Lest we forget....
 

“Have you news of my boy Jack?”
Not this tide.
“When d’you think that he’ll come back?”
Not with this wind blowing, and this tide.

“Has any one else had word of him?”
Not this tide.
For what is sunk will hardly swim,
Not with this wind blowing, and this tide.

“Oh, dear, what comfort can I find?”
None this tide,
Nor any tide,
Except he did not shame his kind —
Not even with that wind blowing, and that tide.

Then hold your head up all the more,
This tide,
And every tide;
Because he was the son you bore,
And gave to that wind blowing and that tide!


Rememberance Day is just under a month away.........Will get my poppy flown over to wear !

Re: Lest we forget....
 

you can buy poppies here too :)

Re: Lest we forget....
 

Oh good thanks, I didnt know that !.....

Re: Lest we forget....
 

Park n Shop I think, I used to always get mine at the Country Club. If I see any I will post on here :thumbup: and it is Arbroath's Birthday that day too :)

Re: Lest we forget....
 

There are always poppies for sale at DOSC too.

-

Re: Lest we forget....
 

But do the proceeds go to the right charities back home?

Re: Lest we forget....
 

My favourite Hymn..

Having experienced 1st hand the realities of armed conflict lest we ever ever forget.



Eternal Father, Strong to save,
Whose arm hath bound the restless wave,
Who bid'st the mighty Ocean deep
Its own appointed limits keep;
O hear us when we cry to thee,
for those in peril on the sea.

O Christ! Whose voice the waters heard
And hushed their raging at Thy word,
Who walked'st on the foaming deep,
and calm amidst its rage didst sleep;
Oh hear us when we cry to Thee
For those in peril on the sea!

Most Holy spirit! Who didst brood
Upon the chaos dark and rude,
And bid its angry tumult cease,
And give, for wild confusion, peace;
Oh, hear us when we cry to Thee
For those in peril on the sea!

O Trinity of love and power!
Our brethren shield in danger's hour;
From rock and tempest, fire and foe,
Protect them wheresoe'er they go;
Thus evermore shall rise to Thee,
Glad hymns of praise from land and sea

Re: Lest we forget....
 

I like this one too....


In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep,
though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Re: Lest we forget....
 

For The Fallen
With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children,
England mourns for her dead across the sea.
Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit,
Fallen in the cause of the free.

Solemn the drums thrill: Death august and royal
Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres.
There is a music in the midst of desolation
And a glory that shines upon our tears.

They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted:
They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

They mingle not with their laughing comrades again;
They sit no more at familiar tables at home;
They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;
They sleep beyond England's foam.

But where our desires are and our hopes profound,
Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,
To the innermost heart of their own land they are known
As the stars are known to the Night;

As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain;
As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,
To the end, to the end they remain.

-- Laurence Binyon (1869-1943)

Re: Lest we forget....
 

Horace ?


Dulce et decorum est pro patria mori:
mors et fugacem persequitur virum
nec parcit inbellis iuventae
poplitibus timidove tergo."
"How sweet and fitting it is to die for one's country:
Death pursues the man who flees,
spares not the hamstrings or cowardly backs
Of battle-shy youths."


I prefer Owen....

Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs
And towards our distant rest began to trudge.
Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots
But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots
Of tired, outstripped Five-Nines that dropped behind.

Gas! Gas! Quick, boys! – An ecstasy of fumbling,
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time;
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling,
And flound'ring like a man in fire or lime . . .
Dim, through the misty panes10 and thick green light,
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.
In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,
He plunges at me, guttering,choking, drowning.

If in some smothering dreams you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin;
If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie; Dulce et Decorum est
Pro patria mori.

8 October 1917 - March, 1918



And we still haven't learned................

Re: Lest we forget....
 

and were not likely to either unfortunately

i always liked this one by sassoon

The General

"Good-morning; good-morning!" the General said
When we met him last week on our way to the line.
Now the soldiers he smiled at are most of ’em dead,
And we’re cursing his staff for incompetent swine.
"He’s a cheery old card," grunted Harry to Jack
As they slogged up to Arras with rifle and pack.

But he did for them both by his plan of attack

Re: Lest we forget....
 

Quite a few versions on youtube...

