They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them
--oOo--
November is the time of the year when we here in the UK and Commonwealth wear a red poppy in memory of those who sacrificed their lives for us in the Great Wars.
The eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month marks the signing of the Armistice, on 11th November 1918, to signal the end of World War One. At 11 am on 11 November 1918 the guns of the Western Front fell silent after more than four years continuous warfare.
What is Remembrance Day?Remembrance Day is on 11 November. It is a special day set aside to where the nation comes together to remember the sacrifices that hundreds of thousands of British and Commonwealth Service men and women made not just during the Great War, but World War Two and all subsequent conflicts. At one time the day was known as
Armistice Day and was renamed Remembrance Day after the Second World War. It is
Veterans Day in the US.
Here in UK,
Remembrance Sunday is held on the second Sunday in November, which is usually the Sunday nearest to 11 November. Special services are held at war memorials and churches all over Britain. Wreaths are laid beside war memorials. People also leave small wooden crosses by the memorials in remembrance of someone dear to them who died in war.
Remembrance Day is also known as Poppy Day, because it is traditional to wear an artificial poppy. They are sold by the
Royal British Legion, a charity dedicated to helping war veterans and their families. A team of people, most of them disabled, work throughout the year to hand-make poppies and wreaths for the
Poppy Appeal. Remember to put a few coins in the box if you are so inclined. It is for a noble cause.
The Flanders Poppy became accepted throughout the allied nations as the flower of remembrance to be worn on Armistice Day. The red poppies were among the first plants that sprouted from the devastation of the battlefields of northern France and Belgium. Soldiers folklore had it that the poppies were vivid red from having bloomed in ground drenched with the blood of their comrades.
At 11am on each Remembrance Sunday a two minute silence is observed at war memorials and other public spaces across the UK.
The Last Post is traditionally played to introduce the two minute silence in Remembrance Day ceremonies. It is usually played on a bugle. (In military life, 'The Last Post' marks the end of the day and the final farewell.)
Here is a poem often read aloud during the ceremony:
--oOo--
With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children
England mourns for her dead across the sea
Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit
Fallen in the cause of the free
Solemn the drums thrill; Death august and royal
Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres
There is music in the midst of desolation
And a glory that shines upon our tears
They went with songs to the battle, they were young
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted
They fell with their faces to the foe
They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them
They mingle not with their laughing comrades again
They sit no more at familiar tables of home
They have no lot in our labour of the daytime
They sleep beyond England's foam
But where our desires are and our hopes profound
Felt as a well spring that is hidden from sight
To the innermost heart of their own land they are known
As the stars are known to the Night
As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain
As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness
To the end, to the end, they remain
~ For the Fallen, by Laurence Binyon
--oOo--
Perhaps for one day a year we can leave politics, opinions and religion to one side and show a measure of respect to all those who gave their lives for the liberty and comforts we sometimes take for granted, maybe even visit the cenotaphs and legions to give thanks to those who gave us our freedom.
However you feel about the current political climate or conflicts, just remember those of perhaps an older generation to you who fought and died for better causes and express a little gratitude this Remembrance Day. Those who paid the ultimate sacrifice and the veterans who lived through it do not deserve to be forgotten.
I will be wearing my poppy with pride.
/salute
Topic: Remembrance Day