Title: Remembrance Day
Post by: mgmark on November 02, 2010, 10:20:56 am
The clock ticks gently and inexorably round again and another year passes, with Remembrance Day and Remembrance Sunday drawing in upon us once more. 11a.m on 11 November marks the day when the Western Front fell silent in France in 1918, and Sunday 14 November marks the day for collective acts of remembrance.
A lot has happened to remind me of it personally through the year. Last year, I stood beside the missus’s father on the saluting dais of the Remembrance Day parade in Redcar and felt mighty proud; he had served in the RN in the latter days of WW2. He died earlier this year and, at his funeral, a relative mentioned that a cousin of the family had served as a Flight Engineer on Lancasters and had been killed in WW2, but knew little more about his service.
A little research revealed that he was a Warrant Officer, in his mid-20s, who had been awarded the DFM and had flown 58 operational sorties during 1943 and 1944, on pretty much every one of Bomber Command's main raids, before the Lancaster he was in crashed near Ottignies in Belgium on 20 April 1944, killing him and all of the crew; they are buried next to each other in Belgium. The entries in the operational records for the sorties he flew make for both interesting and very humbling reading. And the crew had been close to finishing their second operational tour and it appears that the mission they flew that night was one for they were not rostered, but volunteered to make up a shortfall in numbers. There is a picture of the crew beside their Lancaster, which a member of their groundcrew had asked each of them to sign, as they were getting into the aircraft that night - there was time for only half of them to sign it, and the words shouted by the skipper out of the cockpit as they were about to start up were that the rest of the crew would sign it when they got back...
We have had the anniversary of the Battle of Britain too, ably marked with the Brethren’s theme at Le Mans this year. And, in the present day, numbers of friends have been involved in the Afghanistan conflict over this year. Looking forwards, my step-son is due to deploy there next year.
Plenty to reflect on, and this year I will be working outside the UK on Remembrance Day and the Sunday, and I intend to find one or two of the Commonwealth War Grave Commission cemeteries out there at appropriate times and remember.
So amidst our hectic lives of today, please spare a moment or two to remember the many men and women of many nations who have been wounded, or have paid the ultimate price during past and present conflicts. The British Legion supports serving and former members of the Armed Forces and their families, and relies heavily on donations from the annual poppy appeal. Once more, I would ask you to support that appeal; please give generously to the Poppy Appeal, either here http://www.poppy.org.uk/ or in the collecting tins in the shops, or on the High Street, over the coming fortnight. Many thanks,
MG Mark
A lot has happened to remind me of it personally through the year. Last year, I stood beside the missus’s father on the saluting dais of the Remembrance Day parade in Redcar and felt mighty proud; he had served in the RN in the latter days of WW2. He died earlier this year and, at his funeral, a relative mentioned that a cousin of the family had served as a Flight Engineer on Lancasters and had been killed in WW2, but knew little more about his service.
A little research revealed that he was a Warrant Officer, in his mid-20s, who had been awarded the DFM and had flown 58 operational sorties during 1943 and 1944, on pretty much every one of Bomber Command's main raids, before the Lancaster he was in crashed near Ottignies in Belgium on 20 April 1944, killing him and all of the crew; they are buried next to each other in Belgium. The entries in the operational records for the sorties he flew make for both interesting and very humbling reading. And the crew had been close to finishing their second operational tour and it appears that the mission they flew that night was one for they were not rostered, but volunteered to make up a shortfall in numbers. There is a picture of the crew beside their Lancaster, which a member of their groundcrew had asked each of them to sign, as they were getting into the aircraft that night - there was time for only half of them to sign it, and the words shouted by the skipper out of the cockpit as they were about to start up were that the rest of the crew would sign it when they got back...
We have had the anniversary of the Battle of Britain too, ably marked with the Brethren’s theme at Le Mans this year. And, in the present day, numbers of friends have been involved in the Afghanistan conflict over this year. Looking forwards, my step-son is due to deploy there next year.
Plenty to reflect on, and this year I will be working outside the UK on Remembrance Day and the Sunday, and I intend to find one or two of the Commonwealth War Grave Commission cemeteries out there at appropriate times and remember.
