A thread of Remembrance

[HampshireSeagulls]

My Grandfather.

Served aboard HMS Enterprise but got badly shell-shocked at Narvik and came home a broken man. He died before I (or any other of his grandchildren) was born.

Torpedoman then?

Enterprise was a key ship in the war, many battle honours.

 

[Worthai Seagull]

Im shocked so few have added to this.

More people are content to argue if Jimmy Carr should have worn one...!

World, Mad

Why should you be shocked.......the majority of people here dont even know its remberance Sunday, and many just wont understand ..and some dont even care. This is a poignant and thought provoking thread.

 

[happypig]

Torpedoman then?

Enterprise was a key ship in the war, many battle honours.

He was, yes.

Pre-war, he served on board HMS Repulse, including the 1925 Royal Tour to South America; the Prince of Wales (later Edward VIII) was on board and my mum has got his "crossing the line" certificate, complete with royal feathers.

 

[goldstone]

Sorry to bring this up, but it is relevant.

What the hell are we doing in Afghanistan? What the hell were we doing in Iraq?

I feel every sympathy for the truly brave men who gave their lives defending their country in the World Wars. But why are British troops' lives being lost in some goddam far off part of the world where no one cares whether we are there or not and where our involvement will make not one iota of difference to the future outcome of world events?

Risking your life defending your country is laudable. But being forced to fight some unknown enemy in an unknown country for reasons that are largely unclear must be tough to understand. But I guess one reason for joining the armed forces is that you are OK with being given orders that you cannot question.

 

[Barrel of Fun]

Why don't we bounce your old thread and let this one lie on this particular thread?

I think I nearly got beaten up at the game last night! - North Stand Chat

 

[Deportivo Seagull]

Sorry to bring this up, but it is relevant.

What the hell are we doing in Afghanistan? What the hell were we doing in Iraq?

I feel every sympathy for the truly brave men who gave their lives defending their country in the World Wars. But why are British troops' lives being lost in some goddam far off part of the world where no one cares whether we are there or not and where our involvement will make not one iota of difference to the future outcome of world events?

Risking your life defending your country is laudable. But being forced to fight some unknown enemy in an unknown country for reasons that are largely unclear must be tough to understand. But I guess one reason for joining the armed forces is that you are OK with being given orders that you cannot question.

Are naturally an arsehole or is it down to practice.

And on this day I raise my hat to Lt Cdr Eaton-Jones who departed in 1982.

 

[HampshireSeagulls]

I think it best, on today of all days, that Goldstone gets a thorough ignoring. I knew I had seen his name appear before in relation to this sort of thing, so thanks to BoF for refreshing my memory.

 

[Deportivo Seagull]

I think it best, on today of all days, that Goldstone gets a thorough ignoring. I knew I had seen his name appear before in relation to this sort of thing, so thanks to BoF for refreshing my memory.

This always get me, especially on rememberance Sunday

And have you seen the old man
Outside the seaman's mission
Memory fading with
The medal ribbons that he wears.
In our winter city,
The rain cries a little pity
For one more forgotten hero
And a world that doesn't care

 

[HampshireSeagulls]

Even more memorable this year that none of the WW1 vets are now alive. The current conflicts have brought it to the forefront of people's awareness, so the concept that it only ever applied to WWI and WWII have now been removed. The Falklands was, 10 years after the event, seen as a "minor conflict" and certainly did not have the impact of the World Wars, but the continuing fight against terrorist organisations wherever they may be has re-centralised the meaning of today.

I think most people know at least one person in the Forces these days, and I think most should be grateful that they are not going to have to pull the curtains back one day and see a Chaplain and a Welfare Officer coming up the path.

 

[Bry Nylon]

Took my 2 month old daughter to the Service of Remembrance at my local church this morning.

She was proudly sporting a poppy and her long since deceased Great Grandfather's campaign medals from WWI on her blanket.

Afterall, his generation fought so hers would be free.

 

[withdeanwombat]

My great uncle,Archibald Thom RM,Battle of Jutland.
My great uncle George Royal Sussex,somewhere in Belgium 1915.

