Never Forget

On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month we will remember them!

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields

By John McCrae, 1915

Never Forget

On the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month we'll remember them. That feels even more poignant this year on the centenary of the end of WWI.

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields

By John McCrae, 1915

Never Forget

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields

By John McCrae, 1915

Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red - The Tower of London Remembers WWI

As I'm sure most of you already know today is Remembrance Sunday here in the UK. It's a time to reflect on the lives lost in both in WWI and in subsequent conflicts and to give thanks to the soldiers who have and still do put their lives on the line for our freedom. As the centennial anniversary of the start of WWI 2014 this year has taken on an even more special tone and I think the Tower of London installation really reflects that.

If you're in the UK you'd have to have been living under a rock not to have heard about the display but I thought it might be nice to share some more information about it here for anyone who didn't get the chance to visit or for international readers who haven't come across it before.

The installation, called Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red, is an incredibly moving display of 888,246 ceramic poppies, designed by Paul Cummins, that have been beautifully arranged to fill up the moat of the Tower of London. Every single one of those poppies represents a member of the British military who died in WWI and seeing them all together is an incredibly moving sight. Volunteers have been working hard all summer, not just to create the poppies but also to place them around the moat, in fact when I went to look on Wednesday they were still adding more poppies to the display. You can find out more about the display on the Tower of London website here and if you do a google image search for "Tower of London Poppies" you'll be able to find some stunning images but in the meantime let me share a few of the pictures I took during the week.

The pictures really don't do it justice so if you get a chance to visit in the next couple of days I'd highly recommend it. The display is supposed to be taken down after Armistice Day on Tuesday but a lot of people are campaigning to keep it up longer and I really hope they're successful so that more people will have the chance to go and see it for themselves.

**********

We Shall Keep the Faith

by Moina Michael, November 1918

Oh! you who sleep in Flanders Fields,

Sleep sweet - to rise anew!

We caught the torch you threw

And holding high, we keep the Faith

With All who died.

We cherish, too, the poppy red

That grows on fields where valor led;

It seems to signal to the skies

That blood of heroes never dies,

But lends a lustre to the red

Of the flower that blooms above the dead

In Flanders Fields.

And now the Torch and Poppy Red

We wear in honor of our dead.

Fear not that ye have died for naught;

We'll teach the lesson that ye wrought

In Flanders Fields.

**********

Never forget, we will remember them.

Never Forget

In Flanders Fields

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields

By John McCrae, 1915

Wear your poppy with pride!

Never Forget

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

Loved and were loved, and now we lie

In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

In Flanders fields

By John McCrae, 1915

I'm a little late getting this posted as I wanted it to go live at 11am but better late than never & at least I did observe the 2 minutes silence.  Every year I get involved in the Poppy Appeal as my friend organises the collections for the area I live in.  If you have any spare time I'm sure your local organiser would be thrilled to have some extra help - you have no idea how much work is involved in delivering the collection tins, organising volunteers to go out collecting and adding up the money.  I will be collecting poppy tins from the local shops on Saturday ready for the big count on Sunday afternoon - it takes hours counting and bagging up the money collected but it is so satisfying to see how much people have generously donated.

If you don't have time to offer please, please try to make a donation if you haven't already, it doesn't have to be much but every penny really does help.  Buy a Poppy & wear it with pride to show you support your Armed Forces past and present.  The Royal British Legion does some amazing work and it's the donations that they receive from us that make it possible for them to continue.  We must not forget those who have died, and those who continue to fight and die for our freedom.

For more information check out The Royal British Legion website.  You can also make donations to the Poppy Appeal here