History with its flickering lamp stumbles along the trail of the past, trying to reconstruct its scenes, to revive its echoes, and kindle with pale gleams the passion of former days. ~Winston Churchill

11 November, 2011

Lest We Forget

Today, at 11 o'clock in 1918, World War One finally ended*. As readers of this blog will know, I find this war especially touching and sad. It gets to me that anyone ever had to endure such miserable conditions, let alone very young men from very far away places fighting for no good reason at all.

It is Remembrance Day today in Canada and many other countries (Veteran's Day in the US); let us spend some time to think about what our compatriots had to go through-- to think about those young men who went and never came back, and those who did. No one should ever have to endure anything like this, ever.

In their memory.


*I know it's not as simple as that; but essentially.




The graves of three Canadian soldiers where they fell, amongst the barbed wire. Source



Two German soldiers helping in an injured Canadian. Source



The first men to cross the Somme. Source



Digging a trench. Source



Cycle orderlies under shell fire. Source



Soldiers in the mud. Source



Soldiers resting on the way up to the trenches. I think this is made even more potent by the man in the middle smiling his head off. Source



Scene on the Somme Front. Source



A thanksgiving service in the ruins of the cathedral, Chambrai. Source



British soldiers going up to the trenches. Source



British soldier washing from a bucket. Source



Winter scene on the Western Front. Source



Cooking dinner amid the ruins of a village. Source



A town after bombardment. Source



Army chaplain conducting a service from the cockpit of an airplane. Source



The town of Amiens under shellfire. Source



Muddy grave of an unknown soldier. Source



Moving ammunition past a row of graves. Source



War memorial for fallen Newfoundland soldiers. Source



The graves of British soldiers in France. Source



A British soldier at the grave of a comrade. Source


Selected World War One posts:



Faces of World War One, 1 and 2



Colour Photographs of World War One, 1 and 2




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