 

[El Presidente]

Also remember that it is due to the failure of our leaders that these innocent men have had to die

Come you masters of war
You that build the big guns
You that build the death planes
You that build all the bombs
You that hide behind walls
You that hide behind desks
I just don't want you to know
I can see through your masks

You that never done nothin'
But build to destroy
You play with my world
Like it's your little toy
You put a gun in my hand
And you hide from my eyes
And you turn and run farther
When the fast bullets fly

Like Judas of old
You lie and deceive
A world war can be won
You want me to believe
But I see through your eyes
And I see through your brain
Like I see through the water
That runs down my drain

You fasten all the triggers
For the others to fire
Then you set back and watch
While the death count gets higher
Then you hide in your mansion
While the young people's blood
Flows out of their bodies
And is buried in the mud

You've thrown the worst fear
That can ever be hurled
Fear to bring children
Into the world
For threatening my baby
Unborn and unnamed
You ain't worth the blood
That runs in your veins

How much do I know
To talk out of turn
You might say that I'm young
You might say I'm unlearned
But there's one thing I know
Though I'm younger than you
Even Jesus would never
Forgive what you do

Let me ask you one question
Is your money that good
Will it buy you forgiveness
Do you think that it could
I think you will find
When your death takes its toll
All the money you made
Will never buy back your soul

And I hope that you die
And your death'll come soon
I will follow your casket
In the pale afternoon
And I'll watch while you're lowered
Down to your deathbed
And I'll stand o'er your grave
'Til I'm sure that you're dead

 

[El Presidente]

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Still for me the most moving scene in British TV history

 

[33057 Seagull]

Well how do you do, Private William McBride
Do you mind if I sit here down by your grave side?
A rest for awhile in the warm summer sun,
I've been walking all day and I'm nearly done.
And I see by your gravestone that you were only 19
when you joined the glorious fallen in 1916.
Well, I hope you died quick and I hope you died clean
Or, William McBride, was it slow and obscene?

CHORUS:
Did they beat the drum slowly?
did they sound the pipes lowly?
Did the rifles fire o'er ye as they lowered you down?
Did the bugle sing 'The Last Post' in chorus?
Did the pipes play 'The Flowers o' the Forest'?

And did you leave a wife or a sweetheart behind?
In some loyal heart is your memory enshrined
And though you died back in 1916
To that loyal heart are you always 19.
Or are you just a stranger without even a name
Forever enclosed behind some glass-pane
In an old photograph torn and tattered and stained
And fading to yellow in a brown leather frame?

Well, the sun it shines down on these green fields of France,
The warm wind blows gently and the red poppies dance.
The trenches are vanished now under the plough
No gas, no barbed wire, no guns firing now.
But here in this graveyard it is still No Man's Land
And the countless white crosses in mute witness stand.
To man's blind indifference to his fellow man
And a whole generation that was butchered and downed.

And I can't help but wonder now Willie McBride
Do all those who lie here know why they died?
Did you really believe them when they told you the cause?
Did you really believe them that this war would end war?
The suffering, the sorrow, some the glory, the shame -
The killing and dying - it was all done in vain.
For Willie McBride, it's all happened again
And again, and again, and again, and again.

Did they beat the drum slowly?
did they sound the pipe lowly?
Did the rifles fire o'er ye as they lowered you down?
Did the bugle sing 'The Last Post' in chorus?
Did the pipes play 'The Flowers o' the Forest'?

 

[Voice of Reason]

My father, Lionel Purdie, was due to lay a wreath in Haywards Heath today, but couldn't because of illness.

He did his bit and lost several mates. Respect.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1GAaIyrshJ8

 

[1 night only]

Private John MacDonald, Private Alan MacDonald Black Watch, RSM Reginald Beer RMP MBE

Rest in Peace and thank you

 

[User removed 4]

Wars are started by people too old to fight.....and fought by people too young to die.

 

[grummitts gloves]

Not my own words, it was sent to me. I thought it was very good.

