Never Forget

[DaveM]

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.

Inspiration for “In Flanders Fields”
Lieutenant Alexis Helmer, 1st Brigade Canadian Field Artillery. (1) Lieutenant Alexis Helmer, 1st Brigade Canadian Field Artillery (source: A Crown of Life)

During the early days of the Second Battle of Ypres a young Canadian artillery officer, Lieutenant Alexis Helmer, was killed on 2nd May, 1915 in the gun positions near Ypres. An exploding German artillery shell landed near him. He was serving in the same Canadian artillery unit as a friend of his, the Canadian military doctor and artillery commander Major John McCrae.

As the brigade doctor, John McCrae was asked to conduct the burial service for Alexis because the chaplain had been called away somewhere else on duty that evening. It is believed that later that evening, after the burial, John began the draft for his now famous poem “In Flanders Fields”.

For the story behind the inspiration for “In Flanders Fields”, see our page at:
Inspiration for In Flanders Fields
Related Topics

 

[devo]

nice one Dave

 

[Tassie Tiger]

Ypres must have been pure hell.

 

[Rocky]

Thanks for that Dave
Throughout the entire history of the human race it has been nothing but war and killing.
Nothing much has changed and there is no evidence that it ever will

 

[CarlS]

Thanks, Dave.

Rocky, sadly, you are spot on.

 

[Gromit]

Thanks Dave. It's one of the days that never goes unnoticed in my diary.

Thank you to all the veterans, past and present, for their contribution to my freedom.

 

[CarlS]

Thank you, Gromit, for remembering us.

 

[hemibee]

Good one Dave.

Thanks to all the Vets here!!!

Sent from somewhere using Tapatalk

 

[Tigershark]

WE WILL REMEMBER THEM

 

[Doug]

Sadly,I didn't see anyone selling poppies this year.
I did notice though,that all the presenters on Sky News have been wearing them for weeks.

 

[DaveM]

Well the MOTHS were out in force collecting as normal. It does seem as our TV channels don't support this idea these days

 

[Tigershark]

We sent hundreds of poppies to Cape Town via the local DA parlimentarian so she could hand out to all in Parliment.
It is sad that TV presenters dont wear the poppy because so many South Africans gave their lives in both WW1 , WW2 and Korea, never mind our generation (who, despite what people think were actually combating communist imperialism) and now our troops are part of UN peacekeepng efforts in Africa and we lose a good couple every now and then.
It is sad that we do not honor them enough.

The selling of poppies should have taken place on 2 Nov by your local MOTH and SA Legion.

 

[DaveM]

I always support our local MOTHS as they do great work. It is sad that our TV presenters don't wear the poppies these days and it just highlights the lack of respect we now have in our socierty this side.

 

[Tigershark]

We have a thing we do- this year on the 3 Nov- where we go to the local cemetaries and stick a poppy on every servicemen's headstone and honor them in that way.
There are 4 different memorial parades in PE , but the tribute paid is limited to MOTHs and Legion in the main.

I have friends in Perth and the have joined SAMVOA (South African Military Veterans of Australia) and they tell me that the general public seems much more involved.
Any way the question is what to do about it ,I suppose.

 

[DaveM]

Yes the question is what can we do about it as I don't think the SABC even knows why other stations are wearing them

 

[Gromit]

I don't think it's a lack of respect on behalf our TV presenters as much as it is a general ignorance (particularly of the station management) and lack of education. The SA curriculum barely covers the 2 WW's, Korea etc unless it's a private school and history is taken as a matric subject. The SA history has been re-written and very little resembles what I was taught in history when I was at school. For example, the story of Dick King is no longer in any of the text books I've seen and kids haven't got a clue who he was and what he did. The Boer wars have also been watered down.

So I think it's ignorance and the lack of will to learn and self-educate.

 

[CarlS]

I agree, Gromit; and you can add apathy.

 

[hemibee]

I know I've seen MOTH before and will probably remember it shortly and feel a little embarrassed that I actually ask this, but what does MOTH stand for?


Sent from somewhere using Tapatalk

Never mind, it just hit me. I guess I had a senior moment. . . wait I'm too young for that.

 

[Tigershark]

Hi Hemibee

MOTH stands for Memorable Order of Tin Hats - a tin hat is what the troops in WW1 called what we know as a steel helmet.
It is an ex-service man's organisation thet started in Durban in South Africa in the 1920's by a vet named Charles Evinden.
The order's purpose is to back the comradeship and comaraderie experienced by those who served in the trenches.

The Order has 3 Ideals- TC, MH and SM - True Comradeship , Mutual Help and Sound Memory.
You have to have served in a combat or an operational area to qualify to join.

You can search for the website

regards

 

[DaveM]

Here we go their web site http://www.moth.org.za/moth.htm