Today is the centenary of the beginning of The Battle of the Somme.
Quite a few years ago we visited part of The Somme Battlefield, unfortunately it was before digital cameras. My maternal grandfather was at the Somme and survived so I was glad to be there and see just a wee bit of the area. It was wet when we were there and so we got a bit of that muddy experience and disconcertingly the mud at the Somme is very red, it must have a very high iron content.
My grandfather was one of those crazy lads who lied about his age to volunteer for the war and I was only two years old when he died in 1961, having lived his whole life dealing with ill health due to being gassed. But one thing has been handed down from him to me and that is the fact that he told his family never to believe any British government, and I certainly have always heeded that warning. In fact I would go further and say – never trust or believe any British politician.
The Thiepval Memorial has 72,246 names on it of missing men who were killed in the Battles of the Somme and have no known grave.
I’ve been keeping this solemn anniversary very much in my thoughts today.
“Their bodies are buried in peace; but their name liveth for evermore.”
Valerie,
I never cease to be amazed by what those poor men went through in all the various battles. That whole area has huge cemeteries in every direction, even although over 72,000 of them have no known resting place.
I am glad that these strong family connections are still remembered and revered.
My partner’s great-uncle fought at the Somme – part of the New Zealand contingent that served. Bernie’s sister, who now lives in Australia, has sadly been struck by a form of dementia. She had only two wishes before it became impossible for her to travel such distances: to see her younger brother again, and have him take her to visit their great-uncle’s grave. She achieved both; he drove her across to the continent and on to the cemetery through a snowstorm. And he’s never regretted it.
Sandra,
I’m so glad she was able to visit his grave at last, they are so beautifully taken care of. My soon to be daughter-in-law takes kids over to Belgium and France every year, visiting the graves of lads who had been pupils at the school she teaches in. They aren’t forgotten.
I think you can safely say “never trust or believe ANY politician’!
Joan,
You’re right!