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.
From Laurence Binyon’s poem ‘For the Fallen’, written in September 1914.
Today is Remembrance Sunday, the second Sunday in November which is closest to the 11th November, the anniversary of Armistice Day, when hostilities in the First World War finally came to an end in 1918. We commemorate the servicemen and women who gave their lives in both World Wars and in later and current conflicts.
Wreaths of poppies are a poignant reminder of the poppies which grew in abundance over the former battle fields, and the two minutes silence observed at the stroke of 11am, marking the hour at which the First World War ceased, is a dignified and moving tribute to the tragedy of the countless thousands who lost their lives.
Many civilians also perished in the World Wars and we also remember them.
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(Party Member) On this sad but hopeful day, let us remember Lee Rigby. He represented the decent civilisation of us British and was lost to us by the actions of followers of a 7th century cult.
One of the saddest stories I ever read was published by the Daily Mail some years ago (21 November 2009) under the Headline, ‘This isn’t the Britain we fought for,’ say the ‘unknown warriors’ of WWII.
The author of a book about the war was curious to know how those who had fought in it thought about their struggle now. Most of the British people who were questioned said that they wouldn’t have bothered if they had known what the country was to become. They despise the Britain of today. ‘It’s not our country any more’, they say, in sorrow and anger.
One respondent to a survey, Sarah, harks back to the days when ‘people kept the laws and were polite and courteous. We didn’t have much money, but we were contented and happy’.
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‘People whistled and sang. There was still the United Kingdom, our country, which we had fought for, our freedom, democracy. But where is it now?!’
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As one old sailor who fought the Japanese in the Far East is reported as saying:
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‘I sing no song for the once-proud country that spawned me, .. and I wonder why I ever tried.’
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That generation has been comprehensively and vilely betrayed which was responsible for the fact that we are not now subject to some kind of a Greater German Reich.
Wait – we are.
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Yes indeed Vita Brevis.
In fact I’d go so far as to say the whole Whitehall spectacular at the Cenotaph has become in a way pornographic, as the chattering classes gather to display their faux patriotic credentials. And the services become implicit by attending.
Every small village and town in Britain has its memorials. People should be attending there, thus pushing to one side the smaller gatherings of the so-called great and good, and leaving Whitehall empty, until a truly patriotic government assembles to give it the gravity it truly deserves.
It’s become a tourist attraction of the worst sort. That is my opinion, only mine but none the less heartfelt.
(Party Member) On this most thoughtful day, it would be good to make a difference. In an act of hope for a better future, join the British Democratic Party.
Off topic – but in remembrance of our now departed English London is a computer reconstruction of the Pudding Lane area of around the early 17th century undertaken by De Montford Uni and the British Library.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SPY-hr-8-M0&feature=player_embedded