Remembrance Sunday

He was young and brash
And strapped for cash,
So he thought he would join the army.
Then he had his mates
And dates,
And money a plenty.
A good decision he had made he said.

He trained and trained,
Got his fitness sorted,
Learnt to handle a weapon,
Married the girl he wanted.

Then off he went to see the world.
Ended up in Afghanistan.
He stood by his mates
As they fought for democracy,
For a downtrodden people,
That's how he saw it.

His wife at home
Was proud of her man
As she chewed her nails with worry.

One day he went out in the tank.
It was not a good day
The tank was blown apart by the enemy's bomb
And our man with it.

They gathered him up
To put in a coffin
To fly him home.
His job done.

He was only a lad of 22
His widow much the same age
They had paid the price for wanting a life.
He had given his life for country and home.

These young men join the army to get a better life than living on Job Seeker's Allowance. They know something of the risk they are taking; they know that some soldiers don't come back, or worse that they come back terribly maimed. The risk seems worth it.. They learn the patriotism once they join up. It is mostly a patriotism of loyalty to their mates in the army with them. They also have loyalty to Queen and country.They work hard and play hard. They become fit and disciplined and their loyalty to each other grows too. The ones who return maimed are perhaps the unlucky ones having to adjust to half a life behind a desk or pensioned off. Their wives have to learn great patience if they are to stay with them and often the soldier has to live with a broken marriage as well as a broken body. The cost of war is great affecting many lives in a circle around the soldier.

There to help is the Royal British Legion which has been helping maimed soldiers for many years. Here is their website which will give you lots of information on their work Click here for The Royal British Legion The poppy has been the symbol of the Royal British legion because there were so many poppies growing on the battlefield in the First World War. It was something which could be easily made into a paper flower that could be sold each year to provide money for the disabled soldiers. They are still sold, or given for a donation at this time of the year and worn by many people in their lapel to show solidarity with the handicapped soldiers and remembering the dead.

On Remembrance Sunday in Britain many people attend church to remember those who have died in war. Often a short service is followed by a march to the war memorial in the village, town or city. A wreath of paper poppies is laid at the memorial usually by the oldest once serving member of the forces present. The last post is sounded if a bugler can be found. Attending this commemoration will be young people who belong to army cadets. It is a moving ceremony and important, in particular, to those who have lost loved ones.

On a grey day in November the poppies at the memorial make a poignant splash of colour.

While this is going on in the small villages and towns in London the Queen attends a much bigger ceremony and lays a wreath for the whole country. Ex-servicemen and women from all over the country gather to march through London to the cenotaph, which is a big national war memorial. Hymns are sung and prayers said. Remembering is important and not to be confused with glorifying war. We remember those who have suffered from the affects of war and pray for it to cease throughout our world.