IS
IT NOTHING TO YOU? LEST WE FORGET
On
the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month.
(IN
MEMORY OF SOLDIERS AND RADIO OPERATORS WHO DIED IN WAR)
Audio version of the Special Remembrance Day Broadcast available HERE
INTRODUCTION
Remembrance
Day is always held on the 11 November. This is the day that World War
One ended in 1918, when the armistice was signed in Compiegne,
Northern France, at 5am. Six hours later, the fighting stopped, and
to commemorate this there is a two-minute silence at 11 am, every 11
November. Many countries have a special day to remember those that
fell in their wars; America has Veterans Day, while France has
Armistice Day. South Africa commemorate those who fought in wars for
their
country. The nearest Sunday to the 11 th is called Remembrance
Sunday, when church services are held in honour
of those who were involved in wars, and wreaths are laid on the
memorials which have a place in many towns in South Africa. Many
two-minute silences are followed by a lone bugler playing The Last
Post, reminiscent of times of war when trumpets were as much a part
of battle as Bayonets.
A
poem called ‘For the Fallen’
is often read aloud on the occasion; the most famous stanza of which
reads:
They
shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age
shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At
the going down of the sun and in the morning
We
will remember them.
These
words can be found adorning many war memorials across the world. The
author, Laurence Binyan, was never a soldier but certainly
appreciated the horrors of war.
COMMEMORATING
FALLEN SOLDIERS
Australia,
New Zealand and South Africa fielded all volunteer forces and usually
got put into situations everyone else could not manage. Often without
the right weaponry or support. In the Second World War, the South
Africans lost an entire Division at Tobruk, after being sent in to
relieve the Australian Division without anti-tank weapons and without
ammunition for what they did have. It was actually a big
administrative error - the weapons were available, but someone in
Cairo had not signed the paperwork to allow it to be sent to the
front. Rommel certainly found that a useful omission when he
attacked. Even so, the South Africans held out a lot longer than
anyone thought possible.
The
Menin “gate” at Ypres, Belgium is a memorial to the fallen of the
First World War and is inscribed with the names of those who died on
this salient but whose bodies were destroyed, lost or never found.
Numbers of South African and New Zealand names were recorded on it.
This salient includes the area known as Paschendal, a small village
that was wiped from the face of he earth during the fighting. The
slaughter in this conflict was horrendous on all sides. The list of
names on memorials, where you can see, included fathers, brothers and sons,
all listed as killed.
THE
HISTORY
'The
two minutes' silence to commemorate the first anniversary of the
ceasefire of 11 o'clock on 11 November 1918 was almost as much of a
surprise to the general public as the ceasefire itself had been. The
decision to mark the first anniversary of the Armistice with a silent
pause in the life of the nation was taken very close to the
anniversary itself. The origins of the silence can be found in a
minute dated 4 November 1919, submitted to Lord Milner for the
consideration of the War Cabinet by Sir Percy Fitzpatrick, former
British High Commissioner to the Dominion of
South Africa, His son had been killed in France in 1917.
He
wrote:
'In
the hearts of our people there is a real desire to find some lasting
expression of their feeling for those who gave their lives in the
war. They want something done now while the memories of sacrifice are
in the minds of all; for there is the dread - too well grounded in
experience - that those who have gone will not always
be
first in the thoughts of all, and that when the fruits of their
sacrifice become our daily bread, there will be few occasions to
remind us of what we realize so clearly today. During the War, we in
South Africa observed what we called the "Three minutes' pause "
At noon each day, all work, all talk and all movement were suspended
for three minutes that we might concentrate as one in thinking of
those - the living and the dead - who had pledged and given
themselves for all that we believe in…
Silence,
complete and arresting, closed upon the city - the moving,
awe-inspiring silence of a great Cathedral where the smallest sound
must seem a sacrilege… Only those who have felt it can understand
the over mastering effect in action and reaction of a multitude moved
suddenly to one thought and one purpose.'
The
War Cabinet discussed Fitzpatrick's proposal on 5 November and
approved a 'Service of Silence' on Armistice
Day. The only amendment the Cabinet made was to amend the duration
to one minute, - subject to approval from the King. The King altered
the duration of the silence to two minutes. Milner then arranged for
the release of the finalized draft to the Dominions and the press.
