Never before had I felt quite so privileged, and lucky ...

Image above: Fishing boats on Ha Long Bay

Journal entry from Bridgette Walmesley-Cotham

 Our minds were focused entirely on our two individuals and their stories

Remembrance Service/Night on Ha Long Bay

With the wind blowing past our faces, and the strongest light being the stars, it was almost ethereal the way we stood in a quiet circle each waiting our own turn to speak to remember those who had gone before us. As we spent tonight on the Indochina Sails boat, floating on Ha Long Bay, it was a picturesque place to pay our respects to the two individuals of whom we had each researched.

Private Charles Cass had been on my mind during the recent days, I knew so much about him and his experiences throughout World War One, that I just wanted to thank him – however impossible that is – for all I’d been able to do since researching and sharing his story. That’s not to say that Lieutenant John Wheeler hadn’t also been sharing my thoughts. I’d already been hit with the feeling that I was in the same country that he fought and passed away, and I’d already gained an entire new perspective on how harsh and difficult his battles would’ve been. When visiting Jason’s’ Digger’s Rest Museum previously, even though I knew it would be there, seeing “Wheeler. J” on the memorial board made my heart skip a beat as I realised that I could be the first to stand there, in front of this small memorial on the wall, to know the story behind that name and to appreciate how it had come to be there.

As we stood in the circle on top of the boat and each repeated the two names that we had come to know so well, I felt a sense of calm wash over us. Our minute’s silence was the most heartfelt that I’ve ever been through.  Standing with only the sounds of water lapping against the boat and the far-off laughter from another boat in our convoy’s midst, our minds were focused entirely on our two individuals and their stories.

The night’s actions were only amplified by what we experienced first thing the next day. Getting up at 5:30am seemed no big challenge as we climbed to the sundeck once more. There we sat, and stood, in peaceful harmony watching the sun rise over the Ha Long Bay. Together as a group we witnessed the start of a brand, new day. The growing, shining sun seemed only to remind me of our ceremony last night – especially as we stood in the same spot of the deck. 

A remembrance service should be special and leave you thinking about the words said or the actions done. I’ll be thinking about ours on top of the boat for years to come. Never had a minute’s silence seemed quite so quiet, nor the tone of those speaking quite so respectful and harmonious. Never before had I felt quite so privileged, and lucky, to be in Vietnam and to be repeating the names of Private Charles Cass and Lieutenant John Wheeler.