In remembrance of all those men and women who have lost their lives in the service of their countries, those who still suffer the physical and mental scars of the conflicts in which they served; and those who are left with loss and grief.
"At the going down of the sun, and in the morning, we will remember them"
A day of moving ceremony and remembrance...and much of it very personal. Thank you, Ian. We will remember...
ReplyDeleteWarmest wishes.
As you say Ian, it was not just those that were killed that suffered. My grandfather served in France from 1914 to 1919. His early death at 52 years was a consequence of war injuries and serving as a policeman on each night of the Clydebank blitz in WW2. His brother served from 1914 to 1918 in Egypt, Gallipoli and France. He was blown up by shells twice and left for dead both times once in Gallipoli and once in France. He returned from France deaf and disabled for life from his injuries to discover that his business partner (who had avoided conscription) had sold their business and made off with the profits. My grandfather's two sisters worked as nurses in military hospitals. They never married as their boyfriends were both killed in France. Every family has similar stories of loss, what a waste if ever we take for granted what we enjoy today. It is one of the reasons that I believe the nuclear deterrent has kept the peace in Europe. Apart from my brother, who served in the first Gulf war with the RAF, mine is the first generation of our family in two centuries who has not had to go to war in Europe. We need to be so grateful to those who sacrificed their futures so that we can enjoy such freedom as we have today.
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