Tag: War

The eleventh hour

18 June 2022

At the eleventh hour on the eleventh day of the eleventh month of 1918, the Allies and Germans signed an armistice. It didn’t officially end the Great War, but it was the beginning of the end. The armistice expired after thirty-six days and was extended several times before the signing of the Treaty of Versailles on 28 June 1919 brought lasting peace. Each year, on the day the guns fell silent, we stop, remember our war dead and lay wreaths of poppies to recall the flowers that sprang up in the fields where the soldiers fell.

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In the here and now

Lately, I’ve been posting about 2021, the lockdown, and life slowly getting back to normality. All the while, life in the here and now has been moving on. The threat of COVID may have been downgraded, but the spectre of war has taken its place in the daily news. If researching and writing about the first half of the twentieth century has taught me anything, it’s that the newspapers and the media are not to be trusted. They may be great for propaganda, but they’re not so good for solid facts. Even so, the invasion of Ukraine can hardly be ignored. The parallels between these days and the dark days of the late 1930’s are clear for all to see and my heart breaks for the ordinary citizens of Ukraine.

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Heaven and hell

13 September 2018

Back on the first floor we entered the upper gallery of the hospital chapel. In front of us was a glorious stained glass window and a beautifully painted ceiling. For the poor wounded soldiers, fresh from the horrors of the front line, the sense of peace and quiet here must have felt a little like heaven. We stood for a moment or two drinking in the atmosphere and then walked slowly along the line of pews reading the stories of some of those who once worshipped here.  Continue reading Heaven and hell

Postcards from Victoria Country Park

13 September 2018

We left the beautiful new benches and set off across the park, our heads filled with the lost and wounded soldiers of so many wars. Neither of us said much as we walked across the grass of the cricket pitches towards the distant chapel. We were too busy thinking of all those past sacrifices made so we could live in freedom. War is neither good nor glorious but, when the alternative is to sit back and let evil and injustice prevail, it becomes an unpleasant necessity. Today we would be remembering those who gave so much.  Continue reading Postcards from Victoria Country Park

The changing fortunes of Southsea Castle

2 September 2018

Like most of Henry VIII’s castles, Southsea is a short squat affair. Even as I got closer, it didn’t look any more like my idea of a castle but, of course, today was by no means my first visit. Probably, with a little more warning of today’s walk, I’d have done some research and found something different to look at in Southsea. F.G.O. Stuart took several photographs of the place I could have recreated if I’d had copies on my phone. Still, the castle was there and I had time on my hands. Besides, even familiar places can hide surprises.

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The importance of Remembrance

11 September 2017

Another dark and dismal Saturday morning at parkrun was brightened a little by  the golden autumn foliage on the Common. It feels as if the leaves are clinging on for longer this year, maybe because we haven’t had too much windy weather yet. There wasn’t too much time to hang around admiring the show this Saturday though, because we had a remembrance service to go to. Continue reading The importance of Remembrance

Remembrance Sunday

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9 November 2014

Sunday was about remembrance in more ways than one. It began with two minutes of silence and the Queen laying a wreath of poppies on the cenotaph in London. Of course we weren’t there, we were standing silently in the gym watching on TV and thinking of all those who gave their lives for our freedom. Continue reading Remembrance Sunday