On November 7th, 1920, in strictest secrecy, four unidentified British bodies were exhumed from temporary battlefield cemeteries at Ypres, Arras, the Asine and the Somme. None of the soldiers who did the digging were told why. The bodies were taken by field ambulance to GHQ at St-Pol-Sur-Ter Noise. Once there, the bodies were draped with the union flag. Sentries were posted and Brigadier-General Wyatt and a Colonel Gell selected one body at random. The other three were reburied. A French Honour Guard was selected and stood by the coffin overnight of the chosen soldier overnight.
On the morning of the 8th November, a specially designed coffin made of oak from the grounds of Hampton Court arrived and the Unknown Warrior was placed inside. On top was placed a crusaders sword and a shield on which was inscribed: "A British Warrior who fell in the GREAT WAR 1914-1918 for King and Country". On the 9th of November, the Unknown Warrior was taken by horse-drawn carriage through Guards of Honour and the sound of tolling bells and bugle calls to the quayside. There, he was saluted by Marechal Foche and loaded onto HMS Vernon bound for Dover.
The coffin stood on the deck covered in wreaths, surrounded by the French Honour Guard. Upon arrival at Dover, the Unknown Warrior was met with a nineteen gun salute - something that was normally only reserved for Field Marshals. A special train had been arranged and he was then conveyed to Victoria Station, London. He remained there overnight, and, on the morning of the 11th of November, he was finally taken to Westminster Abbey. The idea of the unknown warrior was thought of by a Padre called David Railton who had served on the front line during the Great War the union flag he had used as an altar cloth whilst at the front, was the one that had been draped over the coffin. It was his intention that all of the relatives of the 517,773 combatants whose bodies had not been identified could believe that the Unknown Warrior could very well be their lost husband, father, brother or son...
THIS is the reason we wear poppies. We do not glorify war. We remember - with humility - the great and the ultimate sacrifices that were made, not just in this war, but in every war and conflict where our service personnel have fought - to ensure the liberty and freedoms that we now take for granted. Every year, on the 11th of November, we remember the Unknown Warrior. At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, we will remember them.
-- Edited by Digger on Thursday 26th of October 2023 09:43:39 PM
The poppy is the enduring symbol of remembrance of the First World War. It is strongly linked with Armistice Day (11 November), but the poppy's origin as a popular symbol of remembrance lies in the landscapes of the First World War.
Poppies were a common sight, especially on the Western Front. They flourished in the soil churned up by the fighting and shelling. The flower provided Canadian doctor John McCrae with inspiration for his poem 'In Flanders Fields', which he wrote whilst serving in Ypres in 1915. It was first published in Punch, having been rejected by The Spectator. In 1918, in response to McCrae's poem, American humanitarian Moina Michael wrote 'And now the Torch and Poppy Red, we wear in honor of our dead…'. She campaigned to make the poppy a symbol of remembrance of those who had died in the war.
Artificial poppies were first sold in Britain in 1921 to raise money for the Earl Haig Fund in support of ex-servicemen and the families of those who had died in the conflict. They were supplied by Anna Guérin, who had been manufacturing the flowers in France to raise money for war orphans. Selling poppies proved so popular that in 1922 the British Legion founded a factory - staffed by disabled ex-servicemen - to produce its own. It continues to do so today.
Other charities sell poppies in different colours, each with their own meaning but all to commemorate the losses of war. White poppies, for example, symbolise peace without violence and purple poppies are worn to honour animals killed in conflict.
The poppy continues to be sold worldwide to raise money and to remember those who lost their lives in the First World War and in subsequent conflicts.
Those great men who were dragged into a merciless war. I always felt the war, because an Arch Duke Ferdinand was killed, was a devastating, pointless war. Why? What for?
Those brave, frightened men. Lambs to the slaughter. I wear my poppy for them. I will never forget.
Anonymous said
Oct 27 11:21 AM, 2023
A deeply poignant thread.
May the Unknown Fallen rest in eternal glory, and their sacrifice always be revered.
Digger said
Oct 27 2:38 PM, 2023
Magica wrote:
Those great men who were dragged into a merciless war. I always felt the war, because an Arch Duke Ferdinand was killed, was a devastating, pointless war. Why? What for?
Those brave, frightened men. Lambs to the slaughter. I wear my poppy for them. I will never forget.
The First World War was the worst. The method of sending men over the top when all that awaited them was certain death is madness. My husband's great grandfather died in the WW1, shot through the head on his first charge. Then he lost his grandfather in a Lancaster bomber over France on its first mission.
I always think of the song, Mother's Pride by George Michael when it's poppy day.
