Lest We Forget

[macliam]

Shamrock poppy.jpg (4.18 KiB) Viewed 2828 times

Went the day well?
We died and never knew.
But, well or ill,
Freedom, we died for you.
Went the day well?

When you go home,
Tell them of us and say,
"For your tomorrows,
These gave their todays".
John Maxwell Edmonds, 1918.

In Memory of my late Grandfather's buddy, Private John Cantillon, 2nd Bn. Royal Munster Fusiliers killed at Arras, 25/06/1916.
He died for a freedom he never lived to see and has no known grave.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a anam uasal.

https://youtu.be/XDyip7SIJkQ

[bprev]

Few home in Ireland did not lose fathers and brothers in the war to end all wars,many homes in all of Ireland lost fathers and brothers in the war against fascism even though Irish Government discriminated against families of those who fought for world freedom and those who returned after WWII. Present Irish Government tends to suggest they are not quite criminals and should be remembered .
Blessed be the peacemakers..their souls will surely sit at the right hand of their god

[kevinchess1]

If you’re going to a Memorial service I salute you
If you’re going to take a couple of minutes today to reflect and remember then I thank you
If you’re not bothering then that’s okay, they died to give you the freedom to do that

[blythburgh]

If you’re going to a Memorial service I salute you
If you’re going to take a couple of minutes today to reflect and remember then I thank you
If you’re not bothering then that’s okay, they died to give you the freedom to do that

I respect those who chose to wear a red poppy, a white poppy (peace) purple (remembrance of animal suffering in wars0 or no poppy at all. As Kev says those who fought and sometimes died in past wars did so to give you the freedom to choose.

[macliam]

Few home in Ireland did not lose fathers and brothers in the war to end all wars,many homes in all of Ireland lost fathers and brothers in the war against fascism even though Irish Government discriminated against families of those who fought for world freedom and those who returned after WWII. Present Irish Government tends to suggest they are not quite criminals and should be remembered .
Blessed be the peacemakers..their souls will surely sit at the right hand of their god

Right so. My Pop volunteered in 1914 at the age of 19 and was gassed on the Western Front and caught malaria, dysentery and viral hepatitis at Gallipoli - neither killed him, but he didn't make old bones and died aged 64.

After being demobbbed and a couple of years scratching by, he joined the new National Army and became a CQSM in the "Cór Póiliní an Airm" or Military Police. AIUI, this corps were different to what we understand today because, due to the nature of inherited British-style military organization, they were the only unit able to work below platoon level, so were used to chase the IRA flying columns during the Civil War, more like modern-day special forces. Believe it or not, to this day I have found no definitive information about them (even the Irish Army have nothing) - it's as if they were shadows. That's because Ireland still can't resolve issues around the Treaty and an ugly Civil War, so the anti-Treaty forces are seen through rose-tinted glasses as heroic idealists (Ken Loache's film "The Wind That Shakes the Barley" is a prime example). "Staters" are sidelined and my Pop's activities even more...... but like the heroes of Jadotville, they will have their day.

Then my "Uncle" ( actually a half-uncle, his father was killed in WW1) joined the Irish Army in the 30's
and was twice court-martialled during the "Emergency" because he wanted to fight the Germans - and as you say, those who actually did so were very poorly treated on their return. Ireland went though a black dog and has been conflicted about these things for many years, sad to say - but I think attitudes have changed and, while not lauded, those who fought are respected. The problem is that it's so tied up with the old anti-British sentiment that nobody really wants to go there now.....

For me, I honour all who gave their youth to fight for their beliefs and respect those who died for them, be they British, Irish, German or any other nationality.
Ar dheis Dé go raibh a n-anamacha uaisle uilig - May all their noble souls sit at the right of God.

[macliam]

If you’re going to a Memorial service I salute you
If you’re going to take a couple of minutes today to reflect and remember then I thank you
If you’re not bothering then that’s okay, they died to give you the freedom to do that

I respect those who chose to wear a red poppy, a white poppy (peace) purple (remembrance of animal suffering in wars0 or no poppy at all. As Kev says those who fought and sometimes died in past wars did so to give you the freedom to choose.

Time passes, memories fade. I recall talking to the old guys whose lives had been changed forever by a conflict beyond their control. I remember the photo of my Pop that always had pride of place at home, with the miniature tricolour behind it. I remember holding the "dead man's penny" that was all my cousins had to remember their grandfather by and I recall all the stories I heard from my own father. So, I respect those to whom the date is less significant, but I will always honour it for all of them.

[blythburgh]

I always think about the seaman 'im indoors knew on one of his ships when in the merchant navy. He had been a merchant seaman during WW" and sunk more than once. Unlike his Royal Navy compatriots his wages stopped the day his ship went down and only restarted when he stepped aboard his next ship. One of the highest rates of death was amongst the civilains in the Merchant Navy and The Royal Naval Patrol Service. These were often fishing boats and were used to find mines. You can imagine how dangerous that was in a boat built for fishing and no protection against the mines they were searching for.

[macliam]

Your post reminds me of two of my father's friends when I was a kid.

One had been a Fleet Air Arm pilot officer, flying Fairy Swordfish torpedo planes. They were open-cockpit biplanes that looked like a throwback to WW1 and had little modern equipment protection or armament - the saving grace was that they were so slow that modern fighters had trouble matching them. He had taken part in raids against the enemy in Italy, flying into intense enemy fire with virtually no protection.

The other was a whaler (I still remember his tales of South Georgia and have a piece of Sperm Whale tooth he gave me) who had worked on the Russian convoys in WW2. They had sailed in convoy, under attack by enemy planes, ships and submarines, to northern Russia - and when they got there they were not even allowed to leave the ship before returning. I remember him telling me that nobody wore lifejackets, because anyone who went into the water was dead within a couple of minutes....

Then i recall the father of a schoolfriend. He was Polish and had been captured by the Russians. He escaped and walked from Siberia to Turkey, where he joined the Free Polish Forces and fought with them up through Italy.

These were ordinary men in extraordinary circumstances - but men who showed significant courage. They deserve to be remembered.