Remembrance

[Oldddudders]

Our leader decreed there should be 2 minutes respectful silence, and the postings in Active Content do indeed span that period. I was actually standing in a field in pouring rain putting up electric fence at that time (midday here) but I did note the moment and the admirable sentiment it represents.

[edcayton]

I "listened to it" on the radio as usual, it feels more real somehow.

 

Ed

[Wherry Lines]

As did I Ed. Seems more poignant and emotional on the radio....

[bluebottle]

On Remembrance Sunday I shall be going down to our local War Memorial as usual. No smart uniforms, no politicians, no "Nimrod". Just a small bunch of (largely) ageing men standing stiffly to attention while a few of Binyon's lines are read and the silence is observed while cars trundle unheedingly and unheeded along the nearby main road.

[Welchester]

Isn't it a public holiday there?

 

Eta - that was a response to Olddudders - I had been called away mid post

[Gwiwer]

Within one tradition there is variation. Here there was the customary one minute silence observed by those who cared to do so. That would have been at midnight last night UK time. As it was 22.00 local time here the passage of 11.00 - 11.02 UK time went unmarked. I was in fact in conversation (electronically) with a friend in Sussex who I know to have military service under his belt and who, while I was aware of his local time, made no suggestion that we should pause.

 

Observation remains a matter of personal choice though it is very widely respected. Buses and trams stopped when it was safe to do so; trains running between stations did not though some may have waited extra time at their previous stop until 11.01. A few employers have suggested that their staff must observe the silence; one or two by contrast instructed that work must continue normally. Either would have riled some employees depending on their opinions. I am currently unwell and away from work but based on previous years we would be requested to continue business as usual if already dealing with a caller but otherwise to block inbound calls for a minute. No comment would have been made had any individual chosen to continue business through the silence.

 

And then we do it all again on Sunday.

[Oldddudders]

Isn't it a public holiday there?

Certainly is. At 1100 here there was no doubt a solemn moment at the memorial outside the church in St Cosme en Vairais, ditto Nogent le Bernard - the two villages between which we live. Today the Tricolor is everwhere.

 

In recent years the French have had a bad press in some other countries for not joining in some present-day conflicts. We should not confuse the acts of governments on the International Stage with the views of the ordinary people they purport to represent. A few miles from here is the grave of a US Lieutenant, who died on 10th August 1944 when the Allies were driving out the Hun. There is a very-well-tended roadside memorial, and every year on the anniversary of his death the French and US flags fly above it. Loads of flowers are placed there. A road is named after him, too. These people have not forgotten his sacrifice.

[edcayton]

I have just heard Andrew Motion (ex poet lauriate) read his new poem "the Death of Harry Patch"-the last Tommy who died earlier this year. It was extremely moving.

 

Ed

[oldknotty]

Today is Veterans day here In the US I will be remembering my fallen comrades today as I do most days. It is a solemn day for me every year but i try to participate best i can . if not for my fellow warriors there would be no free world as we know it God bless them all !!!!

martin

[Dave777]

This window into an individual's one-word personal remembrance at 10:57am was pretty poignant:

 

[S.A.C Martin]

This was my tribute - I made a headboard from a Poppy button and a bit of wire to hang it on the handrail:

 

 

I renamed and numbered the locomotive 6109 Royal Engineer for my late grandfather.

[trisonic]

Well as has been said, here in America it's Veteran's Day - which is more to do with the survivor's as opposed to Memorial Day at the end of May.

 

 

Anyway in case you missed it here's a link to "Requiem: George Hadler" a piece dedicated to my Great Uncle (my Mother's side) who was killed on the Somme in 1916. I wanted his name kept alive - he was just one of thousands killed just in that battle (58, 000 casualties on the opening day - the population of a decent sized town and the British Army's single day's greatest casualty rate).

 

http://www.soundclic...&songID=6572374

 

Best, Pete.

[Coombe Barton]

http://www.soundclic...&songID=6572374

 

Best, Pete.

 

Thank you.

[RedgateModels]

This window into an individual's one-word personal remembrance at 10:57am was pretty poignant:

 

 

Ta,

 

he actually survived the war, dug in in France rather than evacuate at Dunkirk to save the artilliery falling into enemy hands. I had the pleasure of knowing him until the early 90s. His maxim of "make the job pay for the tool" has stood me in good stead.

