Veterans from various Lowveld MOTH Shellholes gathered at the Kaapsehoop Cemetery on July 18 to commemorate Evan Davies during the annual Kaapsehoop Remembrance Day parade.

Davies, a former resident of the town, survived the Battle of Delville Wood in July 1916, one of the bloodiest battles fought by South African troops during the First World War.

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Following his death, he was buried in the Kaapsehoop Cemetery, linking the small mountain town to a conflict fought a continent away and serving as a lasting reminder of the sacrifices made by local soldiers during the war.

The Stevenson Hamilton Pipe Band once again set the tone for the event with traditional parade music, while a vintage aircraft flew overhead in tribute. MOTH members laid wreaths at the graves of former servicemen and paid their respects with a salute in honour of their bravery and sacrifice.

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The Ode of Remembrance, taken from the fourth stanza of For the Fallen by English poet Laurence Binyon, was then recited aloud:

“They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.”