The annual Remembrance Sunday is a very special occasion for everyone at Cheltenham College. This is the time when we remember more than 4000 former pupils who have served in wars and campaigns since the founding of the College in 1841. This year was particularly special, because during the Service three plaques were dedicated in the Chapel during the Remembrance Day Service.

The first plaque is to the memory of the 14 Old Cheltonian Royal Air Force pilots who fought in the Battle of Britain. These young men were all in their twenties, the youngest being just 21. They regularly flew from dawn to dusk during those long summers days in 1940, defending our airfields and cities from attack by formations of enemy aircraft, often in their hundreds. Four of the Old Cheltonian pilots were killed in action during the Battle of Britain.

The second plaque is to the memory of an Old Cheltonian, Colonel Chatfeild-Roberts who fought at Arnhem in 1944. He was at College from 1928 to 1932 and on the College Council from 1966 to 1981. His son John was also an OC and his recent gift to College of £670, 000 has helped refurbish the College Library in memory of his father.

The third plaque is to the memory of Major General Sir Jeremy Moore KCB OBE MC & Bar, Commander Land Forces Falkland Islands, during the Falklands Conflict in 1982. He was a pupil at College from 1942 to 1946 and on the College Council from 1980 to 1995.

Although it was not possible to trace relatives of all of those commemorated on the plaques, a significant number of relatives of these Old Cheltonians attended the Remembrance Sunday Service on 13th November 2011. The Service was conducted by the new Chaplain, the Reverend Dr Adam Dunning; with the sermon preached by a former soldier, the Reverend Cannon William Burke.

Looking ahead to September next year, as part of the 150th Anniversary of the Cheltenham College Combined Cadet Force, a memorial will be dedicated at College to the former pupils who have served in wars and campaigns since 1841. The memorial will then be transported to a permanent site at the National Memorial Arboretum at Alrewas in Staffordshire, where a Service of Blessing will be attended by past and present Cheltonians. This will be the first memorial to be placed at the Arboretum by a school.