11th November - Lest We Ever Forget

A tribute to the fallen in Great Ayton: 

From the first to fall in WWI: 

To the last to fall in WWII:

Including the lad who died on his very first day in France: 

Bless them all.

 

Never Forgotten

 

Remembrance Sunday 2023

A small village in North Yorkshire remembers (see below, the pictures say it all): 

The community knitted the poppies.

Researched the names.

Found the faded photographs.

Across two world wars.

And remembered.

Lest we forget.

Remembrance Sunday 2022

There is a village in North Yorkshire, England .. like so many other small villages and places in the UK that remembers those who made the sacrifice (see below, the hand knitted poppies from the community, mostly red, but white, purple and black too - are planted): 

Individual soldiers were researched and remembered (see below, the old photographs are haunting, putting a face to a chiselled name): 

The lawn of the church bleeds red (see below, from the font of the War Memorial across the well-cut grass): 

The ghosts stand-to, guarding the poppies (see below, and stop the passer-by in their tracks): 

There are so many to be named (see below, from all walks of life): 

From the world wars and more modern wars (see below, it never seems to stop):

It is a very moving place where people's thoughts turn to the past (see below, I am left wondering how far we have actually come): 

And this is but one of the many villages, of the many towns and of the many cities in the UK and wider Commonwealth and connected world (see below, it touches us all): 

Remembrance and respect.

Let We Forget

The local church memorial (see below, each one a locally knitted poppy): 

If it stops and makes you think then I think it has done its job.

Remembrance Sunday and the following11th November

 Lest we forget ...

Those ...

Who sacrificed their all ..

For our freedom ...

And who still serve as an example to us all.

Lest We Forget

Lest We Forget: 100 Years Ago Today: The War to "End All Wars" Stopped

Occasionally you turn a familiar corner in your familiar village or town but instead of something familiar you are stunned by a spectacular unfamiliar sight. One night I was brought to tears as unbeknown to me the grounds of the local church near its cenotaph had been turned into the most beautiful display of remembrance, a display of love and a display of loss. There were poppies, lots of poppies, but the poppies were special, they had been knitted by local woman, children and men of the community in remembrance of the fallen. They adorned the church grounds as a silent testimony to a past event of world shattering magnitude that left no family large or small untouched. It was a very personal tribute with the names of the men lost from village looking down on them (see below):

In daylight it is even more beautiful (see below):

The silhouettes of two Tommies with gun barrels facing down to the earth (see below):

It is an absolute tribute to the villagers that despite the display being up for over a week and in clear uninhibited touching distance to all; that is all ages, all creeds and all persons of the village have shown respect. It seems to have touched a special chord in all of us (see below):

I was heartened to know that we are capable of such simple genius. It filled me with hope (see below):

Please God never again need we remember such a waste, of such arrogance and be capable of such a scale of sin!

Armistice Day: 11:00 am 11/11/1918 Lest We Forget

The "War to End All Wars" ...

Didn't ... but today we remember all the sacrifices.

Remember ...

Very moving today at work, many nationalities, many religions, all respected the two minutes silence. Thank you. I live in a good nation with good people. 

First Things First

Remember

Remember Them

Lest we forget ...

Lest we forget ...

Grandad

Lest We Forget

 Photo from: www.freephoto.com

Lest we forget

1914 to 1918 was a terrible folly

To a grandfather I never met, but who survived four years of the terrible trenches on the Western Front

Armistice: at 11:00 am on the 11/11/1918 the guns fell silent

Lest we forget the sacrifices of previous generations

Photo from: www.freephoto.com