patsylabrador Posted July 1, 2016 Share Posted July 1, 2016 Hundred year anniversary. There was a 21 gun salute at Westminster. Sometimes we hear it but I think the weather was too heavy. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Olly Posted July 1, 2016 Share Posted July 1, 2016 I watched the service last night and the start of the vigil, and then just saw the end of it this morning. It's been very moving to hear the soldiers' letters being read out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daphne Posted July 1, 2016 Share Posted July 1, 2016 By coincidence I am in Normandy. We happened to detour to a church, because it looked amazing on the skyline, and it was a Commonwealth War Graves site as well as a parish church. We paid our respects. A day for reflection in so many ways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sil-El Posted July 1, 2016 Share Posted July 1, 2016 Sitting here this evening, I can't help but think of the huge contrasts that today's commemorations has highlighted. One hundred years ago, in Northern France, young men in their late teens and early twenties, gave their lives and suffered appallingly in what is now regarded as a futile, senseless war that took away virtually an entire generation and left scars that are still evident today. And right now, in Northern France, young men in their late teens and early twenties are playing football. They earn vast amounts of money, live lives that are beyond the understanding of most of us, and most certainly beyond the understanding of the boys who died 100 years ago. No real point to this, but I just had to comment on the contrast between the two, and I wonder if the young men on the football field today realise how lucky they are not to have been around 100 years ago. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Couperwife Posted July 1, 2016 Share Posted July 1, 2016 We were at school today and the deputy head was talking about a young lad called Tom who signed up aged 16... and everything he saw and experienced... it was his grandad. it was a bit of a lump in the throat moment. greatest respect for all that went there, but it was an awful waste of life. Cathy x Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...