At the eleventh hour... on the eleventh day.... of the eleventh month

[whart57]

8 minutes ago, Legend said:

 Yes it is 

 

I would have had an Uncle, except he died age 21 on HM Trawler Fortuna off the coast, near Eyemouth. He was a stoker, and his trawler was straffed by a Luftwaffe bomber and sunk. Can you imagine? His final minutes must have been terrifying.  His body washed up on shore and he and a few of his shipmates are buried at Berwick Upon Tweed.

 

 

I would have had an uncle except he died aged 27 on the Cap Arcona in the last days of the war. His ship was sunk by the RAF, despite being a civilian ship carrying concentration camp prisoners, something the Swedes had told the British. He is not remembered.

 

I would have had an aunt too but she died in Auschwitz. She is remembered because she was Jewish, not for her resistance work.

 

We can all do that recall, the death toll in World War Two was horrendous. And, as in the case of my uncle, many died through friendly fire. I would have liked to see far more effort made over the years to reconcile the former enemies. Most of Europe has done so, but too many in Britain resist that, preferring to keep the grudges going.

[whart57]

..............

Edited November 7, 2022 by whart57
Exasperated outburst removed.

[AY Mod]

3 minutes ago, whart57 said:

OK guys, celebrate your wars if you want. Just be honest that that is what you are doing.

 

A crass insult which means your access to the topic is removed.

[Downendian]

A beautiful tribute at the Plymouth cenotaph and naval memorial where Remembrance Day is hard etched into my  former adopted city. A wave of poppies - stunning.

 

 

[didcot]

It's a tragedy to me that the human race in the 21st Century still hasn't learnt the lessons from past conflicts around the world. There are no winners.

[Phil Bullock]

Commemoration certainly goes back before WW1 . In the village I grew up in I had friends who lived in …. And I used to deliver newspapers to …. Hay Lane .

 

I always assumed it reflected the rural idyll of Worcestershire but no. The local land owners - the Sandys family - named it to commemorate La Haye Sainte at Waterloo, 1815.

Edited November 7, 2022 by Phil Bullock
Better phraseology