Remembrance Sunday

[CUSSIE01]

Remembrance Sunday takes place this year on 12th November. Could people please buy a poppy & attend a Remembrance Sunday commemoration if at all possible. As the years go by we are all in danger of forgetting the debt we owe to our servicemen & women.
Lest we forget

[Jaydog]

Remembrance Sunday takes place this year on 12th November. Could people please buy a poppy & attend a Remembrance Sunday commemoration if at all possible. As the years go by we are all in danger of forgetting the debt we owe to our servicemen & women.
Lest we forget

Go every year Cuss. Will be in Chester this year so I’ll wander up to the Cathedral as I did last year.

[1964white]

Wear my poppy with pride, Cussie.

[mentalcase]

There isn't a year goes by many of us never forget cussie
I'll be at Knaresborough cenotaph saturday 11/11 before heading on to ER, then either Knaresborough, Wetherby or Ripon Sunday morning.

[geronimo]

Unimaginable what them lads went through all them years ago
Always takes me back to the first world war in particular trench warfare men used like cannon fodder shot or blown to pieces without having the chance to fire their gun or fight back an whole generation wiped out

Many didn't have a clue what was coming it will all be over by Christmas they told them the great adventure they thought
Let's all join up together and before they knew it they had walked in to a living hell many never to return
Lives wasted on the whim of pompous generals miles away from the front lines who did not have a.clue what was happening
Lions led by donkeys it was famously said at the time families waiting for the dreaded telegram to arrive at their door the war to end all wars then twenty years later it starts all over again hard to imagine in this day and age now
But they should never be forgotten

[BradWhite]

This is my Uncle.

https://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/ ... LW85W_OAfM

[Madron]

That reminds me, Wedding anniversary on 11th.

Bradwhite- Congrats to your uncle, still looks rosy cheeked and in fine fettle.

[GreennWhite]

We will never forget them

[mentalcase]

This is my Uncle.

https://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/ ... LW85W_OAfM

Total respect

[Sean_Nile]

The green fields of France

[Prisoner37]

We went to Ypres in the summer. It really brings it home to you when cycling around that area just how many war cemeteries there are there.

We went to the last post at the Menin Gate twice. It is so touching that the fallen are remembered there evey single evening by three buglers of the Ypres Fire Serice. As our AirB&B host told us; if it wasn't for their sacrifice we would be speaking German not Flemish.

We also went to the Talbot House Musem. The house was set by a chaplain up as a place of restbite for solders away from the front line. After touring the museum you get a cup of tea. That was served to us by a volunteer from York (where we live) who happened to be a massive Leeds fan!

That war is now well over 100 years ago but we must keep remembering them.

[BradWhite]

Total respect

Thank you.

[Barlow Boy]

This is my Uncle.

https://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/ ... LW85W_OAfM

Thank you for sharing mate.

I’m getting a bottle of rum in this weekend.

[CUSSIE01]

The green fields of France

Prefer The Fureys version Sean but still a lovely song.

[mentalcase]

We went to Ypres in the summer. It really brings it home to you when cycling around that area just how many war cemeteries there are there.

We went to the last post at the Menin Gate twice. It is so touching that the fallen are remembered there evey single evening by three buglers of the Ypres Fire Serice. As our AirB&B host told us; if it wasn't for their sacrifice we would be speaking German not Flemish.

We also went to the Talbot House Musem. The house was set by a chaplain up as a place of restbite for solders away from the front line. After touring the museum you get a cup of tea. That was served to us by a volunteer from York (where we live) who happened to be a massive Leeds fan!

That war is now well over 100 years ago but we must keep remembering them.

What month did you go and where did you stay, it's very busy this time of year and obviously rammed, you need to book early to get anywhere, also at xmas time, but anytime is well worth a visit.

[geronimo]

my grandfather is buried at oosterbeek in holland , visited his grave a few times when i lived over there .

the film a bridge too far depicts the attempted capture of the bridge at arnhem , where the first british airbourne division landed and ended up been stranded , they then ended up having to withdraw after nine days when they were told it would be only two days because the british could not get through after the americans had captured the bridge at nijmegan

some remarkable stories about that battle include three victoria cross winners of which two were awarded posthumously , apparently he was killed defending the area on the outskirts of arnhem after the british realised they had to withdraw.