It
was carried by all national newspapers on 7 November 1919:
'Tuesday
next, November 11, is the first anniversary of the Armistice, which
stayed the world wide carnage of the four preceding years and marked
the victory of Right and Freedom. I believe that my people in every
part of the Empire fervently wish to perpetuate the memory of the
Great Deliverance, and of those who have laid down their lives to
achieve it. To afford an opportunity for the universal expression of
this feeling, it is my desire and hope that at the hour when the
Armistice came into force, the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of
the eleventh month, there may be for the brief space of two minutes a
complete suspension of our normal activities. No elaborate
organization appears to be required. At a given signal, which can
easily be arranged to suit the circumstances of the locality, I
believe that we shall gladly interrupt our business and pleasure,
whatever it may be and unite in this simple service of Silence and
Remembrance'. The silence
was well observed and a tradition had been established.
Remembrance
Day is also known as Poppy Day..
The
poppies are worn because in World War One the Western Front contained
in the soil thousands of poppy seeds, all lying dormant. They would
have lain there for years more, but the battles being fought there
churned up the soil so much that the poppies bloomed like never
before. The most famous bloom of poppies in the war
was
in Ypres, a town in Flanders, Belgium, which was crucial to the
Allied defence.
There were three battles there, but it was the second, which was
calamitous to the allies since it heralded the first use of the new
chlorine gas the Germans were experimenting with, which brought forth
the poppies in greatest abundance, and inspired the Canadian soldier,
Major John McCrae, to write his most famous poem. This, in turn,
inspired the British Legion to adopt the poppy as their emblem.
In
Flanders Fields
In
Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between
the crosses, row on row
That
mark our place; and in the sky
The
larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce
heard amid the guns below.
We
are the Dead. Short days ago
We
lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved
and were loved, and now we lie
In
Flanders fields.
Take
up our quarrel with the foe:
To
you from failing hands we throw
The
torch; be yours to hold it high.
If
ye break faith with us who die
We
shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In
Flanders fields.
Doctor
Major John McCrae wrote this poem on May 3, 1915 after the battle at
Ypres.
MaCrae’s
“In Flanders Fields” remains to this day one of the most
memorable war poems ever written. It is a lasting legacy of the
terrible battle in the Ypres salient in the spring of 1915.
THE
LAST POST
The
Last Post is one of a number of bugle calls in military tradition
which mark the phases of the day. Where "Reveille"
signalled
the start of a soldier's day, the "Last Post" signalled
its end. It is believed originally to have been part of a more
elaborate routine, known in the British Army as "tattoo",
that had its origins in the 17th
century.
"Last Post" was incorporated into funeral and memorial
services as a final farewell and symbolizes that the duty of the dead
is over and that they can rest in peace.
THE
WORDS TO THE LAST POST
Come
home! Come home! The last post is sounding
for
you to hear. All good soldiers know very well there
is
nothing to fear while they do what is right, and forget
all
the worries they have met in their duties through the
year.
A soldier cannot always be great, but he can be a
gentleman
and he can be a right good pal to his comrades in
his
squad. So all you soldiers listen to this – Deal fair by all
and
you’ll never be amiss.
Be
Brave! Be Just! Be Honest and True Men!
FINALLY
“REMEMBER
THE DEAD; DON’T FORGET THE LIVING.”………..“WE SHALL
REMEMBER THEM; LEST WE
FORGET!”
The Last Post - Bugel Call played over the air ( Courtesy: Music Files Limited)
Listen HERE.
NOTE:
THIS
ARTICLE WAS BROADCAST VIA THE GRHUB NETWORK ON THURSDAY 11
NOVEMBER 2021, 11H00 ON ECHOLINK, ALLSTAR, VARIOUS REPEATERS, NETWORKS AND ON 145.550 MHZ SIMPLEX IN MOSSELBAY TO COMMEMORATE FALLEN SOLDIERS AS WELL AS RADIO OPERATORS
WHO DIED IN VARIOUS WARS.
LETS
NOT FORGET THOSE WHO PAID THE HIGHEST PRICE.
Compiled
by Johan ZS1I
November
2004
Source:
Several Articles
