Lochnagar – an example for reconciliation

Recently, I attended a commemoration event at Lochnagar Crater at the Somme in France, where British tunnelling units placed two mines underneath the German lines in 1916. According to some sources, their explosion could be heard in London.

Richard Dunning from England bought the crater in 1978 in order to prevent it to be filled and to preserve it for future generations. He established the Lochnagar Crater Foundation which intensively focusses on reconciliation and remembering both sides. The commemoration event was characterised by exactly this atmosphere, it was partly held in three languages – English, French and German – and included the motto: “In remembrance of all those who have suffered in conflict, and of those who are suffering still, may we live our lives today with more compassion and kindness, understanding and forgiveness, reconciliation and unity. Let us now, in their honour, wage peace.”

I talked to some British people on the site, among them a couple that visits for 25 years and some primary school children.

Afterwards, I was invited to participate in a meeting of the members of the Lochnagar Crater Foundation in Mametz Wood, where people from Great Britain, France, Germany and the Netherlands came together in friendship. There, I had the chance to further experience the value of actively lived forgiveness, remembering together and international bonds.

“It is heartwarming to see the transformation from the hate between former enemies to the reconciliation today”, one British told me.

The founder himself, Richard Dunning, was unfortunately not able to participate this year, but I had the chance to interview him some days later. He told me more about his motivation, experiences and the development from buying the crater to the foundation today which people often see as a leading innovator of remembrance. 

Many people were not happy at all when Richard revealed in 1978 that he also wanted to commemorate the Germans alongside the other nationalities. Only two people took part during the very first commemoration event, but the number of attendees rapidly grew each year. He told me about a French woman who was very hateful and swore to never speak to a German. During one ceremony in which she was present, Richard encouraged the several hundred attendees to collect around the crater and hold hands. The woman came into a conversation with a friendly man of whom she thought was British, then he turned to be German. Richard observed how she got very emotional and how they hugged each other. “That one moment summed everything up, decades of sometime hard work”, he said.

I appreciate Richard Dunning’s and the foundation’s vision and efforts towards reconciliation and remembering together.