The Cenotaph yesterday morning, bearing the wreaths from veterans the world over remembering their fallen comrades.
"In Flanders fields the poppies blowBetween the crosses, row on row …"
The words of John Mc.Crae, one of many fine poets fighting in the trenches of the Great War, shortly before he died at the front and was himself laid under one of those crosses.
Cold. Windy. Raining. A fitting November day to remember Our Glorious Dead.
Here are dad's pals.
One tiny corner of the Garden of Remembrance in the grounds of Westminster Abbey.
If you've lost a loved one in any war since the Great War, you will find them remembered here. At the entrance to the garden is a guide giving the location of every regiment.
Every person has a cross. Every person is remembered.
Forgive me if I tend to favour the RAF because of dad and Uncle Tony.If I could post every cross I would do.
Somehow a bright, sunny day would have seemed inappropriate.
My Uncle Tony's in here somewhere among the fallen leaves.His plane was shot down in the last stages of WWII; he was just nineteen.
"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."
19 comments:
This is a glorious post, Dive, and a fitting remembrance of fallen heros. Thank you for all the photos and captions. The holiday is called Veteran's Day here in the U.S. and I'll be sure to hang out my flag to honor all servicemen and women and in memory of those who fought and died in The Great War to end all wars...don't we wish.
Hi Dave, I'm writing from Buenos Aires, your blog is very beautiful and sensational photos.
A hug
MentesSueltas
PS: I apologize for my English
As always Son a great post...your Dad would be so proud of you and your Brother....as of course I am ..
What a shame that it was not the war to end all wars.....
Nice to see you Cynthia, bet you are glad to have your Katie back home x
Thank you, Cynthia.
There are a lot of US Vets over here this week and very welcome they are, too.
We are extremely grateful for the sacrifices of the Doughboys in the Great War and the GIs in WWII.
Welcome, MentesSuealtas and thank you so much for your kind words.
Your English is perfect.
Mum: one year you'll have to take the trip up here for Remembrance. It is well worth it.
Wow, Dive. That piece combined with the lines beneath it have brought tears to my eyes.
Absolutely stunning.
Thank you, Robyn.
Like Barber's Adagio, Nimrod is a guaranteed weepie.
Very moving tribute. Your photos alone choke me up; I'm sure it would be quite overwhelming to see all these crosses with poppies in person. Bummer about the weather, but you're right - a bright sunny day wouldn't seem appropriate.
Thanks, Katie. Overwhelming is a good word for it.
Actually, the sun has come out now, but it's still bitterly cold.
Very sobering, dive.
A beautiful tribute. Your dad and Uncle Tony would be proud of how you honour their memory.
Thanks, guys.
You did it up Dive. Very moving indeed. Who could listen to that song while viewing those poppies and not be brought to tears.
Thank you, Shan. Enjoy Veterans' Day over there.
What a lovely tribute, Dive.
A wonderful and fitting post Dive. Your Dad is surely very proud of you, looking down on this post. Your pride in him and your uncle shines out. You brought tears to my eyes too.
A very fine tribute to some very fine men and women. Your photos are impressive and they speak a thousand words.
It is a very good thing that I am writing and not speaking, because I am totally choked up.
What a moving tribute the pictures you posted tell. I remember the last time I was in London walking by the Cenotaph, and thinking was a great tribute to those that fought in the war to end all wars.
Also, I think everyone must give a huge thank you to what must be volunteers who placed all the cross's in the gardens of Westminster. They are too real hero's
Thank you, Cali.
Cheers, Lynn. That's very kind of you.
Hi, Mark. Armistice Day (your Veterans' Day) always chokes me up.
Every single one of those people laid down their lives for us.
That is overwhelming.
Maria: Thank you. I'm sorry I've not been visiting people's blogs just lately; I've been stupidly busy. Tomorrow things should ease off a bit and I'll come visiting.
Welcome, Christina. Yes, it is a monumental task preparing the Garden of Remembrance each year. And not just physically; the organisation involved in ensuring nobody is forgotten and that everybody is placed with comrades from their own regiment is awe inspiring.
Most poignant of all - outside of family - is the little lawn set aside for victims of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. There are an awful lot more crosses there this year than last.
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