Yom Hashoah Ve-Hegevurah. By Uncle Monty.

Yom Hashoah Ve-Hagevurah.
Story By Uncle Monty.
Photos By Alex Albion.
~~~
They stood respectfully gathered to remember
"The Holocaust Jews" did the ambassadors,
military officers, noted politicians of the most

liberal kind, old diehard communist party

members, ex-soldiers of past wars, and
a few hundred various representatives
of the public along with the rabbi, the bishop,
the mayor and the town crier. Bold bodyguards
and groomed chauffeurs also stood stiffly by in
the shade of the bright mid-morning sunlight.
~~~

All there had come to sombrely and solemnly
mark Yom Hashoah Ve-Hagevurah at the

Soviet War Memorial on what is known as

Holocaust Memorial Day, 2oo9, held this year

at London’s evergreen garden of Geraldine

Mary Harmsworth. I was glad that I could

be present there, too. The invitation to me to

attend the one-hour Memorial Ceremony was

more than welcomed by me. And, I suspect

did others who were so invited to attend.
~~~
People Gathering for the start

of the Yom Ha-Shoah Ceremony.

~~~

It was my first ever encounter with the Yom Ha-Shoah

Ceremony. It was also my first encounter with important

CIS ambassoadors and Russian Military and Defense

Attachès to the United Kingdom. I was also glad to meet

there again such old acquaintances of mine like Peter

Moore, London’s noted and official Town Crier; and

yet again the urbane Rt. Rev'd Christopher Chessun,

Anglican Bishop of Woolwich, who has the potential of

perhaps being a future Archbishop of Canterbury. I

do hope so. While Lib-Dem and openly gay Simon

Hughes, M.P. was a good bet to meet him again

like I did. He was one of the speaker, too, at the

ceremony in remembrance of the millions of

Holocaust Jews that died by the evil deeds

of pure German Nazism.

~~~

Old Acquaintances of Mine: Town Crier
Peter Moore and (r) Bishop Christopher.

~~~
As for Rabbi Alan Greenbat, O.B.E, of

The Chief Rabbi's Office of Great Britian,

he and I had lovely chats both before and

after the impressive ceremony that began

with singing Psalm 23 - The Lord's My

Shepherd. It was our first personal en-

counter and it was so delightful ... He re-

minisced with me about his childhood and

of his chemist father at Kennington Road,

which is just a stone's throw from where

the Yom Ha-Shoah ceremony actually

took place. The rabbi also lived for awhile

at Pittsburgh in America, so he told me.

Rabbi Greenbat, now a very youngish

80 year-old, also officiated at the

ceremony so well indeed.
~~~
My Graphic of Russian Defense Attachès.

~~~

I am unable right now to finish this piece

for the day has been a very long one for me

with two other events taking me else where

for much of the day. So come tomorrow, I

hope I can tell you more about the actual

ceremony and perhaps present a few more

of the many photographs that I took of

those present at today's sombre and

solemn Yom Ha-Shoah.

~~~

:: UPDATE ::

After what is now yesterday's ceremony,

I have today uploaded a new set of eight

photographs taken by me during the

Yom Ha-Shoah Ceremony. Therefore,

please see Part 2 of my complete story.

~~~

Shalom, Uncle Monty.

Holocaust Memorial Day, 2oo9.

~~~