Remembering Hiroshima service to be held in Romford.

Romford Quaker Ruth Kettle-Frisby today writes in the Havering Daily:

This year’s Remembering Hiroshima service will mark the 78th anniversary of the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and will be held at Friends Meeting House, Balgores Crescent in Romford on August 6th 2023. We warmly welcome everyone, from all faiths and none. 

With peace at the heart of the work of Christian CND, faith forms a valuable component of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament (CND), and every year local CCND members Geraldine Ellis (Romford), Yuko Moriyama-Wiffen (Chelmsford), and Sarah Mudd (Billericay) organise a special Hiroshima Day service as members of Christian CND. They campaign tirelessly for world peace from the grassroots at a local level in Essex, faithfully continuing the work of Beryl and Roger Lankester. I met them at the Hiroshima Remembrance service they held last year – at The Catholic Church of St Edward the Confessor in Romford – and I was only too delighted when they asked me to join them.

The atomic bombings of these two Japanese cities claimed the lives of an estimated 200,000 people; while survivors – known as hibakusha – are forced to live with long-term health complications, as well as psychological emotional trauma. Yuko will read a hibakusha testimony to help us to hold ourfriends in the Light as we remember and reflect together. We are also incredibly fortunate to be joined by Dr Valerie Flessati – formidable peace campaigner, and wife of trailblazing peace activist and Catholic priest, the late Bruce Kent – as our guest speaker.

Romford Quakers have been nurturing some very special gingko seeds into seedlings from the Green Legacy Hiroshima Project, founded in 2011. ‘A-bombed trees’, ‘hibakujumoku’in Japanese, survived the mass destruction, sprouting into life across the desolate landscape. These trees bear witness to nuclear tragedy, and this unique project has helped these wonders of nature to spread their message of peace and hope in their continuing green legacy. 

Here in Romford, we’re helping to nurture their green legacy. In the words of our former clerk (who sent off for these precious seeds), we have ‘come to appreciate their resilience, generosity, and beauty’.

In their own words

Sarah Mudd:
It was Beryl Lankester, a member of CCND and one of my dearest Quaker friends, who first organised the ecumenical service to Remember Hiroshima each year.  And it was Beryl who invited me to take part.  Sadly she died in 2020.  But the annual service she began continues to provide an opportunity to remember the human cost of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and to join with others to pray for peace.

Yuko Moriyama-Wiffen:

“I was born in Tottori Prefecture, Japan, in 1964. My father worked for a Japanese trading company, and when he was transferred, we moved to London in 1978. Now, I live in Chelmsford, Essex, with my husband Keith.

In 2011, the Fukushima nuclear disaster resulted in a large area of Japan being contaminated by radiation, including the town where my parents lived. This incident compelled me to take nuclear power and atomic bomb-related issues more seriously. During that time, I had the opportunity to meet Beryl and Roger Lankester. They had been involved in the anti-nuclear movement since the 1980s and were members of Christian CND. For over 30 years, they had been organizing the Hiroshima Day service on August 6th, centered around Essex, where they lived. Each year, they exchanged candles with their friend Yoshi in Hiroshima, symbolizing light and peace. Since getting to know them, I have been invited to participate every year. I was deeply impressed by Beryl and Roger’s unwavering commitment to their cause. Sadly, Beryl passed away in 2020, and Roger followed in the subsequent year.

Their dedication inspired me greatly, and I am eager to carry forward their legacy of promoting peace and advocating against nuclear proliferation. In these challenging times, I believe humanity greatly needs such endeavors.”

Geraldine Ellis:

“I was born in the Catholic Falls Road area of Belfast in 1945, the same year as the Atomic bomb was dropped on Hiroshima.

I have been a member of Christian CND and Pax Christie on and off since the eighties. I joined the silent peaceful marches with Bob and Enid Russell around the air bases of Molesworth, Upper Heyford and Lakenheath that housed nuclear weapons; these marches were very powerful.

Then with Beryl and Roger Lankester, Remembering Hiroshima in different churches around Essex and campaigning against the Arms Trade.

I hope to continue their work of nonviolent action with Ruth[Kettle-Frisby], Yuko [Moriyama-Wiffen], and Sarah [Mudd].I am looking forward to hearing from Valerie Flessati, our guest speaker at this year’s Hiroshima Remembrance.

As Christians if we join hands with people of other Faiths we can work for a world of peace which on our own would be too difficult to construct.”

Romford Quakers are hosting their own additional Hiroshima Open Day Event on Saturday 5th from 1030 (see our social media page).

For more information about the atomic bombings of Hiroshima, please see:

cnduk.org/Hiroshima-and-nagasaki-cnd-exhibition-introduction/ 

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