but I can’t see how this made him a true hero.

I’ve no idea how nomakoman’s great grandfather ended up fighting for all of us in WW1 but most volunteered and that makes them super heroes as far as I’m concerned

Interesting point, uplink, but facing the social stigma for staying at home may have been even braver.

In August 1914, at the start of the First World War, Admiral Charles Fitzgerald founded the Order of the White Feather with support from the prominent author Mrs Humphrey Ward. The organisation aimed to coerce men to enlist in the British Army by persuading women to present them with a white feather if they were not wearing a uniform.

The white feather is a sign of cowardice.

In 1916 conscription was introduced.

Still, nomakoman’s great grandfather undoubtedly lived things which would turn our hair white. Remember the tragedy of men who went having been sold an idea that wasn’t 100% true. Your Country Needs You! (to go and defend France).

Double post. Have a poem.

What passing-bells for these who die as cattle?
Only the monstrous anger of the guns.
Only the stuttering rifles’ rapid rattle
Can patter out their hasty orisons.
No mockeries now for them; no prayers nor bells;
Nor any voice of mourning save the choirs, –
The shrill, demented choirs of wailing shells;
And bugles calling for them from sad shires.
What candles may be held to speed them all?
Not in the hands of boys but in their eyes
Shall shine the holy glimmers of goodbyes.
The pallor of girls’ brows shall be their pall;
Their flowers the tenderness of patient minds,
And each slow dusk a drawing-down of blinds.

CharlieMungus – Member
I don’t wish to undermine the actions of your great grandfather, but I can’t see how this made him a true hero.

Any man who climbs out of a trench and advances into machine gun and artillery fire is a hero IMO.

Footballers et al, aren’t.

Interesting point, uplink, but facing the social stigma for staying at home may have been even braver.

Staying at home and being given feathers braver than going to the front line and facing machine guns?
No, just no.

This year I was in a woodland area in a school playground doing forest school stuff. We had our 2 minutes silence and I remembered my grandad, who died a couple of weeks ago at 93. Knew he’d been in WWII but never talked about it. Found out at the funeral service he’d just got off the beach at Cherbourg at the time of Dunkirk evacuation with German forces pouring onto either end of the beach. I imagine there’s lots of other stories he never voiced. So this year I remembered him.

I think about the men and women of the world wars who were defending our country from foreign invasion and the more recent casualties who keep us a little safer from fruitcake idealogies around the world.

Footballers et al, aren’t.

“In his native Brazil, Pelé is hailed as a national hero.” from wiki…

not trying to undermine remembrance day, but heros aren’t just from the army

Wrecker

Staying at home and being given feathers braver than going to the front line and facing machine guns?
No, just no.

Yeah, you’re right. When I read that back I tried to edit but I was too late. What I was trying to say was that at the time the pressure to go serve was immense. Recruitment posters screamed ‘GO FIGHT!!’ and the prevailing mood was that anyone who didn’t was shirking thier responsibility to the country and fellow country men. Look at these

[img]http://pw20c.mcmaster.ca/files/imagecache/csthumb/pw20c_images/00000936.jpg[/img]

Unfortunately the reality of bombs and bullets was a far cry from the macho image sold by the posters. Do you think if the poster said ‘Come to France and get shot to pieces for Me?’ with a picture of a Frenchman on it would have had quite the same impact? Lets not forget Britain was quite comfortable on the world stage at the time, being in control of 2/3 of the globe. They were fighting a war on behalf of France and Belgium.
All this I imagine became apparent to the volunteers once they arrived in the trenches, but by then it was too late. Their sense of social responsiblity had been manipulated to get them to fight someone else’s war. Brave in the face of horrific conditions? Undoubtedly. Brave at the time of volunteering? Shamelessy sold out and manipulated by the same people that made them walk slowly towards a machine gun. Tragic, and that’s what I’ll remember.

Lets not forget Britain was quite comfortable on the world stage at the time, being in control of 2/3 of the globe. They were fighting a war on behalf of France and Belgium.

Don’t think it was fighting on the behalf of France and Belgium as such. The first world war was the ultimate war of imperialism. Started for such ridiculous reasons.

I’m proud of what the soldiers did, not proud of the reasons why they had to do it.

who keep us a little safer from fruitcake idealogies around the world.

See above. Even today we are still fighting wars based on an idealogy.

Sonor: ‘on behalf of’ from a ‘get off my land’ perspective.

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uk37TD_08eA[/video]

IanW: Do you also mourn the foreign dead left in the wake of British Imperialism (otherwise known as invading other countries) or is World Domination one of the more noble idealogies?

Remember ther dead, remember their bravery, but also never forget who sent them there to die.

Thanks again to everyone who has contributed. We have strayed a little off topic but it’s made for interesting reading.

My personal remmembrance this year will take in all these contributions.

[video]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lwxhg2CNb0o[/video]

There’s a pretty firm distinction between condoning war and honouring the memory of those who died.

To them all.

I remember one of my best school mates who was killed at Warrenpoint over 30 years ago – RIP Nick!

epicyclo – Member

CharlieMungus – Member
I don’t wish to undermine the actions of your great grandfather, but I can’t see how this made him a true hero.

Any man who climbs out of a trench and advances into machine gun and artillery fire is a hero IMO.

I’d tend to agree there, but I think in reality few actually had any choice in this activity. But this was not one of the activities cited, which is why i asked the question