By Rosi Byard-Jones,
A memorial service has been held at a major cathedral in Coventry, central Britain, to mark the 78th anniversaries of the atomic bombings of the Japanese cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.
At the Hiroshima Day Remembrance Service at Coventry Cathedral on Sunday, about 150 attendees mourned the victims of the two cities, estimated to have totaled 214,000 by the end of 1945, and prayed that nuclear weapons will never be used again.
The service has been held almost annually since its creation in 1987 by the city council-endorsed Lord Mayor's Committee for Peace and Reconciliation, with the city building ties with other cities devastated in World War II.
The committee, whose founding members have backgrounds in the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament movement, hopes not only to pass on the lessons of the tragedies but also to promote the messages of peace and reconciliation.
The historic city in the West Midlands was devastated by air raids in 1940, at the height of Nazi Germany's Blitz bombing campaign against Britain during World War II. They killed more than 500 people, left over 1,000 injured and 43,000 homes destroyed.
The medieval cathedral was ravaged in the attack, but out of its ruins, the city's current ethos of peace and reconciliation grew, with the cathedral's then Provost Richard Howard having the words "Father Forgive" inscribed on the building's sanctuary wall.
As a reminder of the devastation, the new cathedral, adjoining the ruins, houses the symbolic "Charred Cross" made from two burnt wooden beams from the original structure.
This past inspired the city authorities to build relationships with other cities devastated in the war, such as Dresden in Germany, which the British bombed in retaliation for Coventry, and in particular, Hiroshima, which was hit by the U.S. atomic bomb on Aug. 6, 1945.
Funded in part by the British city's council, the committee organizes Coventry Cathedral's annual Hiroshima Day memorial service, during which letters of greeting and hope for a more peaceful world are exchanged between the mayors of Hiroshima and Coventry.
Along with prayers for all who suffered during the bombings and the survivors "living with their wounds and terrible memories," a central part of the service is the story of Sadako Sasaki, a young girl who died of leukemia after being exposed to Hiroshima's blast and radiation.
While in hospital, Sadako had aimed to fold a thousand paper cranes in wishing for recovery, but she died aged 12 in 1955.
After Coventry school children read out Sadako's story, the people who attended this year's service folded their own paper cranes as "symbols of hope for harmony in today's world, and our willingness to work together for peace."
Ann Farr, a former committee member who first introduced Sadako's story into the remembrance service, has previously also organized vigils on the anniversary of Nagasaki's bombing on Aug. 9, 1945, on the steps of the cathedral ruins.
Farr finds parallels in the symbolism of Coventry Cathedral's "Charred Cross" and the severed head from a statue of Mary from Nagasaki's Urakami Cathedral, which both serve as poignant reminders of "the foolishness of war."
"I have a firm belief that most people, including politicians, have no idea of the awfulness of nuclear weapons," Farr said. "I think this time of Hiroshima and Nagasaki is very important to give us the opportunity to tell the world."
Harry Teather, who attended this year's service with his wife Frehiwot, is one person on whom the story of Hiroshima and its message left a deep impression from a young age.
Shortly after the war and at around the age of 9, he was taken to see an exhibition of images from the bombing that were deemed so horrifying that only three local authorities in Britain displayed them - London, Glasgow and Coventry.
After visiting Hiroshima with Frehiwot for the first time this year, Harry was able to see those images once more at the Hiroshima Peace Museum and finally experience the place that had always been so significant to him.
"I've had a few different encounters with Hiroshima during my life and always wanted to go," Tether said. "I love that city. I've been coming to this remembrance service every year I can, but when I went to Hiroshima, it felt so familiar -- like home."
Related coverage:
FOCUS: Expert warns nuclear proliferation could "spiral" out of control
Nagasaki A-bomb anniv. ceremony to be held indoors due to typhoon
Hiroshima mayor calls nuke deterrence a "folly" at 78th A-bomb anniv.
