Poppies & Remembrance Day

[Rodders]

1 minute ago, Genie said:

I’m going to get a poppy tattoo on my face

 

account in general is superb

[Stevo985]

On 01/11/2023 at 20:27, foreveryoung said:

Its also not just about wearing it, the money it raises goes to the armed forces community, an they certainly need it.

Which is why the focus on huge big gestures is so misplaced.

Me buying one poppy does more for the charity than me building a spitfire shitting poppies on my hedge next to a sign made of bedsheets saying "lest we forget"

[tomav84]

9 minutes ago, Rodders said:

 

account in general is superb

it really is. just shows the levels people go to just to one up each other

[ThunderPower_14]

23 hours ago, meregreen said:

Really. The Aussies who were taken prisoner by the Japanese in Singapore, fought some of the most vicious battles in Burma, New Guinea, Australian naval forces who took part in operations in the Pacific. Even, for a short period, Vietnam in the 60s. Not exactly wars fought on the other side of the world. Perhaps we do need Poppies to remind us after all

And yet, the 2 days that Australians celebrate are Anzac Day and Remembrance Day, both of which commemorate WWI events. 

Which just further says to me that Australians (as a whole, obviously it's very different on the individual level) celebrate these events mostly performatively because we get a lot of our cultural cues from the UK and US, countries who have a far, far more significant military history. 

[tonyh29]

22 minutes ago, Rodders said:

 

account in general is superb

Shame  they can't tell the difference between a Spitfire and a Hurricane 

I hope there is an Twitter bundle at them for this oversight 

 

The Cpt Tom one made me chuckle though   

 

 

[hogso]

Has anyone mentioned Bedworth yet? Not sure how infamous a place it is, perhaps I only know as I live next door...but they brand themselves 'the town that never forgets', have a poppy drop most years, and generally turn it in to a big old wankathon. 

[Villatillidie95]

2 minutes ago, hogso said:

Has anyone mentioned Bedworth yet? Not sure how infamous a place it is, perhaps I only know as I live next door...but they brand themselves 'the town that never forgets', have a poppy drop most years, and generally turn it in to a big old wankathon. 

I’m from next door too! Think there is a tiger moth plane dropping poppies weather permitting on the day according to local news. I respect people making a show of remembrance but I prefer to do it in a dignified silence kind of way, like at villa when they have silence before kick off 

[Rodders]

On a more serious note, there is so much about the first world war we don't know about. Not that I want to project my ignorance onto other people, but I've recently finished the Olusoga book The World's War, which covers the experiences of the colonial troops recruited, used and exploited in the conflict to differing degrees, the spectacular racism faced by many, the US were particularly egregious re their black troops; the battles in Africa, the Carrier Corps who died in their hundreds of thousands etc, all those stories of lives lived who do deserve their own remembrance too. Obviously it is a european war in the main, and it is mostly european soldiers who die, but it really was a global war at points. I'm not sure how many people know about the breadth of sacrifice, or the way certain experiences get airbrushed out of history. 

Nb, for the avoidance of doubt, and to pre-empt the whines of a certain segment of society, talking about ADDITIONAL stories relating to the War which began this remembrance thing in the first place is NOT REPLACING  existing histories mmkay? Just adding extra detail. 

[Mark Albrighton]

I often wonder whether people who are particularly vocal about remembering those who served, those who died, also think of those who served, those who died in wars before the First World War when they’re doing remembrance, or is it strictly the two world wars and a few other 20th/21st century conflicts.

My guess is that soldiers who died in the Crimean War for instance aren’t getting a look in and they’re having to sit it out with the Jenkins’ Ear guys.

[bickster]

1 hour ago, tonyh29 said:

Shame  they can't tell the difference between a Spitfire and a Hurricane 

Beat me to it

[mjmooney]

2 minutes ago, bickster said:

Beat me to it

And me. 

[Mic09]

41 minutes ago, Mark Albrighton said:

I often wonder whether people who are particularly vocal about remembering those who served, those who died, also think of those who served, those who died in wars before the First World War when they’re doing remembrance, or is it strictly the two world wars and a few other 20th/21st century conflicts.

My guess is that soldiers who died in the Crimean War for instance aren’t getting a look in and they’re having to sit it out with the Jenkins’ Ear guys.

I know, and what about William the Conqueror's troops?! 