Re: Lest we forget....
 

the moment my grandfather was killed aged 22. My father never met him....


27th February, complete with 150 prisoners, 4 SP guns and 2 tanks destroyed to their credit. By this time 3rd Canadian Div had cleared all but the extreme south-west corner of Udem. At first light 44th Royal Tanks and 2nd KRRC passed through the Scots Greys and 4th KSLI, but their progress was slowed by the very boggy ground was very boggy, which was almost impossible for tanks, plus the fact there was only a gap of a few hundred yards between the anti-tank ditch round Udem and the thick woods. The latter was full of infantry, with many Panzerfausts (German bazookas), who were supported by a few SPs, which ran all along the Brigades long open right flank. At the end of the day, 3rd/4th CLY moved to support 4th KSLI and on 27th February they set out for Udem, with 'C' Squadron leading, who reported the town in Canadian hands. However, the regiment had to work round to the right of their route was blocked by Canadian vehicles. Three of the leading troop were brewed by fire from a Jagdpanther on high ground to the East and heavy fire was encountered by a patrol of No. 4 Troop, trying to recce the anti-tank ditches to the south east of Udem. 'A' and 'B' Squadrons, who were each carrying a Company of the Herefords, then passed through 'C' Squadron to offload their infantry. Then while supporting the infantry to their objectives, the Squadrons lost five tanks to heavy AP shooting from the North and South West. Meanwhile 'C' Squadron had carried a further Company of Herefords to Gochfortz ridge, right and forward of 'B' Squadron, who they then supported to their objective.

Re: Lest we forget....
 

Briliiant - this is all good.

Thanks

Re: Lest we forget....
 

Oh! you who sleep in Flanders Fields,
Sleep sweet - to rise anew!
We caught the torch you threw
And holding high, we keep the Faith
With All who died.

We cherish, too, the poppy red
That grows on fields where valor led;
It seems to signal to the skies
That blood of heroes never dies,
But lends a lustre to the red
Of the flower that blooms above the dead
In Flanders Fields.

And now the Torch and Poppy Red
We wear in honor of our dead.
Fear not that ye have died for naught;
We'll teach the lesson that ye wrought
In Flanders Fields.

Moina Michael, November 1918

Re: Lest we forget....
 

"I died in Hell
(they called it Passchendaele); my wound was slight
and I was hobbling back; and then a shell
burst slick upon the duckboards; so I fell
into the bottomless mud, and lost the light"

Re: Lest we forget....
 

for a modern take,
Arrse for some classics.

Tuesday 11th, Holy Trinity church at 7pm, normally followed by Embassy drinks.

Re: Lest we forget....
 

At least nobody's posted that overrated garbage from Kipling..........

Ooops, here it comes............


I went into a public-'ouse to get a pint o' beer,
The publican 'e up an' sez, 'We serve no erd-coats 'ere.'
The girls be'ind the bar they laughed and giggled fit to die,
I outs into the street again, an' to myself sez I:
Oh, it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' 'Tommy, go away':
But it's 'Thank you, Mister Atkins,' when the band begins to play -
The band begins to play, my boys, the band begins to play,
Oh, it's 'Thank you, Mister Atkins,' when the band begins to play.

I went into a theatre as sober as could be,
They gave a drunk civilian room, but 'adn't none for me;
They sent me to the gallery or round the music-'alls,
But when it comes to fightin', Lord! they'll shove me in the stalls!
For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' 'Tommy, wait outside';
But it's 'Special train for Atkins' when the trooper's on the tide -
The troopship's on the tide, my boys, the troopship's on the tide,
Oh, it's 'Special train for Atkins' when the trooper's on the tide.

Yes, makin' mock o' uniforms that guard you while you sleep
Is cheaper than them uniforms, an' they're starvation cheap;
An' hustlin' drunken soldiers when they're goin' large a bit
Is five times better business than paradin' in full kit.
Then it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' 'Tommy, 'ow's yer soul?'
But it's 'Thin red line of 'eroes' when the drums begin to roll -
The drums begin to roll, my boys, the drums begin to roll,
Oh, it's 'Thin red line of 'eroes when the drums begin to roll.