The average British soldier is 19 years old ... he is a short haired, well built lad who, under normal
circumstances is considered by society as half man, half boy. Not yet dry behind the ears and just
old enough to buy a round of drinks but old enough to die for his country – and for you. He’s not
particularly keen on hard work but he’d rather be grafting in Afghanistan than unemployed in the
UK. He recently left comprehensive school where he was probably an average student, played
some form of sport, drove a ten year old rust bucket, and knew a girl that either broke up with him
when he left, or swore to be waiting when he returns home. He moves easily to rock and roll or
hip-hop or to the rattle of a 7.62mm machine gun.
He is about a stone lighter than when he left home because he is working or fighting from dawn to
dusk and well beyond. He has trouble spelling, so letter writing is a pain for him, but he can strip a
rifle in 25 seconds and reassemble it in the dark. He can recite every detail of a machine gun or
grenade launcher and use either effectively if he has to. He digs trenches and latrines without the
aid of machines and can apply first aid like a professional paramedic. He can march until he is told
to stop, or stay dead still until he is told to move.
He obeys orders instantly and without hesitation but he is not without a rebellious spirit or a sense
of personal dignity. He is confidently self-sufficient. He has two sets of uniform with him: he
washes one and wears the other. He keeps his water bottle full and his feet dry. He sometimes
forgets to brush his teeth, but never forgets to clean his rifle. He can cook his own meals, mend
his own clothes and fix his own hurts. If you are thirsty, he'll share his water with you; if you are
hungry, his food is your food. He'll even share his life-saving ammunition with you in the heat of a
firefight if you run low.
He has learned to use his hands like weapons and regards his weapon as an extension of his own
hands. He can save your life or he can take it, because that is his job - it's what a soldier does. He
often works twice as long and hard as a civilian, draws half the pay and has nowhere to spend it,
and can still find black ironic humour in it all. There's an old saying in the British Army: 'If you can't
take a joke, you shouldn't have joined!'
He has seen more suffering and death than he should have in his short lifetime. He has wept in
public and in private, for friends who have fallen in combat and he is unashamed to show it or
admit it. He feels every bugle note of the 'Last Post' or 'Sunset' vibrate through his body while
standing rigidly to attention. He's not afraid to 'Bollock' anyone who shows disrespect when the
Regimental Colours are on display or the National Anthem is played; yet in an odd twist, he would
defend anyone's right to be an individual. Just as with generations of young people before him, he
is paying the price for our freedom. Clean shaven and baby faced he may be, but be prepared to
defend yourself if you treat him like a kid.
He is the latest in a long thin line of British Fighting Men who have kept this country free for
hundreds of years. He asks for nothing from us except our respect, friendship and understanding.
We may not like what he does, but sometimes he doesn't like it either - he just has it to do.
Remember him always, for he has earned our respect and admiration with his blood.
Now we even have brave young women putting themselves in harm's way, doing their part in this
tradition of going to war when our nation's politicians call on us to do so.
When you receive this, please stop for a moment and if you are so inclined, feel free to say a
prayer for our troops in the trouble spots of the world.

 

[Normal Rob]

I took my 3 year old the the service today. My smaller one was sleeping at home so my wife stayed in with her. Thanks to the fallen, the injured and those more fortunate I was able to make a choice.

Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
The darkness deepens; Lord with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.

Swift to its close ebbs out life's little day;
Earth's joys grow dim; its glories pass away;
Change and decay in all around I see;
O Thou who changest not, abide with me.

Not a brief glance I beg, a passing word,
But as Thou dwell'st with Thy disciples, Lord,
Familiar, condescending, patient, free.
Come not to sojourn, but abide with me.

Come not in terrors, as the King of kings,
But kind and good, with healing in Thy wings;
Tears for all woes, a heart for every plea.
Come, Friend of sinners, thus abide with me.

Thou on my head in early youth didst smile,
And though rebellious and perverse meanwhile,
Thou hast not left me, oft as I left Thee.
On to the close, O Lord, abide with me.

I need Thy presence every passing hour.
What but Thy grace can foil the tempter's power?
Who, like Thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.

I fear no foe, with Thee at hand to bless;
Ills have no weight, and tears no bitterness.
Where is death's sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if Thou abide with me.


Hold Thou Thy cross before my closing eyes;
Shine through the gloom and point me to the skies.
Heaven's morning breaks, and earth's vain shadows flee;
In life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.

 

[footychick]

RIP Grandad - R.E.X Mack who was shot down over Beachy Head in 1945, he was a Mosquito pilot and Wing Commander.
RIP all the other soldiers who died in all conflicts.