:14:37# Was blown to hell again
0:14:40 > 0:14:44# But for just one fleeting moment
0:14:44 > 0:14:49# The answer seemed so clear
0:14:49 > 0:14:53# Heaven's not beyond the clouds
0:14:53 > 0:14:56# It's just beyond the fear
0:14:59 > 0:15:05# No, heaven's not beyond the clouds
0:15:07 > 0:15:12# It's for us to find
0:15:12 > 0:15:15# Here. #
0:15:28 > 0:15:31The beautiful and majestic lakes of County Fermanagh.
0:15:31 > 0:15:34On a good day, you can see the Sperrin Mountains behind me
0:15:34 > 0:15:38and Donegal in the Republic of Ireland just ten miles that way
0:15:38 > 0:15:39and look very carefully
0:15:39 > 0:15:42and you can begin to pick out the hundreds of islands
0:15:42 > 0:15:45that are dotted around these lakes.
0:15:45 > 0:15:48This is Lower Lough Erne. It looks very peaceful today
0:15:48 > 0:15:49but during the Second World War,
0:15:49 > 0:15:53this was to play a pivotal role in the Battle of the Atlantic.
0:15:55 > 0:15:59Squadrons of flying boats made their base here at Lough Erne,
0:15:59 > 0:16:01possibly the most picturesque runway in the world.
0:16:01 > 0:16:05It was the job of the Sunderland and Catalina planes
0:16:05 > 0:16:09to protect the Allied shipping convoys from the German submarines
0:16:09 > 0:16:11that were patrolling the Atlantic.
0:16:11 > 0:16:15These long-range planes were ideal for locating and attacking U-boats
0:16:15 > 0:16:18and their greatest success led to the sinking of the Bismarck.
0:16:20 > 0:16:24Sadly, by the end of the war, over 300 airmen had lost their lives.
0:16:24 > 0:16:26The role that they played
0:16:26 > 0:16:28and the importance of the air bases in Lough Erne
0:16:28 > 0:16:30will never be forgotten.
0:18:53 > 0:18:55BUGLE PLAYS "THE LAST POST"
0:18:55 > 0:18:59"The family has been informed." Words that no-one wants to hear,
0:18:59 > 0:19:02but ones that we are only too frequently hearing
0:19:02 > 0:19:04on news reports from Afghanistan.
0:19:07 > 0:19:10When Brenda Hale heard the knock on her door
0:19:10 > 0:19:12on the 13th of August 2009,
0:19:12 > 0:19:14she turned the key and locked it.
0:19:16 > 0:19:20Her husband, Captain Mark Hale from the 2nd Battalion, the Rifles,
0:19:20 > 0:19:23was killed by an improvised explosive device
0:19:23 > 0:19:25in Helmand province.
0:19:25 > 0:19:27What sort of man was Mark?
0:19:27 > 0:19:30Mark was hugely intelligent.
0:19:30 > 0:19:31He was fitness mad,
0:19:31 > 0:19:34he was an amazing father,
0:19:34 > 0:19:36an adorable husband
0:19:36 > 0:19:39and an outstanding soldier.
0:19:40 > 0:19:43Mark had a very, very strong Christian faith.
0:19:43 > 0:19:46Rather than the boys go without any pastoral care,
0:19:46 > 0:19:49Mark would have taken the services the padre should have taken
0:19:49 > 0:19:52because he wasn't able to get out, and he would say to the guys,
0:19:52 > 0:19:55"Don't be scared, you know your drills, you've been trained for this,
0:19:55 > 0:19:57"get out there and get the job done
0:19:57 > 0:20:00"but be really aware that God's out there too."
0:20:00 > 0:20:04Brenda, can you make any sense of Mark's death?
0:20:04 > 0:20:07I prayed very specifically on his leave
0:20:07 > 0:20:09three weeks before he was killed
0:20:09 > 0:20:14with Mark for angels to be at his feet and to protect him from IEDs.
0:20:14 > 0:20:18So when, three weeks later, he's killed by an IED, I have to believe
0:20:18 > 0:20:22that those angels WERE at his feet, they just didn't bring him home.
0:20:22 > 0:20:23They sent him to heaven.
0:20:25 > 0:20:28Since Mark's death, Brenda has been elected
0:20:28 > 0:20:30as a politician to the Northern Ireland Assembly
0:20:30 > 0:20:33with a promise to fight for other army families.
0:20:33 > 0:20:36'I have a constituent that's come in and he obtained an injury
0:20:36 > 0:20:38'while serving in Northern Ireland.'
0:20:38 > 0:20:41He's now hitting retirement age...
0:20:41 > 0:20:45'In my office I've been getting more calls and people who are not in my constituency saying,
0:20:45 > 0:20:50'"I've been medically discharged to deal with post-traumatic stress or life-changing injuries"
0:20:50 > 0:20:53'and they're no longer in the army and they need help and so they come to me
0:20:53 > 0:20:57'because I've been through the system and I know how it works.'
0:20:57 > 0:21:02What about Remembrance Sunday, has that changed for you in any way?
0:21:02 > 0:21:06Mark is constantly, constantly in my thoughts
0:21:06 > 0:21:08as he has been when I first met him when I was 16.