We aren't no thin red 'eroes, nor we aren't no blackguards too,
But single men in barricks, most remarkable like you;
An' if sometimes our conduck isn't all your fancy paints,
Why, single men in barricks don't grow into plaster saints;
While it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that , an' 'Tommy, fall be'ind,'
But it's 'Please to walk in front, sir,' when there's trouble in the wind -
There's trouble in the wind, my boys, there's trouble in the wind,
Oh, it's 'Please to walk in front, sir,' when there's trouble in the wind.

You talk o' better food for us, an' schools, an' fires, an' all:
We'll wait for extry rations if you treat us rational.
Don't mess about the cook-room slops, but prove it to our face
The Widow's Uniform is not the soldier-man's disgrace.
For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' 'Chuck him out, the brute!'
But it's 'Saviour of 'is country' when the guns begin to shoot;
An' it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' anything you please;
An' Tommy ain't a bloomin' fool - you bet that Tommy sees!

Re: Lest we forget....
 

I always like this tribute by Andy Stewart to Scottish soldiers who died overseas in battle...

Re: Lest we forget....
 

Yea but I have to point out that at my univ, the gay society called itself The White Heather Club...........

Re: Lest we forget....
 

..why the gay society..I thought it was always called the White Heather Club...used to be shown on TV...especially in England when you didn't celebrate Hogmanay (New Year)...you had to put up with this Scottish twaddle until the Old Grey Whistle Test was shown on BB2. :rofl:

Apologies by the way for the last three seconds of the video..I hadn't noticed the nationalist notice !

Re: Lest we forget....
 

Womenspeak.


Now That You Too.....


Now that you too must shortly go the way
Which in these bloodshot years uncounted men
Have gone in vanishing armies day by day,
And in their numbers will not come again:
I must not strain the moments of our meeting
Striving for each look, each accent, not to miss,
Or question of our parting and our greeting,
Is this the last of all? is this—or this?

Last sight of all it may be with these eyes,
Last touch, last hearing, since eyes, hands, and ears,
Even serving love, are our mortalities,
And cling to what they own in mortal fears:—
But oh, let end what will, I hold you fast
By immortal love, which has no first or last.

Eleanor Farjeon.

Re: Lest we forget....
 

i have to take this opportunity to mention that my grandmother dated Andy Stewart.

And im using this as a shameless 'bump' until 11th November.

Lest we ever ever forget.

An incident that will remain with me forever

Saturday, 22 March 2003


FAA, 849 Squadron A Flight, collision of two Sea King Mk 7 AEW helicopters over northern Arabian Gulf

ADAMS, Thomas M, Lieutenant, USN (on attachment)

GREEN, Philip D, Lieutenant (P), C038295L

KING, Antony R, Lieutenant (O), C034301E

LAWRENCE, Marc A, Lieutenant, C039442G

WEST, Philip J, Lieutenant, C037055K

WILLIAMS, James R, Lieutenant (P), C039324L

WILSON, Andrew S, Lieutenant, C037064L

Re: Lest we forget....
 

Jeremy Isaacs, B. Glasgow 1932, mistaken for Jeremy Irons and asked to produce a docu about the war.He did and got Laurence Olivier to narrate-three and a half decades ago.
IMHO,it should be included in every curriculae academia.
Lest we forget



Carl Davis did the music.

Re: Lest we forget....
 

As should the brilliant book by Sebastian Faulks...."Birdsong"........beautifully written and extremely moving and made one realise the horror that our service men went through and the sacrifices they made so that we could have our freedom today...

Re: Lest we forget....
 

An traditional song from the 1800's covered last year by Bruce Springsteen, about the futility of war, even back in those days...

"Mrs McGrath," the sergeant said,
"Would you like a soldier out of your son Ted?
With a scarlet coat and a big cocked hat
Mrs McGrath will you like that?"

With your too-ri-aa fol-ded-dle-di-aa too-ri-oo-ri-oo-ri-aa
Too-ri-aa fol-did-dle-di-aa too-ri-oo-ri-oo-ri-aa

Now Mrs McGrath lived on the shore
And after seven years or more
She spied a ship come into the bay
With her son from far away

"O captain dear, where have ye been?
You been sailing the Mediterranean
Have you news of my son Ted
Is he living or is he dead?"