[mjmooney]

Just now, Mic09 said:

I know, and what about William the Conqueror's troops?! 

Harold Godwinson, please. We don't celebrate The Enemy. 

[tonyh29]

57 minutes ago, Mark Albrighton said:

I often wonder whether people who are particularly vocal about remembering those who served, those who died, also think of those who served, those who died in wars before the First World War when they’re doing remembrance, or is it strictly the two world wars and a few other 20th/21st century conflicts.

My guess is that soldiers who died in the Crimean War for instance aren’t getting a look in and they’re having to sit it out with the Jenkins’ Ear guys.

arguably the poppy should only be about that conflict only  ?

Even remembrance day the(11th hour ) on  11/11  (or for you Americans  11/11  ) is in relation to the armistice day at the end of WW1 

you could make a case for wrapping it all up in a neat bundle rather than one for every war / conflict  ... but then maybe a different symbolism is  required and not one specific to WW1  ? 

 

[Mark Albrighton]

3 minutes ago, tonyh29 said:

arguably the poppy should only be about that conflict only  ?

Even remembrance day the(11th hour ) on  11/11  (or for you Americans  11/11  ) is in relation to the armistice day at the end of WW1 

you could make a case for wrapping it all up in a neat bundle rather than one for every war / conflict  ... but then maybe a different symbolism is  required and not one specific to WW1  ? 

 

I’m happy with it all wrapped up in one bundle as you say. A separate remembrance event for the boer war and whatever else would be a bit much.

My point is really that I wonder whether those who are very much of a strong “lest we forget” mindset are in fact only really remembering and honouring those who died from 1914 onwards. My perception is the soldiers who died in the wars prior to that seemingly don’t warrant the same reverence. 

[Spoony]

2 hours ago, Rodders said:

 

account in general is superb

The things that are shown in this account is essentially why I have tired of poppies. 

[mjmooney]

22 minutes ago, Mark Albrighton said:

My point is really that I wonder whether those who are very much of a strong “lest we forget” mindset are in fact only really remembering and honouring those who died from 1914 onwards. My perception is the soldiers who died in the wars prior to that seemingly don’t warrant the same reverence. 

I wonder whether the two world wars will similarly fade from the public consciousness as time goes on? When I was a kid, both conflicts were well within 'living memory' - there were plenty of WWI veterans still living, and marching to the cenotaph on Armistice Day. The WWII folks were no more than middle aged. Now, all the WWI and most of the WWII survivors are gone. Despite the pervasive WWI iconography, the emphasis seems (unsurprisingly) to be shifting away from Passchendale and the Somme, and toward 'Help For Heroes', Invictus Games, Helmand Province, etc. 

Still, they do grow a lot of poppies in Afghanistan... 

[tomav84]

6 minutes ago, mjmooney said:

I wonder whether the two world wars will similarly fade from the public consciousness as time goes on? When I was a kid, both conflicts were well within 'living memory' - there were plenty of WWI veterans still living, and marching to the cenotaph on Armistice Day. The WWII folks were no more than middle aged. Now, all the WWI and most of the WWII survivors are gone. Despite the pervasive WWI iconography, the emphasis seems (unsurprisingly) to be shifting away from Passchendale and the Somme, and toward 'Help For Heroes', Invictus Games, Helmand Province, etc. 

Still, they do grow a lot of poppies in Afghanistan... 

crazy to think just how long ago WW2 was really. as you say, plenty who fought were still around when we were kids. i wonder what will become of remembrance day/the poppy in years to come.

in terms of years, we're actually closer to the year 2100 than we are to the end of WW2

[Xann]

17 minutes ago, mjmooney said:

... most of the WWII survivors are gone...

The Brexit Prime Minister helped there.

 

[Jonesy7211]

As a former soldier I am obviously very biased, but by the same token if you don't agree with wearing a poppy I wouldn't hold it against you, unless you were telling everyone else not to.

Just from a financial perspective the poppy appeal is huge for supporting British veterans. It also goes towards maintaining British war graves overseas which our government will not support, which I think is abhorrent.

Is it too much to ask for two minutes of remembrance for those that have represented their country? I understand that you may not have agreed with why a war was fought, but many of those that died or were injured didnt have a choice about it. That's what the poppy is really about, in my opinion.

I lost friends and people I knew in Iraq and Afghanistan. It helps me to know that people are thinking of them, even if only for a few minutes.