Oh she knows She takes his hand And prays the child will understand At the door they watch the men go by In the clothes that daddy wore Mother's pride Baby Boy His father's eyes He's a soldier waiting for war Time will come He'll hold a gun His father's son
And as he grows He hears the band Takes the step from boy to man And at the shore she waves her son goodbye Like the man she did before
Mother's pride Just a boy His country's eyes He's a soldier waving at the shore And in her heart the time has come To lose a son
And all the husbands, all the sons, all the lovers gone They make no difference No difference in the end Still hear the woman say your daddy died a hero In the name of God and man
Mother's pride Crazy boy His lifeless eyes He's a soldier now forevermore He'll hold a gun till kingdom come
-- Edited by Digger on Friday 27th of October 2023 02:41:59 PM
Magica said
Oct 27 4:08 PM, 2023
Beautiful and poignant song. My nan lost her brother in WW1, he was so young.
All they were was cannon fodder. Living in wet, muddy, rat ridden trenches, until sent over the top to die!
Meanwhile, the generals and top ranks, were a mile behind the lines, nice, safe and comfy!
War, what is it good for, absolutely nothing!
Syl said
Oct 27 6:41 PM, 2023
Magica said
Oct 27 10:00 PM, 2023
Syl wrote:
No we wont. I hope all the young kids, when grown, dont ever forget either.
Maddog said
Oct 28 4:10 PM, 2023
WWI takes the cake for the dumbest war, involving the most people, over the most trivial shit.
It's one reason that Americans were in almost total agreement in terms of sitting out WWII.
Maddog said
Oct 28 4:27 PM, 2023
Imagine being 18 years old and being from Manchester, Sydney or Topeka, Kansas and seeing the carnage at Somme, Gallipoli or Belleau Wood and thinking this is all because some clowns shot some Archduke that we never heard of?
jackthelad said
Oct 29 7:32 PM, 2023
I'm not sure all this remembering is as good as it sounds.
Lest we forget... forgetting would work wonders for the middle east right now.
Digger said
Oct 29 7:47 PM, 2023
jackthelad wrote:
I'm not sure all this remembering is as good as it sounds. Lest we forget... forgetting would work wonders for the middle east right now.
We don't remember with resentment though. We remember with respect for those who gave their lives for us. I don't think anyone actually hates the German people for what went down in both wars. That amount of hate and resentment and bitterness seems to be almost exclusively Islamic.
The bottom line is that there are certain people on this planet who want to spread death and evil like a madman smears his shite over everything he sees.
jackthelad said
Oct 29 9:00 PM, 2023
Digger wrote:
jackthelad wrote:
I'm not sure all this remembering is as good as it sounds. Lest we forget... forgetting would work wonders for the middle east right now.
We don't remember with resentment though. We remember with respect for those who gave their lives for us. I don't think anyone actually hates the German people for what went down in both wars. That amount of hate and resentment and bitterness seems to be almost exclusively Islamic.
The bottom line is that there are certain people on this planet who want to spread death and evil like a madman smears his shite over everything he sees.
True that I wonder if the west being Christian alcohol based societies have the teachings of forgiveness ingrained deeper than we realize.
We have had some horrendous wars over the years but afterwards we tend to stagger off as if it was a pub brawl all arm in arm next week?
Those Muslims could learn so much from us people.
-- Edited by jackthelad on Sunday 29th of October 2023 09:01:00 PM
On November 7th, 1920, in strictest secrecy, four unidentified British bodies were exhumed from temporary battlefield cemeteries at Ypres, Arras, the Asine and the Somme. None of the soldiers who did the digging were told why. The bodies were taken by field ambulance to GHQ at St-Pol-Sur-Ter Noise. Once there, the bodies were draped with the union flag. Sentries were posted and Brigadier-General Wyatt and a Colonel Gell selected one body at random. The other three were reburied. A French Honour Guard was selected and stood by the coffin overnight of the chosen soldier overnight.
On the morning of the 8th November, a specially designed coffin made of oak from the grounds of Hampton Court arrived and the Unknown Warrior was placed inside. On top was placed a crusaders sword and a shield on which was inscribed: "A British Warrior who fell in the GREAT WAR 1914-1918 for King and Country". On the 9th of November, the Unknown Warrior was taken by horse-drawn carriage through Guards of Honour and the sound of tolling bells and bugle calls to the quayside. There, he was saluted by Marechal Foche and loaded onto HMS Vernon bound for Dover.