With your too-ri-aa fol-ded-dle-di-aa too-ri-oo-ri-oo-ri-aa
Too-ri-aa fol-did-dle-di-aa too-ri-oo-ri-oo-ri-aa

Then came Ted without any legs
And in their place two wooden pegs
She kissed him a dozen times or two
And said, "my God, Ted, is it you?

Now were ye drunk or were ye blind
When ye left your two fine legs behind?
Or was it walking upon the sea
That wore your two fine legs away?"

With your too-ri-aa fol-ded-dle-di-aa too-ri-oo-ri-oo-ri-aa
Too-ri-aa fol-did-dle-di-aa too-ri-oo-ri-oo-ri-aa
With your too-ri-aa fol-ded-dle-di-aa too-ri-oo-ri-oo-ri-aa
Too-ri-aa fol-did-dle-di-aa too-ri-oo-ri-oo-ri-aa

"Now I wasn't drunk and I wasn't blind
When I left my two fine legs behind
A cannonball on the fifth of May
Tore my two fine legs away"

"My, Teddy boy," the widow cried
"Your two fine legs were yer mother's pride
Stumps of a tree won't do at all
Why didn't ye run from the cannonball?"

With your too-ri-aa fol-ded-dle-di-aa too-ri-oo-ri-oo-ri-aa
Too-ri-aa fol-did-dle-di-aa too-ri-oo-ri-oo-ri-aa
With your too-ri-aa fol-ded-dle-di-aa too-ri-oo-ri-oo-ri-aa
Too-ri-aa fol-did-dle-di-aa too-ri-oo-ri-oo-ri-aa

"All foreign wars I do proclaim
Live on blood of a mothers pain
I'd rather have my son as he used to be
Than the King of America and his whole Navy"

Re: Lest we forget....
 

Indeed.That book makes me feel very humble...........
Tis strange that people now think the Author a hero cos his script has been recognised as worthy,what about his subjects ????
Taking nothing away from the author,its as if he was there.....

Re: Lest we forget....
 

Napoleonic Wars,the origin of this.
The Dubliners sing it so well

Re: Lest we forget....
 

Another adaptation...fromFlodden this time but it suits the images so well

Nineteen years old and their lives were over. God(whoever he is) bless them

Re: Lest we forget....
 

I hereby forgive Bangleman all his anti-Luton Town poisoned bigotry.

Birdsong is the finest novel I have ever read (even if the love scene did win him the 'Bad Sex Prize').

Utterly moving, and compulsory reading for anyone who thinks war is a bit of a jingoistic foray to sort out some uppity natives...........

Re: Lest we forget....
 

that tends to be the general perception of most politicians and people who have never ever experienced it..

Those of us who have tend to have a completely different view.

Re: Lest we forget....
 

Forgiven ? I feel cleansed......!

Just about to start Engleby, another Faulks novel, which I've heard good things about

p.s. Luton are still shite !

Re: Lest we forget....
 

Thanks Eva, will take a look at the Dubliners version..

Have a look at the Springsteen one on YouTube....saw him play it live last year (4 times...as am a bit of a Springsteen groupie...lol) and it made the hairs on the back of my neck stand up !

Re: Lest we forget....
 

Erm, not my fav.Boss style ,prefer his version of 'War' to this tbh.
Haven't seen him since 2003, Stade France-rained moonsoon style for
the whole show but no-one seemed to notice.

Lest We Forget

IN THE TRENCHES

I snatched two poppies
From the parapet’s ledge,
Two bright red poppies
That winked on the ledge.
Behind my ear
I stuck one through,
One blood red poppy
I gave to you.

The sandbags narrowed
And screwed out our jest,
And tore the poppy
You had on your breast ...
Down - a shell - O! Christ,
I am choked ... safe ... dust blind, I
See trench floor poppies
Strewn. Smashed you lie.

Isaac Rosenberg
Born Bristol 1890
Died Somme 1918.

Re: Lest we forget....
 

Re: Lest we forget....
 

Nice one EW

Re: Lest we forget....
 

Have you lot all got your Poppies yet?

Re: Lest we forget....
 

yep, got mine last week...

MM, xx

Re: Lest we forget....
 

karma to you
x

Re: Lest we forget....
 

Poppy is worn with pride. Will have my private minutes silence on the 11th to reflect.