Remembrance

[Barry]

I've just found my poppy metal badge from 2017. I'll be wearing that, I'll put a couple of bob in the collecting box down at the supermarket. Saves throwing perfectly good badges away.

The little plastic poppies will soon fall out of favour with the outcry over the plastics in the oceans. I remember helping make the paper ones when I was a kid.

[Churchill]

Two of my grandchildren are in the Air Cadets the choice is theirs to wear their uniform when walking to the Cadet Centre or not the entire squadron choose to wear their uniforms with pride.



Fusilier Lee Rigby was wearing civilian clothes when he was murdered by Islamic Terrorists, members of the British Army were murdered when off duty in NI in plain clothes by the IRA  



I remember when an Army Cadet in North London had his hand blown off by a booby trapped military torch was left in the TA Centres grounds which he found and as any of us would do he turned it on to see if it worked, they never found out who did it, but it is thought the IRA did it



I always support our Forces and remember them past and present, Reverberance Day is about remembering all of the fallen not just military personnel IMO

[johnofgwent]

Is the ban still in place in Britain stopping the services wearing uniform when off duty and out in public?

Was it ever a 'ban' ? Or just "guidance".



I can just about remember the days in the early 60s when I went on the bus to grandma's and the journey went past the big military barracks in Cardiff and men would stand at the bus stop in their army uniforms. That all ended when the IRA started looking for targets....

[papasmurf]

It was interesting on my recent trip to Alaska to see how they still seem to openly respect their serving and veteran military.



I'm sure we did, once.



Not sure we do now.

Is the ban still in place in Britain stopping the services wearing uniform when off duty and out in public?

[johnofgwent]

It was interesting on my recent trip to Alaska to see how they still seem to openly respect their serving and veteran military.



I'm sure we did, once.



Not sure we do now.

[papasmurf]

During my recent holiday in Brittany, I was concerned, (because we came back early, due to possibility of Brexit happening ) that my wife an I would not able to lay small crosses and poppies on the "Corner of a foreign field," in the Breton village where we go on holiday.

I happen to mention this the a Breton young lady in the hearing of her father.

It ended up with the two arguing as to who was going to put the crosses and poppies on the 15 graves. (It ended in a draw, they both are.



Her father then told me about an incident in the 2nd World War when a Catalina flying boat (lost on its way from Canada to Scotland in bad weather,)

got shot down very close to where the mans father and two uncles were gathering seaweed in a small boat, (only sail no engines).

Three of the Catalina crew were rescued, two wounded and one not.

Whilst this was happening the boat was strafed and the sail riddled with cannon fire.

The official report after the war that the man's father and two uncles "were under the orders of the Germans."

The man is not best pleased about this slur on his father and two uncles.

(I will do my best to correct it.)

I was also given a folder full of copied documents including a copy of the boats permit at the time.

I also given a lot of information about where British SOE operatives were landed by submarine and resistance taken back to Britain for training.

(That is frankly next to undocumented in Britain for some reason.)

[Barry]

This time of year brings up the usual ideas and arguments.

It's a personal option whether we wish to remember the war dead by either wearing a poppy or not. It's also optional whether we donate to the British Legion appeal. We are free and that freedom was won by troops who were mostly conscripted into battles where many lost their lives.



I take my hat off to those who have sacrificed lives, limbs, lifestyles and even sanity to protect us from foreign and internal threats.  :hattip