Memories of War...

This image reminded me of a photograph in a book I read about Ypre one of the battles of WWI that saw such horrific conditions and loss of life on both sides. The image showed the hell of the battlefield and the next frame the tranquility that returned several years later to the path between a village and the grazing, the latter shot from a low perspective through an opening in a dyke, giving an ominous feeling of a section through a trench. The "V" here reminded me of the victory sign but when you think about the futility of war and man's inhumanity to man you realise that there are no winners in the end.

This image returned to me recently when I read a book entitled "from Geordie Land to No Mans Land" which was a privately published book based on the memories of George Russell Elder,a man like so many others, who bottled up his memories of the horrors of war never speaking about them however he did write a series of diaries recounting experiences. He saw action at Ypres, Arras, Hill 60 and Passchendale.

A few of you will know I am a huge music fan, I find lyrics, if they are well written, can fire my imagination and focus my minds eye transporting me to another place in time. My tastes are somewhat eclectic, folk, traditional Scottish, blues but my first love is rock and metal in all its various genres. Some views always remind me of specific songs and this is one of them.

Surprisingly, many would imagine, many of the lyrics written by Iron Maiden allow that experience, particularly the song Passchendale which tells of the horror of war and how men wanted those at home to know how they lived and died for the freedom of their loved ones.