Today is the 11th Day of the 11th Month. We should always remember what was sacrificed by so many, 100 years ago. The war to end all wars, at the time. (Sadly, we know that wasn’t the case) My children and I wear our poppies with pride, support the Poppy Factory (which is a short walk from our house) and I plan to teach them, the history of the wars our country has fought in, for the men and women who died, fighting for freedom for all, and about those who still are fighting, all over the world, even today as we remember those gone before. This is one of the poems we learned at school, I still know it off by heart. We’ve driven through where many of the most ferocious WW1 battles took place. It was sad and emotional to think so many died in what now is such a peaceful place. We must never forget….
by John McCrae, May 1915
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.
