Remembrance Weekend

[opsmonkey]

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

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e4NtSqZcT_4"]YouTube- Remebrance Day - The Last Post[/ame]

[mickyboy]

these men and woman fought for us to live as free people [ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=udQa8CJGu50]YouTube - Remembrance weekend[/ame]

[Mr Pumpy]

We'll be having our annual walk down to the cenetaph tomorrow morning.
Havn't missed many over the years, me grandad used to take me when i was a kid.

[Bulld0g]

We should think of them more than we do

[Mr Pumpy]

We should have the upmost respect for anybody that has fought or who is willing to fight for their country.


That is all.

[Mr Pumpy]

We should think of them more than we do

Well said.

[.: JaCkPoT :.]

Respects from me to those who made the biggest sacrifice possible, their lives.

[maca]

brave men and women who deserve the upmost respect..

[Necros]

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrQnnZJ68Xo&feature=related"]YouTube - Green Fields of France[/ame]


When will we ever learn?

God bless them all.

[Bulld0g]

An old fave of mine.I love that song m8 thanks

[stuckylad]

all heroes every one,just wish politicians would let it sink in more,and think about what they did for this country,and what they are doing.

[bugaloo41]

Lest we forget.

A truly humbling experience each year for me and one perhaps more sharply focussed given the significant losses in the armed forces this year. I cannot speak highly enough of those men and women who have lost their lives and those that put themselves in the firing line for their country daily especially for the pittance many of them are paid.

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 panes 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.

[chroma]

I'm downright disgusted with my town.

My towns population is roughly 20k so its not an insignificant ammount of people.

What disgusts me is that as i stood there in my local park with my old man next to the Cenotaph i stumbled upon a realisation, 275 odd people where there, once i discount maybe 150 service personel (army, navy, raf) whos appearance was pretty much mandatory and the police and firemen (say another 50 all in = 200) then the associated dignitaries (politicians, councelours etc) and press say 25 (225), then the actual band say another 25 (250) that leaves 25 spare for you know "voluntary, people whose careers wouldnt depend on an appearance types"

Quite frankly a pittiful turn out.

Couple this with the fact that EVERYONE i know actualy either knows someone be it a friend or family member whos overseas at the moment or whose come back in a bag or worse still. All of whom could definately do with a nice thought and a modicum of respect and dignity. IT WASNT EVEN COLD OR RAINING! the day was spectacular, we got uncharicteristicly mild weather.

Theres really no excuse for my shitty town not to get off its arse and pay some ****ing respects.

Dont misunderstand me, im heavily and often vocaly against this current war but thats on the shoulders of the dumbass politicians who saw fit to send the boys out there, hardly the guy in the fields fault. i cant fault a man for doing his job to the best of his ability, i can however pick a fight with the people ordering him to piss up a rope.

So even the excuse of "im against the war" is a futile argument.

I usualy work on a sunday but ive been holed up in bed for a couple of days now with what im sure amounts to no more than "manflu" and even in the state im in i managed to haul ass down to pay my respects.

Theres really no excuses. Its deplorable, especialy concidering the recent hyperbole of "BNP R TEH HITLER NAZIEZZZ!" arguments that have been abundant in my workplace and local area of late.
The fact that people can talk a good game but fail entirely to show face and honour the men who actualy ensured your not talking german... it makes me feel sick to my core.

Im a cynic at the best of times but this has sealed the deal entirely, ive completely lost faith in the humanity of my fellow citizens. People whom would have you believe that we're losing our herritage to immigrants, asylum seekers and crooked politicians.
The way i see it now, we as a nation have only ourselves to blame.
If you cant get off your arse to go and be counted then you quite frankly deserve everything that you get.

[maca]

Nation unites to remember fallen



The Queen and the prime minister laid wreaths at the Cenotaph

Thousands of people across the country have honoured the men and women killed in conflicts past and present with a two-minute silence.
The Queen laid a wreath at the Cenotaph in London in front of the prime minister, military leaders and Commonwealth representatives.
Veterans and civilians then marched along Whitehall.
UK troops at Camp Bastion, Afghanistan, also remembered the fallen on the day two more army deaths were announced.
A serviceman from 4th Battalion, The Rifles, was killed in an explosion near Sangin, in Helmand province, on Sunday morning.
Also on Sunday, the Ministry of Defence announced the death of a soldier from the 2nd Battalion, The Rifles, in a blast in the same area on Saturday.
The latest deaths bring the number of UK service personnel killed in Afghanistan since 2001 to 232.
Crowds ten deep
Under heavy grey skies at the Cenotaph, crowds ten deep fell silent at 1100 GMT.



