And back home people got on with normal life, did they ever give the forces a thought, at that time no, we blocked the roads with convoys damaged property with our machines just a nuisance but, large but, there comes a time when they are needed, bring out the flags.
That's another brilliant poem Frank,thank you for sharing it with us. Please don't apologise for sharing your stories too,you know what its like to serve and if anyone here has the right to speak about war then its you. I remember back in 1993,I went with some friends to North Wales and one night in the local pub,I stood listening for hours to a world war 2 veteran who served with the Royal Navy.He talked of his ship being torpedoed by a German U-boat and how some of his comrades went down with it. I've never been so moved in my life and had such admiration for him. But no war doesn't solve anything.
Yes I'm aware of the cold war,the Cuban missile crisis that almost brought WW3 down on us even though it occurred nearly three years before I was born.
Got the message Verdun and wilco. A last word, it takes 75% of the forces to put 25% near a fighting line, in the first world war or the early years it was about 50% and cooks clerks orderlies could find themselves in the fight. Those in the lines went through hell though unless it was a set piece battle most would be well back. The old adage of 90% boredom 10% wish you were not here still goes today in Afghanistan or any war zone. The forces did not dwell on the bad bits they let their hair down and did all the normal things between but when called toed the line. I found ICI after my service a much more dangerous place, the hairs on the back of the neck are the usual warning device but at ICI you needed eyes and sensors in every orifice. Will now back off do not want to become that too much information chap who is flooding the threads.
My cousin was killed in France during the D-day landings, until now I've not known much about the circumstances, where he is buried etc.
I've now found this great War Graves Commission's website & been able to trace the circumstances of his death & where he was buried......even was able to download a certificate that could be framed if required.
Posts
Yes, heart-warming and a credit to the thread....thank you!
Just another day.
How quiet it is under the trees
All cambed up enjoying the breeze
The dappled sunshine in forest glade
As we sit picking the grass sucking a blade.
Thinking of family friends far away
As at peace we while the hours away
The earphones hanging give the news
Followed by music singing the blues
A shout decam pack up mount ready to move
Pack it all back on board with one last shove
Then sitting and waiting always a bore
Before start up move out with a mighty roar.
And back home people got on with normal life, did they ever give the forces a thought, at that time no, we blocked the roads with convoys damaged property with our machines just a nuisance but, large but, there comes a time when they are needed, bring out the flags.
Frank.
Very moving poems from Fishy and Frank
That's another brilliant poem Frank,thank you for sharing it with us. Please don't apologise for sharing your stories too,you know what its like to serve and if anyone here has the right to speak about war then its you. I remember back in 1993,I went with some friends to North Wales and one night in the local pub,I stood listening for hours to a world war 2 veteran who served with the Royal Navy.He talked of his ship being torpedoed by a German U-boat and how some of his comrades went down with it. I've never been so moved in my life and had such admiration for him. But no war doesn't solve anything.
Yes I'm aware of the cold war,the Cuban missile crisis that almost brought WW3 down on us even though it occurred nearly three years before I was born.
I wrote this poem about how soldiers fighting overseas can be forgotten sometimes and their sacrifices unrecognised.
The Forgotten Soldier
No retreat,
a canal at his feet,
stretching to the
limit of his only world.
Huddled beneath a bridge,
his only roof,
other world aloof,
ignorant to his sacrifice,
when he did not see
the roadside device.
A lager can primed,
half reluctant to pull the pin,
to drown the demons
locked within,
or finger the dogtag
he still wears,
under his dishevelled vest,
to remember comrades
laid to rest.
Amidst cardboard boxes
his foxhole,
a man who in his
broken mind replays,
blurred memories
through an alcohol haze,
the ping of bullets
and whistling shells,
in the torment of
a thousand private hells,
While above him
the people bustle,
heedless,seeing
out their lives,
of takeaways,soaps
and nine-to-fives.
September 2012
Got the message Verdun and wilco. A last word, it takes 75% of the forces to put 25% near a fighting line, in the first world war or the early years it was about 50% and cooks clerks orderlies could find themselves in the fight. Those in the lines went through hell though unless it was a set piece battle most would be well back. The old adage of 90% boredom 10% wish you were not here still goes today in Afghanistan or any war zone. The forces did not dwell on the bad bits they let their hair down and did all the normal things between but when called toed the line. I found ICI after my service a much more dangerous place, the hairs on the back of the neck are the usual warning device but at ICI you needed eyes and sensors in every orifice. Will now back off do not want to become that too much information chap who is flooding the threads.
Frank.
My cousin was killed in France during the D-day landings, until now I've not known much about the circumstances, where he is buried etc.
I've now found this great War Graves Commission's website & been able to trace the circumstances of his death & where he was buried......even was able to download a certificate that could be framed if required.
This is the website, I post it as it may be useful to others: http://www.cwgc.org/find-war-dead.aspx