0:21:09 > 0:21:12For me and the girls, we remember him every day
0:21:12 > 0:21:13but when Remembrance Sunday comes
0:21:13 > 0:21:17and other people are wearing the poppy, I feel like they're giving me and my girls a hug
0:21:17 > 0:21:20saying, "We know what you've lost."
0:21:20 > 0:21:23And we're thankful but we're also very sad too.
0:21:25 > 0:21:28'When days are particularly busy or emotional for whatever reason,
0:21:28 > 0:21:31'you might have heard a record on the radio,
0:21:31 > 0:21:34'you've smelled some man walk past wearing the same aftershave
0:21:34 > 0:21:38'and you catch your breath and it knocks you, you just have to think,
0:21:38 > 0:21:41'"be still" because in among there, God is there and just to know that
0:21:41 > 0:21:47'as Christians, our lives and our paths are very firmly in his hands.
0:21:47 > 0:21:50'His favourite hymn was I Vow To Thee My Country.
0:21:50 > 0:21:53'Mark served his country with everything he had
0:21:53 > 0:21:57'and in the last verse it talks about "but there is another country"'
0:21:57 > 0:22:01and of course that is heaven. And Mark is serving there now.
0:24:36 > 0:24:39Earlier this year as part of the Diamond Jubilee celebrations,
0:24:39 > 0:24:42Her Majesty the Queen visited Enniskillen.
0:24:42 > 0:24:46After a service at the Protestant St Macartin's Cathedral,
0:24:46 > 0:24:49the Queen made a short but hugely symbolic walk across the road
0:24:49 > 0:24:52to the Roman Catholic Church of St Michael's.
0:24:52 > 0:24:55That simple act of entering a Catholic church in Ireland
0:24:55 > 0:24:58for the first time was seen as a gesture of goodwill
0:24:58 > 0:25:01and recognised as just how far the peace process
0:25:01 > 0:25:02in Northern Ireland has come.
0:25:06 > 0:25:08And it's the choir from St Michael's
0:25:08 > 0:25:11who sing for us now on this Remembrance Sunday.
0:25:15 > 0:25:20# May the Lord show his mercy
0:25:20 > 0:25:23# Upon you
0:25:24 > 0:25:32# May the light of his presence be your guide
0:25:34 > 0:25:39# May he guard you
0:25:39 > 0:25:44# And uphold you
0:25:44 > 0:25:49# May his spirit be ever
0:25:49 > 0:25:55# By your side
0:25:55 > 0:26:01# When you sleep, may his angels
0:26:01 > 0:26:05# Watch over you
0:26:05 > 0:26:09# When you wake
0:26:09 > 0:26:15# May he fill you with his grace
0:26:16 > 0:26:19# May you love him
0:26:19 > 0:26:27# And serve him all your days
0:26:29 > 0:26:34# Then in heaven
0:26:34 > 0:26:39# May you see
0:26:39 > 0:26:46# His face
0:26:46 > 0:26:52# Then in heaven
0:26:52 > 0:26:55# May you see
0:26:55 > 0:26:59# May you see
0:26:59 > 0:27:04# His face
0:27:05 > 0:27:12# May you see
0:27:12 > 0:27:18# His face. #
0:27:23 > 0:27:25They shall grow not old
0:27:25 > 0:27:27as we that are left grow old.
0:27:27 > 0:27:30Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
0:27:30 > 0:27:32At the going down of the sun
0:27:32 > 0:27:34and in the morning,
0:27:34 > 0:27:35we will remember them.
0:27:35 > 0:27:37All: We will remember them.
0:27:40 > 0:27:44HE PLAYS "THE LAST POST"
0:29:34 > 0:29:38HE PLAYS "THE ROUSE"
0:29:56 > 0:29:58Go forth into the world in peace.
0:29:58 > 0:30:00Be of good courage.
0:30:00 > 0:30:03Hold fast that which is good.
0:30:03 > 0:30:06Render to no-one evil for evil.
0:30:06 > 0:30:09Strengthen the fainthearted.
0:30:09 > 0:30:11Support the weak.
0:30:11 > 0:30:12Help the afflicted.
0:30:12 > 0:30:16Honour everyone. Love and serve the Lord,
0:30:16 > 0:30:19rejoicing in the power of the Holy Spirit.
0:30:19 > 0:30:23ALL: And the blessing of God almighty,
0:30:23 > 0:30:26the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit,
0:30:26 > 0:30:30be among you and remain with you always.
0:30:30 > 0:30:32- CONGREGATION:- Amen.
0:30:33 > 0:30:38And that brings us to our final hymn on this Remembrance Sunday -
0:30:38 > 0:30:40For All The Saints.
0:33:18 > 0:33:20Next week, for Prisons Sunday,
0:33:20 > 0:33:24Aled is given access to one of the nation's Category C prisons
0:33:24 > 0:33:30to meet staff and prisoners and get a glimpse of life behind bars.
0:33:30 > 0:33:33And there'll be hymns from around the country.
0:33:52 > 0:33:55Subtitles by Red Bee Media Ltd