Remembrance: Moments That Stay With Us

There are some Remembrance moments that stay with us long after the last note has faded and the crowd has gone home.

For X-Forces Enterprise and the Soldiering On Awards, this year has been a powerful reminder that Remembrance isn’t just a ceremony or a date in the diary, it’s a feeling. A quiet weight in the chest when we truly pause and think about what was given, and what we continue to owe.

At 10 Downing Street, surrounded by many from the Armed Forces community and our partners, the Prime Minister’s words were humbling. But the moment that moved our CEO, Ren Kapur MBE, most was not from those on the podium.

It was standing just a few feet away from Dorothea Barron, a WWII Veteran, and witnessing a gentle, private exchange between her and Anna Wright. Two women, two generations, sharing a look that held respect, love, loss and pride all at once. That single moment was Remembrance for all of us.

Soon after, at the Festival of Remembrance with the Royal British Legion, the emotion deepened again. The stories, the music, the applause and the silence all served as a powerful reminder that behind every name and every poppy is a real life, a real family and a legacy we must never take for granted. Sharing that space with Daniel Elser, Tom Ballard, Georgina Park and Julie McCarthy from SSAFA the Armed Forces charity (and her husband Lee), Emma Thomson from the MoD, and Martin Wing, highlighted just how many shoulders quietly carry this duty of care throughout the year.

Being with LSEG today, alongside James Eaton CSyP FSyI, Simon Martin, Daniel J. Maguire and their guests for Remembrance was a real honour. To march shoulder to shoulder with them, pausing together to reflect upon those who served and those who made the ultimate sacrifice was deeply humbling and extraordinarily moving. Moments like these remind us why Remembrance must always be lived, not merely observed: through unity, through gratitude, and our ongoing, unwavering commitment to those who wear, and have worn, the uniform. Thank you LSEG for having us.

As organisations, we are proud to support service leavers, veterans, reservists, spouses, partners and the wider Armed Forces community. But Remembrance belongs first and foremost to those who served, those who still do, and those who waited, worried and grieved at home.

To the Royal British Legion, to Mark Atkinson who joined us at the Soldiering On Awards, to our partners and friends across the Armed Forces charity and support sector, and above all, to all who serve and have served:

We remember you.

We thank you.

We stand with you.

We salute you.

Lest we forget.