Poppies at the Tower of London

[Clint Planet]

I had that in mind with my post before this. Those people really did shock and disgust me when I went there last year.

Now that is a truly unforgettable experience. I went to Auschwitz Birkenau before everyone had a smart phone though so I didn't have to witness that selfie nonsense.

 

[Eggs]

.........always find the Cenotaph walkpast very humbling. So much respect.

 

[ToffeeDoug]

We went to see the poppy art/display at the Tower of London yesterday, it was certainly stunning but having seen so much coverage of it on the TV I knew exactly what to expect and the emotional side for me didn't quite come across as much as I was expecting. Afterwards, we went down to Westminster Abbey to see the memorial plots outside St Margaret's Church and this was very poignant indeed. Hundreds of plots for wooden crosses, crosses, memorial wreaths etc had been laid in the grass, representing every different aspects of our armed services that you could imagine, to name just a few, Bomber Command, the Chindits, nurses, glider pilots, submariners, bomb disposal, the Royal Artillery, and the Popski Private Army (one for me to look up) and many many more besides. There was a plot for the recent dead in Afghanistan (and presumably one for Iraq, which we missed) and this was truly heartbreaking, every cross had the small photo on it of a young man. All the plots had been filled by families, relatives, surviving veterans and the personal touch and the messages inked onto the crosses really made the remembrance something special rather than idiot day-trippers at the Tower wanting to take selfies.

 

[toffeejack]

lovely service so far.

it's very sad that when i am older i will be living in a time when there are no more survivors in the world from either war. we need to collect as much video footage as we can of every soldier's heroic story - they should never ever be forgotten.

 

[Bruce Wayne]

lovely service so far.

it's very sad that when i am older i will be living in a time when there are no more survivors in the world from either war. we need to collect as much video footage as we can of every soldier's heroic story - they should never ever be forgotten.

They kind of are though, arent' they? I mean how many conflicts are there currently being fought around the world? Have we really learned from the past?

 

[toffeejack]

Just came across a homeless guy wearing a poppy, what a great man.

 

[micknick]

I saw the area when they literally just started putting the poppies in- 3 guys literally pushing one in at a time, that was 3 months ago.

I actually bought one and will be sent after the display is taken down. Part of history in a way. Its breathtaking now its finished.

 

[obc]

Striking.

Absolutely striking.

 

[micknick]

Striking.

Absolutely striking.

It really hits a chord doesnt it

 

[obc]

It really hits a chord doesnt it

That it does. I served in the US Navy, find it swell to get thank yous in my inbox or BookFace wall. Thanks.

But a display like that, honoring those who served in the most horrid of conditions, in such a beautiful manner... yeah. It's a bit dusty in my apartment here right now.

 

[verreauxi]

Very moving.

 

[The Esk]

They kind of are though, arent' they? I mean how many conflicts are there currently being fought around the world? Have we really learned from the past?

The fact that politicians and religious leaders (I use the term loosely) continue to see war as a solution to their unsolved problems in no way reduces the memory of those that fell trying to solve previous politicians' failures.

Perversely the human loses in war seem to vindicate politicians (in their own minds) rather than discourage their liking of military aggression. It adds "value" to what has been/ is being fought for.