November 11th Remembrance Day

Today whilst shopping in Morrisons the whole store stood at 11am for 2 minutes silence it was very moving.

This is one of my Paintings with a superimposed photo of my paternal Grandmother Florence with her brother Charles Angell born 1898 who died between 1914/18 in the 1st world war no details of how or when, and the other is of Paula’s maternal Grandfather James Henry Pollard Born 13 Feb 1890. Died 12 Jan 1918. Shot by sniper. Buried Lijssenthoek Military Cemetery, Poperinge, West Vlaanderen, Belgium. He left a widow and 3 small children. Both so young.

I found this rather old piece of poetry the other day by a Tom Smith of Armthorpe Nr Doncaster and it seemed rather fitting.

If you were selected to bring someone back
Who had fought for his country and died,
Would you be proud as you showed them our world.
Or want to go somewhere and hide?

People died for their country, their family, their friends,
For principles once we held dear;
They fought so that children, could face every day,
Freed from the “Ogre of Fear”

We are fighting oppression, the government said,
And in return for the life you may give,
When it’s over, we promise, to build a new world,
A Land ‘fit for heroes to live’.

Equality, regardless of race, creed or kin,
A fitting reward for the brave;
With a home, and a job, and insurance,
To protect you from ‘cradle to grave’.

So as you displayed all the progress we’ve made,
Violence, drugs, greed and crime,
Unemployment, corruption and old people afraid,
Wouldn’t you be ashamed of ‘our time’?

Would our new standards and morals, impress
someone who died in the war?
Or would they walk away with tears of regret,
Saying “It’s not what I gave my life for”?