Wreath Laying Ceremony at Seafarers Memorial
The power, danger, and romance of the sea have forever called out to man. Many of those who’ve answered its timeless bidding have been lost in its waters. It is to them – the sailors of merchant and naval fleets, fishermen and watermen of all nations – that the Seafarers Memorial is dedicated.For those who have lost loved ones at sea there is no graveside at which to mourn. The tiny Island in front of the new Circuit House has been the lone memorial to provide a focus for grief and healing as well as a private place for remembrances and also for memorial services. It may become a pilgrimage destination, not only for those who sail the great waters, but also for those who mourn loved ones lost to them.
Every year on 30 January few members of IMF lay a wreath at the memorial. This year, too, seven members of IMF attended a brief ceremony where President IMF before reading out the prayers below reminisced emotionally the day 68 years back when Mahatma Gandhi was assassinated. Thereafter, a Wreath was laid by three senior members at The Seafarers Memorial, opposite Circuit House, at 0930 hrs on Tuesday 30 Jan 18.
NAVAL PRAYER
O God, strong to save,
Whose arm doth bind the restless wave,
Who bidd’st the mighty ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep
O hear us when we cry to Thee, for those in peril on the sea
O Saviour, whose almighty word,
The wind and waves submissive heard,
Who walkest on the foaming deep,
And calm amid its rage didst sleep,
O hear us when we cry to Thee, for those in peril on the sea
O Trinity of love and power,
Our brethren shield in danger’s hour,
From rock and tempest, fire and foe,
Protect them whereso’er they go,
Thus evermore shall rise to Thee,
Glad hymns of praise from land and sea.
Courtesy of – Royal British Legion Service of Remembrance- 2006