[Colin]

I was in a fairly intensive team meeting today, at 11am someone elsewhere in the building signalled via the fire alarm and we all paused & observed the two minutes silence.

 

As it should be.

[Guest CLARENCE]

On this day I remember my Grandad (though remember isn't the right word, as I never knew him, and neither did my dad, who was born in 1914). Grandad died on 5th November 1914 at the third battle of Ypres; his body was never recovered, but his name is inscribed on the wall at Tyne Cot.

I count myself one of the lucky ones who have never had to go to war, because thousands of men like him did so that we could live in peace.

Thanks, Grandad.

Private Clarence Chatterton, 1st Battalion, Cheshire Regiment

[surfsup]

Was busy working away in the college workshops on the lathes today, 10:59 fire alarm goes off, power off, 2 minutes silence...11:02 power back on again, back to work on the lathes...

 

Here to you Grandfathers, Fathers Uncle and to everyone who fought in both World Wars...

 

-My Fathers Father was in REME during the war, Mothers father served on HMS Belfast - including the Russian conveys - during ww2, and my father’s uncle was in the RAF... All survived but are now sadly now long gone, but id love to have heard / known their stories / seen some of their pictures...

[apj64]

In contrast to using fire alarms to signify the start of the 2 minutes silence, I was actually in the progress of testing a fire alarm at 11am and suspended the test for 5 minutes.

This was in the City of London corner of Gracechurch St & Fenchurch St and I did not see one person in the street stop to observe the 2 minutes, However the store I was working in did stop all transactions for the period.

 

Andy

[LN Lancs]

Where I work the alert was sounded at 1100 and the carry on at 1102.

 

What pleases me is that we are now actually commemorating the event. When I joined the RN , 24 years ago, Remembrance Day wasn't such a big thing. I served with the French military for 6 years and was always humbled by their respect for the day.

 

Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this thread, I am a serving officer and am always thankful for the support others give us, without people like you I, and everybody I know in uniform, would just give up. Thank you.

[Guest Max Stafford]

I was on an officer safety course in Lancaster today and our course made a point of standing silent on the hour.

Nothing could be heard outside either - it appeared that even the wind paused.

 

Dave.

[Minster]

I spent 15 minutes reprogramming the automatic change of lesson bells in the school where I work so that at 11:00 we could have 1 minutes silence.

I was was working on a computer at the time in my office when the bell went off and I just stopped where I was, then continued afterwards with the work.

When I was in school as a lad this memorial was never done, I never saw anyone do anything except for the Saturday night armistice on the TV and then the Sunday morning one. Then as the Idea was brought in to mark the true 11:00 so it now seems to be becoming more accepted by people if they are in a building which reminds them off it.

 

John

[Peter Kazmierczak]

We put posters up this morning reminding people about the 2 minutes silence at 11 o'clock. I did an announcement over the PA reminding people it would begin in half a minute. Afterwards I said "Thank you" for respecting the silence.

[DJH584]

During my silence I thought of my grandfather, Edward Grayken. He took part, as a Royal Marine, in the Battle of Zeebrugge in WW1.

Eddie was hit in the face by the recoil of one of the boat guns (Merseyside ferryboat) he was manning.

Although he survived, those injuries were to plague him for the rest of his life.

 

David

[SWT442]

I unfortunatley missed observing the two minutes silence, but I always observe it when I can. I was busy doing safety checks on a steam boiler and only remembered about the silence at lunch.

 

Where as my mate out on site was above the ceiling of one of the Hospitals corridors attending to a supply fault on a section of pipe, singing away wondering why people around him had stopped and where giving him a funny look!

 

Andy.

[bike2steam]

My granfer (paternal) had half of his left foot blown off at Passchendaele in 1917, his son, my father was in the 8th army thro' North Africa where he caught malaria, went on to Italy, and missed D-day because of a bad bought of malaria, but rejoined his command D-day +8, and was at the front all the way to Germany. My father was dedicated to the British Legion up to his death in 1980. Because of the many tales of those 2 I've always honoured the 2 minutes.