Remember

[shrek snr]

 

[cyberyacht]

I have not thought.

I was born at close of war
Was spared the sights that others saw
I was spared the whistling boom
of bombs that turned homes into tombs

I have not faced machine guns clatter
Nor artillery’s endless batter
Driving poor men to the brink
Of madness or escape in drink

I have not kept lookout in fright
upon a dark and moonless night
Fearful for comrades to warn
Praying that I’ll live till dawn

I have not sailed upon the sea
Wondering if this time it’s me
to sink below the ocean’s face
Where only flotsam marks my place

I have not scoured the azure dome
Which only really birds call home
To search for foes up in the sky
Harbingers of time to die

I have not thought of what it cost
For things I have that others lost
If I look back and think, I see
A sacrifice and love for me.

 

[shrek snr]

BUMP

 

[RobbyMClark]

May this and future generations never forget the sacrifice of their forefathers.

 

[Chris]

I think of my maternal grandfather at this time of the year buried in a cemetery in Yokohama having died on 5th December 1942.

Aged 23

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[ChrisSue]

That was very moving. I lost two great uncles in the First World War, one to the flu epidemic and one whose body was not found and his name is on the Canadian Memorial at Vimy. He served with the Canadian 25th Battalion, The Nova Scotia Rifles and died at Courcellette on the Somme on 16th September 1916 after the battalion had supported the first ever attack by tanks. 99 years later I stood very close to the spot where he died. Only three members of the Battalion died that day hit by one stray shell. Hence no body to bury. The day after I stood there was my birthday. I always kind of feel he died so I could live

 

[cyberyacht]

Some years back I was at Thiepval memorial and on one of the columns I found both my surname and initial. The soldier in question died on my birthday. That was quite salutary.

 

[ChrisSue]

A somewhat similar experience at Thiepval. After a while the names blur but at one moment I focused on the S Lancs and there were two Platts. My mothers maiden name. She came from Oldham

 

[shrek snr]

bump again

 

[nicholsong]

View attachment 553456

I remembered - a few minutes later than 1100(GMT), but does that matter to them?

I remembered.

Gone but never forgotten - at least while we who benefitted from their sacrifice are here.

Geoff

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[Bailey58]

I never forget.

 

[daveclare]

William Morgan was my grandfather. Served with the Seaforth Highlanders in Burma. My grandmother received a telegram saying he was missing in action presumed dead. Some time later, whilst mourning him, she received another telegram saying he was found in a military hospital in a serious condition.

She learned he had been captured by the Japanese and spent some time in a concentration camp. She never found out what happened and he never, ever, spoke about it. He had to wear a special support holding his sides in, as he was operated on in the jungle. She told my mother that for years he would wake up in the night screaming (night terrors).

He came home and just got on with his life. He was a talented painter and decorator and would use this skill to paint elaborate fairground rides amongst other things. Overall he lead a simple, yet difficult life. He lived for his beloved football team, Everton. I know this because he took me to see them on occasion. I remember the sausage rolls and bovril. My mum told me I came straight out of the womb into an Everton kit. He would be proud of the fact that me and my son were both season ticket holders.

He died too early, when I was 7. I never got the chance to tell him he was my hero. But he is and always will be. Just like the millions of others who just did what they thought was the right thing. Gone but never forgotten.

If there are any serving or ex services on here, sincere thanks to you all!