RIP The Soldiers of The Somme

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stickywicket
stickywicket Member Posts: 27,712
edited 2. Jul 2016, 08:45 in Community Chit-chat archive
Day 1 - British casualties - 57,470 of whom 19,240 were killed.

By the end of the battle, the British Army had suffered 420,000 casualties. The French lost 200,000 men and the Germans nearly 500,000.

“If you could hear, at every jolt, the blood
Come gargling from the froth-corrupted lungs,
Obscene as cancer, bitter as the cud
Of vile, incurable sores on innocent tongues,
My friend, you would not tell with such high zest
To children ardent for some desperate glory,
The old Lie; Dulce et Decorum est
Pro patria mori.”

Wilfred Owen (died 4th November 1918.)
(The news of Owen's death reached his parents home as the Armistice bells were ringing on 11 November 1918. )
If at first you don't succeed, then skydiving definitely isn't for you.
Steven Wright

Comments

  • barbara12
    barbara12 Member Posts: 21,281
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
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    It always brings tear to my eyes when I see the film of them going over the top.the conditions they lived in, if you can call it living..bless them all and may they rest in peace...
    Love
    Barbara
  • dreamdaisy
    dreamdaisy Member Posts: 31,520
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
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    I hope that people have taken some time to remember and honour the sacrifice of so many lives so that we can live as we do. We know that it wasn't the war to end all wars but I can understand how its impact made people think that it would be.

    RIP to all the brave soldiers who fought and lost, no matter their nationality. DD
    Have you got the despatches? No, I always walk like this. Eddie Braben
  • Kitty
    Kitty Member Posts: 3,583
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
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    I have often seen footage of a big strong soldier carrying another, injured soldier, out of the trenches. I saw it agin yesterday. They explained that this was The Somme. It always brings tears to my eyes. Even more so, now they told listeners that the wounded man died shortly after.
    kitten.jpg

    "Women and cats will do as they please, and men and dogs should relax and get used to the idea." Robert A Heinlein

  • Slosh
    Slosh Member Posts: 3,194
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
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    I watched part of the commeration this morning, the sheer numbers of lives lost is impossible to comprehend.

    Recently it was the anniversary of the battle of Jutland, my Grandfather was on one of the ships that was sunk...but luckily for him he had been taken off and to hospital shortly before the battle due to a ruptured appendix. He always said it saved his life.
    He did not say you will not be storm tossed, you will not be sore distressed, you will not be work weary. He said you will not be overcome.
    Julian of Norwich
  • mig
    mig Member Posts: 7,154
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
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    I've posted a virtual poppy on a family history web site and I've worn my poppy with pride,GOD BLESS YOU ALL.
  • theresak
    theresak Member Posts: 1,998
    edited 30. Nov -1, 00:00
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    RIP to every single one of those brave soldiers. To see all the names on the Menin Gate at Ypres, or the rows of headstones at Tyne Cot is a truly humbling experience.

    My own paternal grandfather made it home, but would never talk about it.
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