Yes, and some of those leaders, ours included, will be back to business tomorrow selling arms to the Saudis to bomb Yemeni children. It's a wonderful thing to commemorate the tragedy of previous wars but it's somewhat blunted when they're back in their day jobs sponsoring war in other parts of the world.

They were very brave and volunteered in huge numbers, unaware of what they were about to face.

One thing that saddens me is the many Facebook warriors who go on about young people today having no idea. So many young people are serving today in our Armed Forces, there is a huge number of young people who have lost limbs because of IEDs and are suffering from PTSD.

I have always taken rememberance seriously, but we need to realise that it is still going on.

You are right Yoyo there were conflicts after the two WW's that took their toll and now my cousin's son is in the army and our neice's husband is a serving soldier. They have both done tours of active service, fortunately they have come through unscathed.

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Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad !

I totally agree with what you are saying, yoyo, but this year I feel it is right to mainly commemorate those men that never intended to become soldiers (I am not underestimating the role of women when I say that).

To paraphrase an unpopular columnist "Britain lost 700,000 poets, teachers, inventors, scientists, parsons, businessmen, composers, geniuses and fathers."

I agree , wholeheartedly.
What I meant was that so many people (Facebook warriors) insist that young people don’t care.

I am a teacher in a primary school, some pupils have parents who are serving soldiers but they are all really interested in the stories of soldiers, sailors, airmen and others who gave up so much of their life.

I am the daughter and daughter in law of airmen who served during the Second World War, the grand daughter and great- grand daughter of men who served in the afirst World War. My peers fought in the Falklands and since. I know people who are fighting now.

I love the fact that we acknowledge it.

And I will continue to give my thanks to all those that are ready to keep us safe, at the same time as giving thanks all those that did keep us safe

I couldn’t have put it better!

We have just returned from the lighting of the village beacon. As part of the ceremony the names of those that died were read out, 29 men from this tiny village alone. Fathers and sons of families still in the village, the son of the "big house" and brothers from the same family

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Knowledge is knowing that a tomato is a fruit, wisdom is not putting it in a fruit salad !

One of the programmes today had a town where 1,000 men left together and 815 of those did not return. DG

In his poem ‘The Parable of the Old Man and the Young’ Wilfried Owen draws a parallel between the Old Testament story of Abraham being prepared to sacrifice his son Isaac when commanded to do so by God and WWI, with many young men being offered up as sacrifices by their fathers:

https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/poem/par ... -and-young

The two last lines are so poignant!