World War I - In Remembrance

90 years ago the war to end all wars ended. It was not to be the last war, but today it is remembered as the Great War.

It was the war which changed the world. It was the war that dispelled innocence. It was the war that crashed into the 20th century and defined our future.

It was the war which redefined new boundaries and reclaimed old ones. It was the war which sent innocent young men on a quest for glory, but left them dead and injured in the muddy fields of the Somme.

It was the war which reavulated the meaning of the crown heads of Europe, and questioned their royal perogative to influence nations and politics. Its legacy fuelled the desire of Adolph Hitler to restore the German Reich.

It was a twentieth century war fought by generals with 19th century ideals. It was the war captured on camera showing human beings as nothing more than cannon fodder, where horses were less expendable.

Above all it was the war which gave rise to the League of Nations, which said to mankind that never, ever again, should the world be plunged into such unadulterated hell.

But, as we remember the fallen - we remember the false promises, the faded dreams, the untruths told, and all the many wars and human lives which have fallen since.

The Royal British Legion provides financial, social and emotional support to millions who have served and are currently serving in the Armed Forces, and their dependants. Currently, nearly 10.5 million people are eligible for their support.

On 11 November 1918 the Armistice was signed between the Allied and German armies, ending the First World War - a global war that lasted four years with the total human cost to Britain and the Empire of 3,049,972 casualties, including 658,705 dead.

Of all the millions of men who joined up to serve and defend the country, 90 years later the ranks have thinned dramatically. Now, there are just three stalwarts of the battlefields living in the UK. Harry Patch, Bill Stone and Henry Allingham are the only survivors to bear witness to those dark days.

When they are no longer with us, the Great War will pass from living human memory finally to history.

(Left to right: Henry, Harry and Bill on Armistice day commemorations, November 11, 2008 in London)

Henry Allingham has said: "These hellish memories of war are ones I'd rather forget. But never my comrades. Never the men who gave their everything."

During a visit to a war cemetery in France, he was quoted as saying, "All of us must remember them, always."

Bill died on Monday, January 12th, 2009. He was 108 years old

As at June 19th 2009, Henry Allingham became the world oldest man at113 years old

Henry died on the morning of July 18th, 2009

On March 9th 2009, Harry, at his nursing home in Somerset, England, was appointed an Officer of the Légion d'honneur by the French Ambassador

Harry died on the morning of July 25th 2009

With their passing, the Great War has finally passed from living human memory, into history

November 2008 marked the 90th anniversary of the end of The Great War. The Royal British Legion honoured the memory of the War's heroes with a unique tribute. They planted a Flanders' Field of Poppies at the Menin Gate in Flanders.

The poppies were planted beside the Menin Gate Memorial at Ypres (Ieper) in Belgium on Armistice Day, Tuesday 11 November. Through this tribute the special Flanders' Field was awash with scarlet.

Bent double, like old beggars under sacks,
Knock-kneed, coughing like hags, we cursed through sludge,
Till on the haunting flares we turned our backs
And towards our distant rest began to trudge.
Men marched asleep. Many had lost their boots
But limped on, blood-shod. All went lame; all blind;
Drunk with fatigue; deaf even to the hoots
Of disappointed shells that dropped behind.

GAS! Gas! Quick, boys!-- An ecstasy of fumbling,
Fitting the clumsy helmets just in time;
But someone still was yelling out and stumbling
And floundering like a man in fire or lime.--
Dim, through the misty panes and thick green light
As under a green sea, I saw him drowning.

In all my dreams, before my helpless sight,
He plunges at me, guttering, choking, drowning.

If in some smothering dreams you too could pace
Behind the wagon that we flung him in,
And watch the white eyes writhing in his face,
His hanging face, like a devil's sick of sin;
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.

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.

The Royal Star & Garter Home was established as an independent charity in 1916 to care for the severely disabled young men returning from the battlegrounds of the First World War. It was Queen Mary who first expressed concern for the future of these young men, and Her Majesty charged the British Red Cross Society with the task of finding a "permanent haven" for them. The Auctioneers and Estate Agents Institute purchased the old Star & Garter hotel on Richmond Hill and handed the deeds to Queen Mary who, in turn, entrusted the building to the British Red Cross. The Royal Star & Garter Home has had a long and rich history since that time but has always remained true to its philosophy that "there is no such thing as a hopeless case" and all the residents, now and then, are cared for with support and therapy. The first 65 residents admitted in 1916 were an average age of 22. Some were able to return home while others were helped to live fulfilled lives for many years.