So amidst our hectic lives of today, please spare a moment or two to remember the many men and women of many nations who have been wounded, or have paid the ultimate price during past and present conflicts. The British Legion supports serving and former members of the Armed Forces and their families, and relies heavily on donations from the annual poppy appeal. Once more, I would ask you to support that appeal; please give generously to the Poppy Appeal, either here http://www.poppy.org.uk/ or in the collecting tins in the shops, or on the High Street, over the coming fortnight. Many thanks,
MG Mark
Title: Re: Remembrance Day
Post by: Jules G on November 02, 2010, 02:46:34 pm
Mark,
Nice words at this time of year as always.
J
Nice words at this time of year as always.
J
Title: Re: Remembrance Day
Post by: Bentley boy on November 02, 2010, 09:57:21 pm
Great words indeed
I recently had a very long & very interesting chat with 2 Lancaster crew at Brooklands. to speak to them & hear their stories was a real honour indeed. such brave but humble men they left me feeling about an inch tall.
I recently had a very long & very interesting chat with 2 Lancaster crew at Brooklands. to speak to them & hear their stories was a real honour indeed. such brave but humble men they left me feeling about an inch tall.
Title: Re: Remembrance Day
Post by: Canada Phil on November 03, 2010, 05:29:37 am
Thanks Mark,
Last Saturday the Lancaster from the Warplane Heritage museum was up and circled the city of Toronto. I was lucky enough to be out side at the time and saw it.
I wore my Bretheren shirt on Sunday
Phil
Last Saturday the Lancaster from the Warplane Heritage museum was up and circled the city of Toronto. I was lucky enough to be out side at the time and saw it.
I wore my Bretheren shirt on Sunday
Phil
Title: Re: Remembrance Day
Post by: Nordic on November 03, 2010, 05:33:05 pm
My daughters attend the local brownies troope. The small hall that is used, as many across the country was gifted to the community by a wealthy family, the Montefiore's.
At one time it was home a large A1 size, hand drawn map framed and hung on a wall. It was a gift to the community of Three Bridges from the 2nd Canadian corps who had a HQ for a short while in the area in what I assume was the build up to D Day.
The map charted the progress of the Corps across France and the lowlands before reaching Germany.
The map was drawn by a L Cpl W J Patterson who was a part of the Corps and signed and noted by Lt Gen G G Simonds. The note was to thank the local community for welcoming them into the area.
It was always humbling to read, and to wonder how many of the Corps did not make it back home. I thought it perverse they were thanking the local people when in truth it should be the other way round.
I say it used to hang, as some sh*t nicked it about a year ago.
At one time it was home a large A1 size, hand drawn map framed and hung on a wall. It was a gift to the community of Three Bridges from the 2nd Canadian corps who had a HQ for a short while in the area in what I assume was the build up to D Day.
The map charted the progress of the Corps across France and the lowlands before reaching Germany.
The map was drawn by a L Cpl W J Patterson who was a part of the Corps and signed and noted by Lt Gen G G Simonds. The note was to thank the local community for welcoming them into the area.
It was always humbling to read, and to wonder how many of the Corps did not make it back home. I thought it perverse they were thanking the local people when in truth it should be the other way round.
I say it used to hang, as some sh*t nicked it about a year ago.
Title: Re: Remembrance Day
Post by: mgmark on November 10, 2010, 05:21:11 pm
Bump for tomorrow
MG Mark
MG Mark
Title: Re: Remembrance Day
Post by: Andy Zarse on November 11, 2010, 09:00:32 am
Will you be at he Centotaph on sunday Mark?
Title: Re: Remembrance Day
Post by: mgmark on November 11, 2010, 04:27:23 pm
Will you be at he Centotaph on sunday Mark?
Andy,
Sorry, not this year! I shall be somewhere over the Sudan around that time. Spent a contemplative time though, managing to get to the main Commonwealth War Graves cemetery on the outskirts of Nairobi at around 1100 uk time today. Very impressive, and immaculately tended as they tend to be, with around 2,500 graves of those killed In East Africa during WW2, and a few later, Africans, arabs and Brits along with a memorial to 2,400 killed in the WW2 fighting in Somalia and Ethiopia who have no known grave. As always, the simple word "moving" is the only descriptor needed.
Mark
