on the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month
 

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.
(Major John McCrae, May 1915)

:)

Watched a few minites of Saving Priavte Ryan last night as never seen it before, will be a film I will be getting to watch all the way through. The few minutes I saw were horrific but reflect the reality of what was experienced. A moving film from what I saw and not one to enjoy but to appreciate.

The soldier stood and faced his God
Which must always come to pass
He hoped his shoes were shining ...
Just as brightly as his brass.
"Step forward now, you soldier,
How shall I deal with you?
Have you always turned the other cheek?
To My Church have you been true?"
The soldier squared his shoulders and
said, "No, Lord, I guess I ain't
Because those of us who carry guns
Can't always be a saint.
I've had to work most Sundays
And at times my talk was tough,
And sometimes I've been violent,
Because the world is awfully rough.
But, I never took a penny
That wasn't mine to keep...
Though I worked a lot of overtime
When the bills got just too steep,
And I never passed a cry for help,
Though at times I shook with fear,
And sometimes, God forgive me,
I've wept unmanly tears.
I know I don't deserve a place
Among the people here,
They never wanted me around
Except to calm their fears.
If you've a place for me here, Lord,
It needn't be so grand,
I never expected or had too much,
But if you don't, I'll understand."
There was a silence all around the throne
Where the saints had often trod
As the soldier waited quietly,
For the judgment of his God,
"Step forward now, you soldier,
You've borne your burdens well,
Walk peacefully on Heaven's streets,
You've done your time in Hell."


For the fallen, Lest we forget, RIP

:)

Very moving. :thumb:

Band of Brothers is worth a watch.

currently on TV/on demand
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/n.../episode-guide
http://www.channel4.com/programmes/w...ast-heroes/4od
http://www.channel5.com/shows/lost-h...-world-war-one

all well worth a watch, very interesting and moving and part of this countries recent history.

Cheers, will take a look. I honestly always assumed Saving Private Ryan was just another Vietnam war film :rolleyes: so was surprised when I put it on last night. Will see if it is on Film4 again soon otherwise look for it on dvd.

Amen to the above :).

i got a copy from Tesco for a couple of quid, the BoB series was around 80.00 and can be had for 20.00

anyone see the veteran on 'this morning' crying, i was gutted :(

As a local councillor I attend the service in our town I live in
Normally about 200 attend and it's nice to see the old soldiers getting helped up the steps to witness the ceremony ,they all have tears in their eyes and so proudly wear their medals

It's nice to see younger people attend now as its seems more relevant to them now with Iraq and Afghanistan in their lifetime
On Sunday we hold the church service and march through our town and there will be hundreds there to remember those that gave their lives so we can live here today

RIP to all that gave their lives

I did indeed, 16 when he went to war! Such a young age to see such terrible things :(.

Thanks :)

:thumb:

Anyone read The Forgotten Highlander by Alastair Urquhart? Very moving.

100 faces of WW1 tribute goes online
 

The other HBO series 'The Pacific' was also excellent, as good as BoB :)

"IF I should die, think only this of me;
That there's some corner of a foreign field
That is for ever England. There shall be
In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;
A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,
Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam,
A body of England's breathing English air,
Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.
And think, this heart, all evil shed away,
A pulse in the eternal mind, no less
Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given;
Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;
And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness,
In hearts at peace, under an English heaven."
Rupert Brooke.

My complete respect to everybody who has made a sacrifice fighting for our country, whether it's their life, physical health or mental health. Thank you.

Made a 3 day trip to The Somme Battlefields last year (followed by the Normandy sites).

The Somme was so harrowing when you saw the names and ages of the majority of the dead on the memorial headstones in the hundreds of beautifully maintained cemeteries.

20000 Brits dead and another 40000 wounded on 1st day alone in July 1916.

I remember watching the how they did bob and the vets said they captured how it was to the T... Bob was so moving... The pacific was trying to copy bob IMO

Harks me back to my GCSE English days. Wilfred Owen and Rupert Brooke, very very moving stuff.:)

We shall not flag or fail. We shall go on to the end. We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets; we shall never surrender.

Winston Churchill 1940.

Yes, he'll not be bettered:

"What General Weygand has called the Battle of France is over. I expect that the Battle of Britain is about to begin. Upon this battle depends the survival of Christian civilization. Upon it depends our own British life, and the long continuity of our institutions and our Empire. The whole fury and might of the enemy must very soon be turned on us. Hitler knows that he will have to break us in this island or lose the war. If we can stand up to him, all Europe may be freed and the life of the world may move forward into broad, sunlit uplands.

But if we fail, then the whole world, including the United States, including all that we have known and cared for, will sink into the abyss of a new dark age made more sinister, and perhaps more protracted, by the lights of perverted science. Let us therefore brace ourselves to our duties, and so bear ourselves, that if the British Empire and its Commonwealth[5] last for a thousand years, men will still say, This was their finest hour."

My friend and colleague Colin Wall who made the supreme sacrifice on 23rd August 2003 begins his final journey.
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...port/Colin.gif

His son Alex searches for his dad's name on the Staffordshire memorial
http://i12.photobucket.com/albums/a2...sport/Alex.jpg



We will remember them.....

Touching pictures TT.

I did a tour this year of WW1 sites, finished at the Menin Gate for the last, very moving

God those pictures so sad.

First World War poetry always very moving too.All of it is

My goodness those pictures have moved me.

RIP to those who gave their tomorrow for our today.

Chop

That's more moving than the greatest of speeches. :(

I'm sorry to say I think there is something of the 'Diana effect' about Armistice day these days, a kind of commodification of it and a superficial sentimentalism.

Nobody is alive from WW1 now, it's intangible as a real event.