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Friday, 11 November 2011

The eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month

Today is the day that we remember all those who have served their country and paid the ultimate price for that service.


Lest we forget.
Posted by Robert (Bob) Cordery at 11/11/2011 09:47:00 am
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6 comments:

  1. BigLeeFriday, November 11, 2011 10:36:00 am

    Nicely said.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Robert (Bob) CorderyFriday, November 11, 2011 10:52:00 am

    BigLee,

    Thank you.

    I know that Sunday is officially the day of remembrance, but to me the eleventh of November is the day on which I like to remember the fallen.

    All the best,

    Bob

    ReplyDelete
  3. Uncle JimFriday, November 11, 2011 2:44:00 pm

    Agree. I was in Asda which was packed out at 11.00. The whole store went deathly quiet - staff, customers, children etc - for the whole two minutes. Hope for us all yet, then.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Robert (Bob) CorderyFriday, November 11, 2011 5:57:00 pm

    General Slim (Peter),

    Over the last few years the general public seem to have begun to rediscover the importance of things like the two-minute silence.

    I suspect that some of it is down to what could be termed the 'Royal Wootton Bassett-effect'. Public displays of respect for the dead are now seen as normal and not something a bit odd. As you say, there is hope for us yet.

    All the best,

    Bob

    ReplyDelete
  5. ChrisFriday, November 11, 2011 7:58:00 pm

    I'm not optimistic about there being hope for us all, not at least on this side of the Atlantic. Most people--adults and kids alike--don't even know why the date is significant. I can understand why that isn't true (or at least not AS true) in the UK, as the devastating losses in the Great War are still felt. The fact that even smaller towns have a statue remembering the men who never came back is a grim reminder of how deeply the War touched everyone. Over here it is mostly a day off from work.

    Best regards,

    Chris

    ReplyDelete
  6. Robert (Bob) CorderyFriday, November 11, 2011 8:49:00 pm

    Chris,

    I am sorry to hear that the importance of the 11th November is less well-known in the US than it is in the UK.

    I suspect that one reason why it has gained in importance in the UK over the past few years has a lot to do with the coverage of the return of the bodies of those service personnel who have been killed in Iraq and Afghanistan. Regardless of where they came from in the UK, all the bodies were returned to the same airfield and then transported through the small town of Wootton Bassett. Over time the simple reverance that the town's population demonstrated as each funeral cortege passed through the town grew into a nationally recognised demonstration of support for all service personnel.

    All the best,

    Bob

    PS. Although today is a public holiday in the US, it is not in the UK.

    ReplyDelete

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