Army band leads Welsh tributes
Scottish services honour war dead
War dead remembered across NI

Afterwards, the Queen, wearing black coat adorned with a bunch of poppies, laid the first wreath followed by other members of the Royal Family.
Among them was Prince Harry, carrying out the duty for the first time. He was representing his father, the Prince of Wales, who is on an official visit to Canada.
Politicians, high commissioners from the Commonwealth and defence chiefs from all three armed forces also came forward to pay their tributes.
Finally, 7,500 ex-service personnel and 1,600 civilians marched past the Cenotaph. Chelsea Pensioners, in their traditional red jackets, and Gurkhas, wearing combat green, were among those lining the route.
'Steeling ourselves'
Earlier about 2,000 British servicemen and women gathered on a dusty, windblown patch of open ground at the camp in Afghanistan to join in prayer, lay wreaths and remember fellow soldiers killed serving their country.

Key moments from the Camp Bastion Remembrance ceremony

One padre spoke of the dangers of glamorising war and another urged leaders of nations to shape a better world through "wisdom, humility and a common love for peace".
Another service was attended by hundreds of British and coalition forces in Lashkar Gah, also in Helmand.
There Padre Mark Christian told the troops: "Remembrance for me is picking up the gauntlet, it is steeling ourselves for the fight that lies ahead of us for if we do not do that their lives have been given in vain."
Chief of the Defence Staff Sir Jock Stirrup told the BBC's Andrew Marr Show there had been only one year since World War II in which a British serviceman did not die on operations somewhere in the world.
"But of course with the conflicts in which we've been engaged in recent years, that's come into much sharper focus," he said, "And so it's right that we should remember particularly this year, which has been a very difficult, very painful year for us.
EYEWITNESS

By Angus Crawford, BBC News
There was a sea of berets in every possible colour. Among them the occasional slanted hat of the Gurkhas and even some Arab headdresses. This was the march past of the veterans.
They had waited patiently in the cold for more than an hour, watching as the Royal Family laid their wreaths. Then, after a blessing from the Bishop of London, Whitehall was theirs.

Flanked by today's service personnel, the tide of more than 8,000 moved slowly past the Cenotaph.

Most were marching, some though were pushed in wheelchairs - one man rose from his and insisted on walking the last few paces himself clutching a wreath in the shape of an anchor.

Some wore bowler hats, others, armbands with the insignia of the Home Guard.
In their midst was a child. A young boy wearing a suit and medals, swinging his arms as hard as he could, trying to keep up.

"But I think it is also important to bear in mind the sacrifices of all those who've gone before - not least in this year that's seen the passing of the World War I generation."
In Cyprus, a memorial is due to be unveiled to commemorate 371 British servicemen killed by members of a Greek Cypriot Eoka-B terror group fighting for independence from 1955 to 1959.
About 400 relatives and veterans of that campaign will attend the ceremony, which will be conducted by the Bishop of Cyprus and the Gulf in the presence of the British High Commissioner.
The Muslim Council of Britain has published a Remembrance Day report highlighting the contribution of Muslims to the country's armed force and urging that their sacrifices should be recalled in the day's ceremonies.
It insists that although many Muslims disagreed with the government's decision to send soldiers to fight in Afghanistan and Iraq, they nevertheless supported the troops.
Understanding sacrifices
The Royal British Legion said it expected at least 90% of people in Britain to observe some kind of service.
Stuart Gendall, from the legion, said the "terrible images brought into our lounges from Iraq and Afghanistan" and the losses there had given people a better understanding of the sacrifices being made.
Have Your Say

I shall weep, for all those who are never coming back

Maggie Jones, Cheltenham
Read your comments


As part of the UK's commemorations, the Archbishop of Canterbury, Dr Rowan Williams, addressed a service in Catterick Garrison in North Yorkshire.
He told the congregation "the courage, the sacrifice, the risk taking and the generosity that go on elsewhere in situations of extreme risk, it somehow feeds the rest of us".
"It somehow keeps the rest of us alive," he added.
Services for Guardsman James Major and Sergeant Matthew Telford were held in Cleethorpes and nearby Grimsby respectively.
They were among five to be killed in Afghanistan earlier this week by a rogue Afghan police officer and were referred to as "local heroes" at the ceremonies.
In Northern Ireland, a ceremony was held at Belfast City Hall and in Scotland, First Minister Alex Salmond laid a wreath at the Stone of Remembrance at Edinburgh Castle.
Meanwhile, the Army's last surviving all brass band in Wales opened a service in Cardiff.