Wells

A few weeks back we journeyed to Wells. For a city it was quite lovely and quite small.

Wells Cathedral

Clock at Wells Cathedral

Pretty road leading from the Cathedral

Harry Patch Memorial

Harry Patch

REMEMBER

One hundred years ago today

We will remember them

Ode to Remembrance

They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,
They fell with their faces to the foe.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them.

They mingle not with their laughing comrades again;
They sit no more at familiar tables of home;
They have no lot in in our labour of the day-time;
The sleep beyond England's foam

Remembering Rememberance

The eleventh hour, of the eleventh day, of the eleventh month.  Every year this day is remembered.  As a child (ages between 5 and 11 years 1960 to 1967) I remember we always stopped what we were doing in class and observed the two minute silence.  It was explained to us why we did it.  I don't remember doing it while I was at my senior school or college, or even in my early years at work, I did though in my fashion. We certainly never observed the day unless the eleventh of November fell on a Sunday.  Brownies and Guides we were on parade.  I don't think the actual day was observed properly again until about fifteen years ago.  I remember being in places like Woolworths or Tesco, and announcement being made, we will  be observing the two minute silence, you would hear little children chattering, but that didn't matter, but to hear adults chattering that did!  I used to observe the time in my way in my early years at work, and my boss once snapped his fingers and said get on with your work, what are you doing day-dreaming! Obviously he didn't understand.  When I stopped work to have children, I would always stop if I was watching television or listening to the radio, because they observed it at the BBC on the actual day, and still do.

I returned to work about twenty years ago, my first job on my return was in a small local post office, I remember Helen my boss put a notice on the counter window saying this post office will be observing the two minutes silence there was only three of us Helen, her husband and me but we observed the silence.  In later years Helen and her husband divorced and a a couple of years later Helen had a new partner.  That particular morning the notice went up and post office which had a queue mostly elderly getting their pensions - in the days of  books with dockets in!  Helen and I stopped and the queue stopped, the young mum with two young children put her finger to her lips as the little child spoke.  Then when work resumed again and the queue died down, Helen's new partner came to the counter and asked quizzically what was that all about........ I couldn't believe what he had just asked!  I was stunned, shocked someone not knowing........  Helen made some excuse, but quite honestly it was no excuse, she was just making excuses for him.  (He didn't know what the Mary Celeste was either.)  I asked if he went to school...........

My second job was in a craft shop.  I observed the silence as I used to in my own way, then after a while I was beginning to open the shop and spending the mornings on my own until the owners came in at lunchtime. The November before I left work, before the shop was sold I sorted all the cross-stitch kits out.  The stand was directly opposite the door quite prominent.  So I sorted the kits putting the ones with poppies on on the front, and to fill up the spaces anything with bright red on.  The stand stood like that till the shop was sold at the end on November.  One customer even complimented us on our little show of poppies, the bosses didn't notice about the stand until it was pointed out to them, I took the compliment quietly as they had thought the other two staff had done as they were always sorting and tidying.

I will be observing the hour again today whilst doing my chores and listening to radio.

I did a post about my grandfathers

“The Soldier,” by Rupert Brooke (1887-1915) 

If I should die, think only this of me: 

That there’s some corner of a foreign field 

That is forever England. There shall be 

In that rich earth a richer dust concealed; 

A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware, 

Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam, 

A body of England’s, breathing English air, 

Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home. 

And think, this heart, all evil shed away, 

A pulse in the Eternal mind, no less 

Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given, 

Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day; 

And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness, 

In hearts at peace, under an English heaven. 

(1914) 

Rememberance - I am proud of these three men

I mentioned a few posts back I am tracing my family tree.  Stories that I heard mentioned as a child have come to the fore.  Stories I heard but never took much notice of at the time and wished I had taken more notice of.  

William Prentice

The picture of the gentleman above is my dad's dad.  In my research of my family tree he is my 'skeleton in the cupboard'.  He also came back from the the war.  He came back from WW2.  He was at Dunkirk (1940).  He swam to the Royal Daffodil, a ferry boat which although had taken a direct hit from a bomb but had saved 8000 troops.  He was a Regimental Sergeant Major, and has a medal for Gallantry.  I never knew him either, I think I had met him a few times, but I wasn't very old when I had met him.  He in died 1972, I was  sixteen.

My great-grandfather, George William Greaves, whose medals I show on my 11th November posts

The medals were given to every solider who fought in WW1

He was a horse driver, he never did anything heroic, he came back, but he came back a broken man.  Although he lived till he was eighty years old, I never knew him he died before I was born.  I once heard a story that his own children walked on the other side of the road because he was drunk in the gutter.  No soldier then talked of what actually went on.  No counselling existed then, it was the 'stiff upper lip' and all that.   

(Elaine has a post of what happened to the WW1 horses - very heartbreaking)

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George William Greaves' son-in-law was my grandfather Albert Sullivan.

You can read about Albert here

He was in the Home Guard.

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I don't agree with war, I don't like confrontation, but these three men had a job to do, and I am proud of them. 

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~ My Skeleton in the Cupboard ~ 

William Prentice, my grandfather.  I couldn't find him anywhere on any genealogical site.  It was as if he didn't exist!  I sent for his birth certificate.  He was born to a servant called Florence in September 1900, I will leave you dear readers to decide as to what may have happened...................

We will remember them

I thought I would remember them with this patroitic WW1 song.

We will remember them!

At the11th Hour on the 11th Day of the 11th Month

The Soldier

If I should die, think only this of me:

That there's some corner of a foreign field

That is for ever England. There shall be

In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;

A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,

Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam,

A body of England's, breathing English air,

Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.

And think, this heart, all evil shed away,

A pulse in the eternal mind, no less

Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given;

Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;

And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness,

In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.

　

By Rupert Brook 1887 1915

last sonnet written1914



Armistice

at the Eleventh Hour,
on the Eleventh Day, of the Eleventh Month

The Soldier
If I should die, think only this of me:

That there's some corner of a foreign field

That is for ever England. There shall be

In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;

A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,

Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam,

A body of England's, breathing English air,

Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.
And think, this heart, all evil shed away,

A pulse in the eternal mind, no less

Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given;

Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;

And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness,

In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.
　
By Rupert Brook 1887 1915

last sonnet written1914

Remembrance Sunday

We will

Remember Them

Armistice

at the Eleventh Hour,

on the Eleventh Day, of the Eleventh Month

We will remember them

The Soldier
If I should die, think only this of me:

That there's some corner of a foreign field

That is for ever England.

There shall be In that rich earth a richer dust concealed;

A dust whom England bore, shaped, made aware,

Gave, once, her flowers to love, her ways to roam,

A body of England's, breathing English air,

Washed by the rivers, blest by suns of home.
And think, this heart, all evil shed away,

A pulse in the eternal mind, no less

Gives somewhere back the thoughts by England given;

Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;

And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness,

In hearts at peace, under an English heaven.

By Rupert Brook 1887 - 1915

last sonnet written 1914

Ninety Years.............

Remembrance Sunday