On November 9th 2025 the first Remembrance Day service was held at Basra Cemetery for over 35 years.
The Service
The event was attended by Archbishop Habib Al-Naufali and Sheikh Radhi Hamad in addition to Father Aram Bano. Blessings were given for the dead and for peace.
Words were also said from Bhagavad Gita and Guru Granth Sahib to recognise Hindu and Sikh faiths.
The event was attended by members of the local community and recognised the dead of conflicts in Iraq since 1914 from all nations and faiths and the suffering of civilians.
Flags of India, Pakistan, Iraq, Turkey and the UK were hung and poppy wreaths placed.
Service Video
Film of the Remembrance Day service held at Basra War Cemetery.
For the Fallen
A portion of the poem "For the Fallen" by Laurence Binyon (1914) was read out in Arabic and English:
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.
A two minute silence was observed and the Last Post was played.
Community Participation
The refreshment table was managed by members of the local football team that plays at the cemetery.
The event was live streamed on Facebook and featured on the official Basra Governate Instagram page, receiving over 8K likes.
The event was featured on the Official Basra Governate Instagram Page →
The BBC also ran a story about the trip: Read the BBC article →
A Personal Tribute
I also laid a gravestone for my grandfather Gunner Joseph Soppitt.
Photo: Shane Potaka
Ceremony Gallery
Pictures taken and reproduced with kind permission of Hussein Ali.
