Dear Member of the University Community
I know that each of us feels deep sadness at the passing of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II.
We send heartfelt condolences to His Majesty King Charles III and to all the members of the Royal Family, including HRH The Duke of Gloucester, who has done so much to support the University as our founding Chancellor.
The special place that Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II held in the hearts of the nation and of so many people around the world is exemplified by the words in her very first public broadcast.
At the age of 14, the then Princess Elizabeth gave her first public broadcast on 13 October, 1940. It was delivered just a few months after Dunkirk, while the Battle of Britain was still being fought and the Blitz was just beginning in its full, lethal force. The context makes the content of Princess Elizabeth’s message to the country’s children all the more significant.
“Before I finish I can truthfully say to you all that we children at home are full of cheerfulness and courage. We are trying to do all we can to help our gallant sailors, soldiers and airmen, and we are trying, too, to bear our own share of the danger and sadness of war.
“We know, every one of us, that in the end all will be well; for God will care for us and give us victory and peace. And when peace comes, remember it will be for us, the children of today, to make the world of tomorrow a better and happier place.”
HRH Queen Elizabeth’s remarkable life of service, duty and dedication is an inspiration to us, living by her commitment “to make the world a better and happier place.”
It is for us all, despite the grief we feel, to take a fresh measure of resolve and to make what contribution we can, large and small, “to make the world of tomorrow a better and happier place”.
Professor David Green CBE DL
Vice Chancellor and Chief Executive
University of Worcester Staff News 