[BradWhite]

Thank you for sharing mate.

I’m getting a bottle of rum in this weekend.

Thanks.

[Carrick Dave]

Prefer The Fureys version Sean but still a lovely song.

Written by a Scots/Aussie singer/songwriter called Eric Bogle, the lyrics have been eroded a bit by the Fureys and others over time but this version is very close to the original.

He also penned "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda" as covered by the Pogues, two of the most poignant anti-war songs ever written for me..

[CUSSIE01]

This is my Uncle.

https://www.thetelegraphandargus.co.uk/ ... LW85W_OAfM

Massive respect to that generation Brad, hope he’s doing ok.

[Byebyegeegee]

Written by a Scots/Aussie singer/songwriter called Eric Bogle, the lyrics have been eroded a bit by the Fureys and others over time but this version is very close to the original.

He also penned "And the Band Played Waltzing Matilda" as covered by the Pogues, two of the most poignant anti-war songs ever written for me..

Yes, two beautifully articulated and poignant songs Dave, and beautifully sung by Eric himself. When I listen to “the band played Waltzing Matilda” I’m incredibly touched by all the lyrics, of course, but every time I hear the highlighted lines near the end of the song it almost brings tears to my eyes.

When I was a young man I carried me pack
And I lived the free life of the rover
From the Murray's green basin to the dusty outback
I waltzed my Matilda all over
Then in 1915 my country said: Son,
It's time to stop rambling, there's work to be done
So they gave me a tin hat and they gave me a gun
And they sent me away to the war
And the band played Waltzing Matilda
When the ship pulled away from the quay
And amid all the tears, flag waving and cheers
We sailed off for Gallipoli
I well remember that terrible day
When our blood stained the sand and the water
And how in that hell they call Suvla Bay
We were butchered like lambs at the slaughter
Johnny Turk, he was ready, he primed himself well
He rained us with bullets, and he showered us with shell
And in five minutes flat, we were all blown to hell
He nearly blew us right back to Australia
And the band played Waltzing Matilda
When we stopped to bury our slain
Well we buried ours and the Turks buried theirs
Then it started all over again
Oh those that were living just tried to survive
In that mad world of blood, death and fire
And for ten weary weeks I kept myself alive
While around me the corpses piled higher
Then a big Turkish shell knocked me arse over head
And when I awoke in me hospital bed
And saw what it had done, I wished I was dead
I never knew there was worse things than dying
Oh no more I'll go Waltzing Matilda
All around the green bush far and near
For to hump tent and pegs, a man needs both legs
No more waltzing Matilda for me
They collected the wounded, the crippled, the maimed
And they shipped us back home to Australia
The armless, the legless, the blind and the insane
Those proud wounded heroes of Suvla
And when the ship pulled into Circular Quay
I looked at the place where me legs used to be
And thanked Christ there was no one there waiting for me
To grieve and to mourn and to pity
And the Band played Waltzing Matilda
When they carried us down the gangway
Oh nobody cheered, they just stood there and stared
Then they turned all their faces away
Now every April I sit on my porch
And I watch the parade pass before me
I see my old comrades, how proudly they march
Renewing their dreams of past glories
I see the old men all tired, stiff and worn
Those weary old heroes of a forgotten war
And the young people ask "What are they marching for?"
And I ask myself the same question
And the band plays Waltzing Matilda
And the old men still answer the call
But year after year, their numbers get fewer
Someday, no one will march there at all
Waltzing Matilda, Waltzing Matilda
Who'll come a-Waltzing Matilda with me?
And their ghosts may be heard as they march by the billabong
So who'll come a-Waltzing Matilda with me?

Eric Bogle is a very underrated songwriter who has written some lovely songs and deserves to be better known. That goes for a lot of Folk Musicians as well, but I would say that, I suppose, as it’s my favourite genre of music.