Remembrance Sunday

[Trooper74]

And here we are again.
Another year goes by and the medals come out for a polish.
Another day of grandad being left to be quiet, if he wants, as he gets a bit emotional.
To the Cenotaph in town, with the grandchildren some years.
Tomorrow it will be on the VStrom with my grandson.
We did Ride To The Wall this year, that was a hard day.
Comrades lost, coffins carried (full of sandbags), friends remembered.
My wars ? Northern Ireland, Falkland Islands and GW1.
To all Veterans, of all wars and all those that have served; Respect.

Edited November 12, 2022 by Trooper74

[manxie49]

Same here, the medals I have mean nothing to most people now. I still represent the mucka's I had that never came home, down the road at the local war memorial though.

 

[Bianco2564]

My two great uncles served in WW1.

My Mum always remembered them every Nov 11th, since she passed away ive picked it up.

Called down to the memorial in Church Stowe this morning.

 

[Trooper74]

I’m David, my father was David, my son is David, my cousin is David ....
We are all named for my Great Uncle .... 
David died aged 19, on the first day of the Battle of the Somme.
“Forward, they cried, from the rear, and the front rank died ....."
The Men of Ulster where thrown into hell and their lives discarded by staff officers in the rear.

[S-Westerly]

2 hours ago, Trooper74 said:

I’m David, my father was David, my son is David, my cousin is David ....
We are all named for my Great Uncle .... 
David died aged 19, on the first day of the Battle of the Somme.
“Forward, they cried, from the rear, and the front rank died ....."
The Men of Ulster where thrown into hell and their lives discarded by staff officers in the rear.

Not just Ulstermen. After the 1st day of the Somme my grandfather was the most senior man left in his company - he was a Lance Corporal. Sherwood Foresters I think.

[Yorky]

I took a solitary road trip around Northern France in August. I had no real planned route but ended up riding in the Somme Valley area.

Amongs't the many war memorials, for all the allied forces, I came across this one. I spent about an hour looking around it and pondering on the futility of war

[S-Westerly]

Recently I was doing some on line research about my wife's uncle who was killed in Normandy in 1944 serving with rhe Durham Light Infantry. In the process I got distracted into WW1 and was shocked by the fact that this single regiment had more than 12,500 officers and men killed in that war. Can you imagine the effect that must have had on the mainly Co. Durham communities of that kind of death rate?

[Trooper74]

The effect of the deaths at the Somme of the Ulster regiments led to years and years of tragedy in the province after the war. Such was the death toll that when WW2 started there was a tiny take up in volunteers .... there weren't enough men left. I’m sure it was the same in the Durham area.

Over 2000 Ulstermen died on the 1st July at the Somme alone ..... The deaths are unthinkable in the field of modern warfare. 

Although the war in Ukraine is shaping up for WW1 levels of fatalities.

 

Just back from the Cenotaph, good crowd, but why the service has 2 sung hymns in it I never understand ..... The English Don’t Sing !

Edited November 13, 2022 by Trooper74

[Mississippi Bullfrog]

One of the unforeseen Impacts of WW1 was the formation of 'pals' regiments. The idea was that men who knew each other would be a more effective fighting unit. What they didn't anticipate was that when they were mown down by industrialised warfare the losses meant that whole communities got telegrams rather than just isolated households.

 

It is why war memorials were started, because the British had never experienced death on such catastrophic scale and there was a need to give expression to the grief. 

 

That and the decision not to bring the bodies home, many of the dead were never recovered in the first place. 

[Trooper74]

The gable end of a house in Kilcooley Estate .. just a mile from my childhood home ... There are many more throughout the Province.

 

Edited November 13, 2022 by Trooper74