Saturday, 10 November 2018

Lest We Forget

Was there a man dismay'd?
Not tho' the soldier knew
Someone had blunder'd:
Theirs not to make reply. Theirs not to reason why,
Theirs but to do and die:
Into the valley of Death,
Rode the six hundred.

Alfred, Lord Tennyson
'The Charge of the Light Brigade'

Thousands of Islanders responded to the call of King and Country and by the time it was all over  more than a thousand had perished.  Heart rendering.

Some weeks ago, poppies started to appear outside houses, as many as four on one house we passed.  This was the Poppy trail, each poppy representing the loss from each household.



The poppies were then collected up and rest for awhile around each memorial.





Our village are holding their memorial service today so medals are polished and we are ready to attend.  We will of course remember the loss to our local community, but uppermost on our minds will be the loss of friends and comrades that we served alongside.

See you soon.

20 comments:

  1. How poignant that poppy trail is.

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  2. What a wonderful idea - and so very poignant. We will hold our services tomorrow (although there have been some throughout the week) and my church is expecting a huge turnout as we are the home church for the 48th Highlanders here in Toronto and many members will be in attendance. A bugler and a piper will also play and it is very emotional. At 4:56pm (Sundown) bells will ring 100 times all across the city.

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  3. May we never, ever forget the sacrifices made by so many both there and here in the U.S. You made a touching and poignant tribute to the fallen my dear friend.
    Blessings,
    Betsy

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  4. Such a lovely way, of remembrance....

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  5. That is a nice way to remember...

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  6. Oh my, we must never forget the sacrifices made. The poppy fields created are a stirring tribute to those who gave all.

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  7. It's nice to see how you honor your soldiers there. We have Veterans Day here and Dayle is a retired Army officer so we're driving our red car in Veterans Day Parade here on Monday. I will take photos. ((hugs)), Teresa :-)

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  8. A poignant tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice. So many lost in your island community with some families losing several members. May we continue to remember this.

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  9. We have much to be thankful for and so many to thank. Thank you for reminding us. xx

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  10. Thank you MM for such a moving post. We have so much to be thankful for x

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  11. There are a lot of commemorations here in Belgium, and we had the visit of Teresa May. Normally it's a day off, but today it's Sunday anyway.

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  12. This is a very beautiful and thoughtful tribute..

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  13. love the poppy field photo, so striking and solemn.

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  14. Our church held a Remembrance Day service today, too. Love the personal aspect of the poppies outside the houses on your island.

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  15. A very nice tribute. When the poppies bloom here on my farm in Minnesota, my thoughts always turn to my Dad who served in the South Pacific. We must always remember. Thx for the nice photo tour. Phil/MN

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