The coffin stood on the deck covered in wreaths, surrounded by the French Honour Guard. Upon arrival at Dover, the Unknown Warrior was met with a nineteen gun salute - something that was normally only reserved for Field Marshals. A special train had been arranged and he was then conveyed to Victoria Station, London. He remained there overnight, and, on the morning of the 11th of November, he was finally taken to Westminster Abbey. The idea of the unknown warrior was thought of by a Padre called David Railton who had served on the front line during the Great War the union flag he had used as an altar cloth whilst at the front, was the one that had been draped over the coffin. It was his intention that all of the relatives of the 517,773 combatants whose bodies had not been identified could believe that the Unknown Warrior could very well be their lost husband, father, brother or son...
THIS is the reason we wear poppies. We do not glorify war. We remember - with humility - the great and the ultimate sacrifices that were made, not just in this war, but in every war and conflict where our service personnel have fought - to ensure the liberty and freedoms that we now take for granted. Every year, on the 11th of November, we remember the Unknown Warrior. At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, we will remember them.
-- Edited by Digger on Thursday 26th of October 2023 09:43:39 PM
The poppy is the enduring symbol of remembrance of the First World War. It is strongly linked with Armistice Day (11 November), but the poppy's origin as a popular symbol of remembrance lies in the landscapes of the First World War.
Poppies were a common sight, especially on the Western Front. They flourished in the soil churned up by the fighting and shelling. The flower provided Canadian doctor John McCrae with inspiration for his poem 'In Flanders Fields', which he wrote whilst serving in Ypres in 1915. It was first published in Punch, having been rejected by The Spectator. In 1918, in response to McCrae's poem, American humanitarian Moina Michael wrote 'And now the Torch and Poppy Red, we wear in honor of our dead…'. She campaigned to make the poppy a symbol of remembrance of those who had died in the war.
Artificial poppies were first sold in Britain in 1921 to raise money for the Earl Haig Fund in support of ex-servicemen and the families of those who had died in the conflict. They were supplied by Anna Guérin, who had been manufacturing the flowers in France to raise money for war orphans. Selling poppies proved so popular that in 1922 the British Legion founded a factory - staffed by disabled ex-servicemen - to produce its own. It continues to do so today.
Other charities sell poppies in different colours, each with their own meaning but all to commemorate the losses of war. White poppies, for example, symbolise peace without violence and purple poppies are worn to honour animals killed in conflict.
The poppy continues to be sold worldwide to raise money and to remember those who lost their lives in the First World War and in subsequent conflicts.
Those brave, frightened men. Lambs to the slaughter. I wear my poppy for them. I will never forget.
A deeply poignant thread.
May the Unknown Fallen rest in eternal glory, and their sacrifice always be revered.
The First World War was the worst. The method of sending men over the top when all that awaited them was certain death is madness. My husband's great grandfather died in the WW1, shot through the head on his first charge. Then he lost his grandfather in a Lancaster bomber over France on its first mission.
I always think of the song, Mother's Pride by George Michael when it's poppy day.
She takes his hand
And prays the child will understand
At the door they watch the men go by
In the clothes that daddy wore
Mother's pride
Baby Boy
His father's eyes
He's a soldier waiting for war
Time will come
He'll hold a gun
His father's son
He hears the band
Takes the step from boy to man
And at the shore she waves her son goodbye
Like the man she did before
Just a boy
His country's eyes
He's a soldier waving at the shore
And in her heart the time has come
To lose a son
They make no difference
No difference in the end
Still hear the woman say your daddy died a hero
In the name of God and man
Crazy boy
His lifeless eyes
He's a soldier now forevermore
He'll hold a gun till kingdom come
-- Edited by Digger on Friday 27th of October 2023 02:41:59 PM
All they were was cannon fodder. Living in wet, muddy, rat ridden trenches, until sent over the top to die!
Meanwhile, the generals and top ranks, were a mile behind the lines, nice, safe and comfy!
War, what is it good for, absolutely nothing!
No we wont. I hope all the young kids, when grown, dont ever forget either.
It's one reason that Americans were in almost total agreement in terms of sitting out WWII.
Lest we forget... forgetting would work wonders for the middle east right now.
We don't remember with resentment though. We remember with respect for those who gave their lives for us. I don't think anyone actually hates the German people for what went down in both wars. That amount of hate and resentment and bitterness seems to be almost exclusively Islamic.
The bottom line is that there are certain people on this planet who want to spread death and evil like a madman smears his shite over everything he sees.
True that I wonder if the west being Christian alcohol based societies have the teachings of forgiveness ingrained deeper than we realize.
We have had some horrendous wars over the years but afterwards we tend to stagger off as if it was a pub brawl all arm in arm next week?
Those Muslims could learn so much from us people.
-- Edited by jackthelad on Sunday 29th of October 2023 09:01:00 PM