We will
remember them
Age shall
not weary them, nor the years condemn,
At the
going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.’
These words, the fourth stanza of Robert Laurence Binyon’s ‘Ode of Remembrance,’ are spoken at the Cenotaph in London and at countless village memorials and military bases throughout the world on Remembrance Sunday. It is a solemn, poignant moment and is followed by the deepening quietness of the two-minute silence. Whatever the size of the gathering, it is moving to observe the reverence displayed, in particular by the very old and the extremely young.
At 11 a.m. on November 11th, the moment at which the Armistice came into effect in 1918, having been agreed at 05.10.am, many businesses, schools, and other organisations, observe the silence.
It was first observed on November 11th, 1919, to mark the first anniversary of the cessation of the First World War. It was initiated by King George V, who issued a proclamation appealing for a two-minute silence ‘to remember the fallen.’ The first minute was to remember those who had died in conflict, soldiers, and civilians alike, and the second was to give thought to those left behind, the maimed and the bereaved, who must continue with their altered lives.
Laurence Binyon wrote ‘For the Fallen’ in September 1914, a few weeks after war was declared when many casualties had been suffered at the Battles of Mons and Le Cateau and the First Battle of the Marne.
In 1915, aged forty-six, he volunteered as a hospital orderly in France and later, in England, cared for the returned wounded from the ten-month long Battle of Verdun.
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Lovely post.
ReplyDeleteVery brave people.
I don't think I could survive long in their shoes.
And all v. young guys.
Attitudes change when war is declared.
DeleteLovely post. That postbox topper is beautiful too.
ReplyDeleteSuch a lot of thought goes into the toppers.
DeleteThe postbox topper is superb and your writing excellent, capturing the heart of Remembrance Day. How much we owe to those who served in whatever capacity. The purple poppies add such a poignant note.
ReplyDeleteNever to be forgotten, through so many conflicts and skirmishes.
DeleteThank you.
ReplyDelete😊
DeleteThe embroidery looks so intricate
ReplyDeleteIt's clever work.
DeleteI love the photos of the beautiful red poppies which stand for the blood of the men who fought for the Allies. Students learned the WW1 poem, In Flanders Fields, at school.
ReplyDeleteThe poppies are so striking, blooming in the blood-rich fields of war.
DeleteHow interesting that Laurence Binyon wrote those famous words right at the start of WW1, before he would even had a inkling of the horrors yet to come
ReplyDeleteA friend in England has been knitting poppies for a local Remembrance Day memorial. She told me she made a few white ones but kept these back as she was worried that they wouldn't be approved of by others.
My youngest daughter went to a Quaker school and they always sold white as well as red poppies. I'm sorry your friend felt that way.
DeleteThe post box topper is nice and we should never forget, even though horrors continue on today.
ReplyDeleteHorrors will continue for as long as man inherits the earth.
DeleteWe never forget and always make sure that, wherever we are and whatever we are doing, we observe the two minute silence.
ReplyDeleteAs more of us of a certain generation depart this world, I do wonder if it is something that will continue in the future.
I wonder that sometimes, too, but it is honoured in schools in UK so hopefully it will continue.
DeleteThat topper is one of the best I've seen. A lovely post.
ReplyDeleteThere are some talented people around.
DeleteWe must never forget, sadly as a race we have not learnt any lessons and wars are still raging across our earth.
ReplyDeleteWars will continue as long as man inhabits the earth.
DeleteI was thinking that was from In Flanders Fields by John McCrae. How wrong I was.
ReplyDeleteIt's written in similar vein.
DeleteHi Janice - love the postbox topper ... amazingly creative - especially as all parts resonate, while you've given us a good overview of where 'not forgetting' comes from - cheers Hilary
ReplyDeleteThank you, Hilary.
DeleteIt is so nice that there are three different coloured poppies on the postbox - each with a different meaning. Whoever knitted that topper did so with much skill and gratitude. Lest We Forget.
ReplyDeleteWe must never forget and must ensure our children and grandchildren learn their history, too.
DeleteI fear we will never have peace. It isn't in our nature, and eventually we may destroy ourselves as a species. It's a beautiful post topper and I wish we could have world peace through crocheting, if nothing else.
ReplyDeleteAmen to that.
DeleteOnce again someone has done some amazing handwork. The more amazing part is how we survive these wars when they are so terrible.
ReplyDeleteIt is astonishing that people survive the horrors of war.
DeleteA quiet morning has this WW2 pilot's daughter revisiting the blog and trying to work out which aircraft is represented on the topper. A Lancaster I think?
ReplyDeleteWe came to the conclusion that it is a Lancaster, too.
DeleteHow lovely.
ReplyDeleteAlison in Wales x
It is beautiful.
DeleteWe never forget, but sometimes we don't remember either. The US certainly showed they didn't study history today
ReplyDeleteIt's a very sad day for the US and for the rest of the western world.
DeleteIt is important to remember, but I can only echo CJ Kennedy's comment about my own country. I cannot begin to tell you how depressing it is to realize that I live in a country that has now elected that odious and unserious man as president not once but twice.
ReplyDeleteI didn't believe he would win the first time and was astonished and horrified when he did. Sadly, I did think he would triumph this time.
DeleteIt's a shameful day for America. Sadly we're not only hurting ourselves. Our lunacy will impact the wider world.
ReplyDeleteIt does a disservice to the millions of decent Americans that such a poor choice was presented to them. Mind you, our politicians aren't brilliant, either, but mostly they're reasonably honest and decent.
DeleteWhat a beautiful topper! I actually didn't know about the significance of those purple poppies, so I've yet again learned something from your post. Humanity still hasn't learned its lesson, though. The war to end all wars, they said ... xxx
ReplyDeleteThe war to end all wars will be the one that ends the human race.
DeleteVery talented people to make that remembrance.
ReplyDeleteIf it makes people think, it's worth it.
DeleteThank you for this lovely post.
ReplyDeleteThat post-box topper is amazing.
"We will remember them"
All the best Jan
Thank you.
ReplyDeleteOf course, I experienced the war very differently as a child. There were no heroes, there were only men who were missing a body part, legs, arms, bullet in the head, etc. When I was on the beach in Belgium for the first time at the age of 13, the first thing I noticed was that all the men had nothing missing , they had all the body parts, and that I can never forget. The fathers of all my friends had something missing, an arm, one or two legs, and I found that completely normal.
ReplyDeleteIn latter years, we have commemorated all participants in the war, and that is right. Ordinary people thought they were fighting on the right side, no matter their country.
ReplyDelete