Lest we forget

This is a picture of Uncle Jim ( I'm named after him) who died in 1940 in the Mediterranean just off Malta and returning from a bombing mission over Italy. He was 20. He was buried in a War Grave in Malta.

A picture similar to this was on our sideboard at home and we often speculated on the hand on his shoulder.  Recently I sorted through the ' Brown ' box  of memorabilia most families seem to possess and found the extra photo which shows him with his best friend who I believe survived the war.

Today we were in a local cafe and reminded to observe silence at 11 am.
It reminded me of Jim , his youth and his unfufilled potential and the very  apt Statement " When you go home, tell them of us and say, for their tomorrow, we gave our today."

I didn't know who said it but google said it was John Maxwell Edmonds.

"Lest we forget" also deserves a mention whilst we are googling. Originally penned by Rudyard Kipling but added to the ode " For the fallen" by Laurence Binyons.

I shed a tear. It's easy to forget. It's good to be reminded. I think I just said that!