General Chat

Lest we forget

As Remembrance Sunday approaches ...

Lest we forget
the men, women, children, and animals
that have died as a consequence of war.

Not solely years ago.


http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-hereford-worcester-11732744

The name of one of the youngest UK soldiers killed in Afghanistan has been added to the war memorial in his home village for Armistice Day.
Rifleman Will Aldridge, 18, from Bredenbury, Herefordshire, died when he was caught in an explosion in Helmand province last year.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-11710660

The unknown warrior was carried from a French battlefield 90 years ago, to be laid to rest among kings and statesmen in Westminster Abbey. But how did this symbol of the sacrifice of war come to be chosen?

http://www.canoe.ca/RemembranceDay/poppy.html

A writer first made the connection between the poppy and battlefield deaths during the Napoleonic wars of the early 19th century, remarking that fields that were barren before battle exploded with the blood-red flowers after the fighting ended.

During the tremendous bombardments of the First World War the chalk soils became rich in lime from rubble, allowing 'popaver rhoeas' to thrive. When the war ended the lime was quickly absorbed, and the poppy began to disappear again.

After John McCrae's poem In Flanders Fields was published in 1915 the poppy became a popular symbol for soldiers who died in battle.

Three years later an American, Moina Michael, was working in a New York City YMCA canteen when she started wearing a poppy in memory of the millions who died on the battlefield.

During a 1920 visit to the United States a French woman, Madame Guerin, learned of the custom. On her return to France she decided to use handmade poppies to raise money for the destitute children in war-torn areas of the country. In November, 1921, the first poppies were distributed in Canada.

Thanks to the millions of Canadians who wear flowers each November, the little red plant has never died. And neither have Canadian's memories for 116,031 of their countrymen who died in battle.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-11731492

Millions of people are expected to observe a two-minute silence at 1100GMT to mark Armistice Day.

Ceremonies will take place across the UK to honour all who have fallen since WWI, including the 110 servicemen killed in Afghanistan in the past year.

In London, a service will be held for the 90th time at the Cenotaph memorial.

Meanwhile, David Cameron has layed a wreath at the site of the Army's bloodiest battle since the end of WWII - at the Imjin River in South Korea.
Some 59 men from the 1st Battalion, Gloucestershire Regiment, died and 526 were captured when they were cut off by vastly superior Chinese Communist forces during the Battle of the Imjin River in the Korean War in 1951. Another 34 men died in captivity.
The British soldiers succeeded in delaying the advance of the Communist troops, preventing them from outflanking the forces of the Republic of Korea and the UN, who were then able to prevent a direct assault on the capital, Seoul.
The prime minister, who is in the country for a G20 summit, spent several moments in contemplation at the memorial in what is now known by Koreans as Gloster Valley.

The service at the Cenotaph will be attended by the Archbishop of Canterbury, defence ministers, representatives of military associations, veterans and schoolchildren.
It will be led by Brother Nigel Cave, the Western Front Association's padre, and wreaths will be laid at the monument in Whitehall.
A bugler from the Scots Guards will herald the start of the silence at exactly 1100GMT by playing the Last Post and mark the completion of the two minutes with the Reveille.

Mr Cameron took part in a two-minute silence at the War Memorial of Korea Other events include the Duke of Edinburgh visiting the Field of Remembrance and the Grave of the Unknown Warrior at Westminster Abbey.

There will also be a service of remembrance at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire.

Meanwhile, the Royal British Legion is hosting Silence in the Square, to give people the chance to take part in the two-minute silence to remember troops past and present, and share in music, readings and entertainment.
The event in London's Trafalgar Square will feature pop band The Saturdays, TV presenter Ben Shephard and actors Keeley Hawes and Ben Barnes.

On Wednesday evening, British journalists who have died reporting conflicts around the world were honoured for their bravery in a memorial service attended by the Duchess of Cornwall.
The duchess joined families of reporters and cameramen killed over the last decade to commemorate their sacrifice "in the pursuit of truth".
A host of media figures packed into St Bride's church, on Fleet Street, the former home of many of Britain's national newspapers, for the ceremony of remembrance.

On Tuesday, the first remembrance field dedicated to the British servicemen and women killed in Afghanistan was opened by Prince Harry.
The prince also planted a cross in the Royal British Legion Wootton Bassett Field of Remembrance, at Lydiard Park, Wiltshire.
The 342 UK service personnel who have lost their lives in the conflict were honoured with a two-minute silence.

My great-great-uncle Private 1280 John McCusker, age 21, Connaught Rangers, died in the military hospital, Port Louis, Mauritius 28 June 1879.

Please join in two minutes silence at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month.

Thank you.

Age shall not weary them
Nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun
And in the morning
We will remember them.

n

The motto of the British Legion:

Remember the dead; don't forget the living.

http://www.developingteachers.com/tips/pasttips74.htm


The American Moira Michael from Georgia, was the first person to wear a poppy in remembrance. In reply to McCrae's poem, she wrote a poem entitled 'We shall keep the faith' which includes the lines:

And now the Torch and Poppy Red
We wear in honour of our dead.

She bought some poppies, wore one, and sold the others, raising money for ex-servicemen. Her colleague, French YMCA Secretary Madame Guerin, took up the idea and made artificial poppies for war orphans. It caught on.

In November 1921, the British Legion and Austrian Returned Sailor's and Soldier's League sold them for the first time.

The tragic events in New York on 11 September 2001, left ever increasing numbers of people feeling stronger than ever the need for peace. This, in turn, prompted the manufacture of white poppies to represent peace. They are not a new idea, though. In fact, they date from 1933, having been designed by a UK Women's Guild. The British Legion was invited to produce them twice, in 1933 and 1988, but they not only declined, they also refused to accept the proceeds from them, because they were seen as disrespectful by some soldiers. They are having a surge in popularity once again as people stop feeling as safe as they once did.

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

John McCrae (1872 - 1918)

Dear All

Hello

Please can I add my great-uncle, who died aged only 20
in World War II.

Thank you.

Take gentle care
Very sincere wishes
xx

My great-uncle Private 62732 Arthur George Harrison Machine Gun Corp killed in action 20 May 1918.
His name is listed on 11,460 missing on The Memorial to the Missing of Ploegsteert.

Arthur George Harrison 1887 - 1918

Private 62732 Arthur George Harrison was killed in action 20 May 1918, on his sister's birthday.
He was one of fifteen men from the Machine Gun Corp killed that day. His name is listed on 11,460 missing on The Memorial to the Missing of Ploegsteert.

Remembering.

http://www.poppy.org.uk/remembrance/flanders'-field-of-poppies/about-the-event

The Flanders' Field of Poppies tribute will be displayed beside the Menin Gate Memorial in Ypres (now Ieper), Belgium, close to the area that bore some of the heaviest fighting of the Great War. Our "Flanders' Field" will be a poignant reminder of the courage and valour shown in desperately difficult circumstances.

On Tuesday 9 November, a team from the Legion will drive to Ypres in Flanders with the poppies and on Wednesday 10 November, will plant the poppies on the banks surrounding the Menin Gate and on the field above the Gate as well. Our Flanders' Field of Poppies will be in full bloom for Armistice Day on Thursday 11 November 2010.

On Armistice Day itself, a service will be held at St George's chapel at 10.00am, followed by a procession to the Menin Gate. There will be a service at the Menin Gate after the 2 minutes silence at 11.00am. The service is being organised by The Last Post Association and will be attended by representatives of the Legion together with thousands of people making the pilgrimage to Ypres to pay their respects.

Thank you for reading this.

"When You Go Home, Tell Them Of Us And Say,
For Their Tomorrow, We Gave Our Today"