General Chat

On Saturday I accessed the remembrance placque details of my Uncle Kenneth who drowned on NY Eve 1942 aboard HMS Bramble aged barely 18. Until then the Remembrance Service was something I helped out at, and the lists of those remembered were of someone elses relatives. I have to admit it hit me and I was humbled. It could have been any one of my relatives but it was the youngest at the time and the most gung-ho

Meant to post on this thread yesterday - very poignant memories and poems <3

Remembrance Sunday

On a cold November Sunday morn, an old man sits a while
Looking though old photographs, he can’t help but smile
They’re all there, all the boys, with hair cut short and neat
Uniforms of khaki, strong black boots upon their feet.
They met as strangers but soon became like brothers to the end
Smiling at the camera, there could be no truer friends.
They all took the Queen’s shilling, went off to fight the hun,
Soon learnt the pain of loss once the fighting had begun.
So many never made it home, lost on foreign shores
Many more were injured and would be the same no more.
The old man’s eyes mist with tears as he remembers every face
Each of his fallen brothers and the killing which took place
He proudly dons his beret, his blazer and his tie
For today he will remember the ones who fell and died.
On his chest there is a poppy, a blaze of scarlet on the blue
He steps out into the cold, he has a duty he must do
Once at the cenotaph he stands amongst the ranks
Of those who marched to war and those who manned the tanks,
He bows his head in reverence, as the last post begins to play
And he wonders what will happen at the ending of his days
Will anyone remember? Will anybody care?
About the lads so far from home whose life was ended there?
I wish that I could tell him, that he should fear not
For this soldier and his brothers will NEVER be forgot
We owe a debt of gratitude that we can never pay
And this country WILL remember them, on each Remembrance day.

Maria Cassee

My Great Granddad, Thomas Joseph Wilson, served in 'the war to end all wars'. Whilst in France he was gassed. At the conclusion of the war, he was too unwell to travel home to Australia. He came home after doing nearly a year of study.


On the other side of the tree, my Great Uncle, Cecil Hall, was KIA and lays at rest in Lae Cemetery, never having a visit from family to my knowledge. A goal of mine if to go pay my respects ................ one day.

My Father -in law .was in the second world war he lost so many friends .we have two books he wrote about the times .& about the war .he died 1996 .we heard a lot of stories of him .Thank You to All who gave their lives & the survivors .even in the more recent troubled times .God love each & everyone of you . <3

10 years ago I went with the British Legion to visit the War Memorial in Burma (Myanmar). My father was killed near Rangoon before I was born and his remains were never found
.
It was very moving for me to see his name carved in one of the Columns, I thought -Yes this man lived and he died here. Made him more real to me.

A Flag Bearer slowly lowered the flag whilst the Last post was played, I felt I had attended his funeral.

I was the first and only relative to visit this Memorial.

He was getting old and paunchy
And his hair was falling fast,
And he sat around the Legion,
Telling stories of the past.

Of a war that he once fought in
And the deeds that he had done,
In his exploits with his buddies;
They were heroes, every one.

And 'tho sometimes to his neighbors
His tales became a joke,
All his buddies listened quietly
For they knew where of he spoke.

But we'll hear his tales no longer,
For ol' Bob has passed away,
And the world's a little poorer
For a Soldier died today.

He won't be mourned by many,
Just his children and his wife.
For he lived an ordinary,
Very quiet sort of life.

He held a job and raised a family,
Going quietly on his way;
And the world won't note his passing,
'Tho a Soldier died today.

When politicians leave this earth,
Their bodies lie in state,
While thousands note their passing,
And proclaim that they were great.

Papers tell of their life stories
From the time that they were young
But the passing of a Soldier
Goes unnoticed, and unsung.

Is the greatest contribution
To the welfare of our land,
Some jerk who breaks his promise
And cons his fellow man?

Or the ordinary fellow
Who in times of war and strife,
Goes off to serve his country
And offers up his life?

The politician's stipend
And the style in which he lives,
Are often disproportionate,
To the service that he gives.

While the ordinary Soldier,
Who offered up his all,
Is paid off with a medal
And perhaps a pension, small.

It's so easy to forget them,
For it is so many times
That our Bobs and Jims and Johnnys,
Went to battle, but we know,

It is not the politicians
With their compromise and ploys,
Who won for us the freedom
That our country now enjoys.

Should you find yourself in danger,
With your enemies at hand,
Would you really want some cop-out,
With his ever waffling stand?

Or would you want a Soldier--
His home, his country, his kin,
Just a common Soldier,
Who would fight until the end.

He was just a common Soldier,
And his ranks are growing thin,
But his presence should remind us
We may need his like again.

For when countries are in conflict,
We find the Soldier's part
Is to clean up all the troubles
That the politicians start.

If we cannot do him honor
While he's here to hear the praise,
Then at least let's give him homage
At the ending of his days.

Perhaps just a simple headline
In the paper that might say:

"OUR COUNTRY IS IN MOURNING,
A SOLDIER DIED TODAY."
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(Published in this week's Midweek Herald, Devon.)

We will remember them.

With Remembrance Day approaching we’re inviting you to post your war memories on the site. You could add photographs to your Keepsafe of family members who fought in the war or of their gravestones. Or post your special stories here on the message boards.

By bringing together our own special memories, let us remember the men and women who put their lives on the line fighting for their country.