I have to admit I wasn’t aware that there was any plan. I was watching the Remembrance Service on TV, but didn’t think to check if anything was happening outside. On a side note I find it a much more difficult watch now than I used to, as many of those involved in the ceremony actively work against what this country fought for, yet present themselves as patriotic guardians of the services. Priti Patel laying down a wreath felt particularly wrong, the lady who wants to commit war refugees to internment camps in the Atlantic and reintroduce the death penalty.
We were lucky, there is a British legion in my road......I would say (with social distancing of course) there was 30 of us.
I could not believe my eyes my wife and I could see no body standing at their front door. Must admit I'm normally at the Cenotaph for obvious reasons was not this year. Lest we forget guys and gals..........please do not forget those who gave their life for this country. Just remember they were happy to serve but didn't want to die!!
Controversial probably but I don't consider it anybody's business whether another person commemorates Armistice day in any recognised way or not. I lost my Grandad during WWII, have respect for those that join the armed forces however the whole annual ceremony thing kind of confuses me. Lest we forget and the idea that everyone that joins the Armed Forces is a hero are both nonsense ideas in my view. 1: We as a nation seem to forget every time there's a new war, and still send soldiers all over the world for various conflicts, often for political reasons beyond protecting our nation. 2: Heroes? My Grandad was Merchant Navy, and was a wrong un. He actually rejoined the service in 1940 so that he didn't have to be around his wife and kids and when he was home, he was trying to make money on the Black Market. No hero, just a chancer whose luck ran out as he happened to be on a ship that was torpedoed in the North Atlantic in 41. I know a fair few people who are either current or ex military and there isn't a single one of them that joined to risk their lives for their country. A big % joined because of excellent trade training, and a decent pension. I know that there is always a risk that a member of the military could die or be injured, but the same is true of lifeboatmen, firefighters, police etc. I remember my own personal dead from various conflicts, but I don't need to prove to other people that I remember them, and the idea of organised commemoration always makes me uneasy, like any form of mass public grieving. Feel free to remember war dead however you like, but wind your neck in if you think everyone should do the same, and in the same way, or they are somehow dishonouring their nation's dead if they don't follow protocol. I'd go so far as to say that huge numbers of our war dead were betrayed by their own governments, so maybe they should be remembered as victims rather than heroes, which puts a whole different light on it, especially when government gets involved with the ceremonies - hypocrisy of the highest order to lay wreaths, and then send more soldiers off to die for oil. That's my feelings on it, feel free to criticise but I won't bother arguing about it because it's personal how I view it.
I get your point SC. Anybody should be free to commemorate or not how they see fit. It is not right to berate people who do nothing or something different.
Pretty much agree with all that SC, my Grandad survived Gallipoli and France, Dad served in WW11 and I joined up aged 15 and did 6 years, certainly didn't anticipate any life threatening problems and didn't experience any (military) action. Have to say I find some but not all of the ceremony cringe making but some love it and good luck to them.
My view is that we remember their sacrifice and (hopefully) learn that all war is an abomination and shouldn’t happen. Sadly, as a race, we haven’t learned a damn thing, but I still give them all the respect they deserve. I like a quote attributed to Jimi Hendrix (not sure if that’s true or just a myth) - “When the power of love outweighs the love of power, then, perhaps, mankind will have peace”
