Remembrance Sunday

The "Ode of Remembrance" is an ode taken from Laurence Binyon's poem "For the Fallen", which was first published in The Times in September 1914. The poet wrote For the Fallen, which has seven stanzas, while sitting on the cliffs between Pentire Point and The Rumps in north Cornwall, UK. A stone plaque was erected at the spot in 2001 to commemorate the fact. The plaque bears the inscription For the Fallen Composed on these cliffs 1914 However there is also a plaque on the beehive monument on the East Cliff above Portreath in central North Cornwall which cites that as the place where Binyon composed the poem. The poem honoured the World War I British war dead of that time and in particular the British Expeditionary Force, which had by then already had high casualty rates on the developing Western Front. The poem was published when the Battle of the Marne was foremost in people's minds. Over time, the third and fourth stanzas of the poem (although often just the fourth)were claimed as a tribute to all casualties of war, regardless of state. They went with songs to the battle, they were young. Straight of limb, true of eyes, 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. The line Lest we forget is often added to the end of the ode, which is repeated in response by those listening, especially in Australia. In the United Kingdom and New Zealand, the final line of the ode, "We will remember them", is repeated in response. In Canada, the last stanza of the above extract has become known as the Act of Remembrance, and the final line is also repeated. The second line of the fourth stanza, 'Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn', draws upon Enobarbus' description of Cleopatra in Antony and Cleopatra: 'Age cannot wither her, nor custom stale'. Today is a day for remembering those who put their lives on the line and those who are currently putting their lives on the line. It is a day for honouring those who have fallen, those who have served and those who are currently serving. It is a day for putting yourself in someone else’s shoes – the wife, the mother, the daughter – and only being able to imagine what they were going through, never fully understanding how it must have felt when their husbands, sons, fathers went away and many did not come back, and for those serving now always hoping nothing bad will happen to those they love most. It is a very emotional day for me, I cannot describe it. I always have a few tears. How does one even begin to understand …….

Remembrance Sunday

This Sunday is Remembrance Sunday.

If you can not make it to a service can I suggest instead you visit

This site here...........Lastingtribute.co.uk

You do not need to know anyone personally but maybe a story of a certain individual in the news touched a cord for you.

Thanks

Royal British Legion...........Hypocrits

I blogged in June about the BNP and The Royal British Legion.

See Here

Now I fully supported the Legion on the stance they took and give a few quid to them regularly.

However I was certainly dismayed to read this piece this am.

THE Royal British Legion has defended its decision to accept a donation from a British National Party (BNP) member.

A spokesman said the legion had been assured by BNP member Rachel Firth, who raised money by spending 24 hours in a cardboard box, that the donation would not be exploited for partisan political activity.

He accused the party of taking advantage of Ms Firth's generosity by publicising it on the BNP website, and stressed the legion's political impartiality.

The legion originally refused the donation from Ms Firth last month because she was also raising funds for the BNP by sleeping rough. That decision was overturned after Ms Firth gave assurances that the two would not be connected.

I respect the Legion as I said but sorry.......this stinks or rank hypocracy. Particularly with regards to the stance they took on Nick Griffin.
How on earth can you keep the 2 fund raisings by the same person un-connected??????????
I feel this may come back to bite them.

Marine Ben McBean

In another example of scandalous government policy it has transpired that a young Marine is fighting to have his compensation increased as a result of injury he received in Afghanistan.

Marine Ben McBean, of 40 Commando Royal Marines, lost an arm and a leg in a landmine explosion while on routine patrol in Helmand Province in February last year.

He also suffered multiple shrapnel wounds and burns that have scarred his body.

The Ministry of Defence had offered the 22-year-old compensation for only eight of his injuries - and for six of those he was awarded the minimum tariff.

He was initially awarded £161,500, but this was raised to £281,150 after a public outcry.

Now lets put this into perspective shall we.

£281,151.00 for that level of injury.
And that after the public got involved.
6 of the injuries he received got him MINIMUM payout..........MINIMUM.
Legal experts believe a civilian court would have awarded him more than £1m if he suffered the same injuries.

Recent civil cases brought against the MoD have resulted in much bigger payouts including £2m for an Iraqi teenager paralysed by a British bullet and £484,000 for an RAF typist who suffered repetitive strain injury. Nearly twice what Ben received........TWICE.

Marine McBean's lawyer is expected to argue that the MoD only looked at his injuries individually and did not take into account the disabling affect of the sum total, nor the potential for deterioration over time.

The Royal British Legion is representing Marine McBean at his appeal at a tribunal at Plymouth Magistrates' Court.

It said there is a need for MoD payouts to be "interpreted in a spirit of gratitude and generosity, not with an anxious eye to the Treasury".

The charity's director general Chris Simpkins said: "It is terribly sad that this brave young Royal Marine should feel dissatisfied with his compensation for injuries incurred in selfless service to his country.

"We're going to do our best for Marine McBean, but we need to be realistic - the appeal tribunal's decision will be limited by the Armed Forces' Compensation Scheme and we believe this scheme is unfair."

Under the MoD's existing compensation scheme, lump sum payments for the most serious injuries are capped at £570,000, although the scheme is being reviewed.

I am stunned by this story...............I can not get my head around his award and the award to the typist.

Brown.......Ainsworth.......how the hell do you actually sleep at night......HOW?


Ben initially came to the fore as he was returned to the UK on the same flight as Prince Harry.

Take it off!!!!

Blatantly stolen from my blog friend Subrosa.

An Open Letter to Nick Griffin from the Royal British Legion


I feel I must bring to your attention an open letter from the Royal British Legion to Nick Griffin of the BNP. Rather than just place a link I've decided to copy it in full.


An open letter to Nick Griffin, Chairman of the BNP and MEP forNorth West England09 June 2009

Dear Mr Griffin,

We couldn't help but notice that there was egg on your face (and on your suit jacket) on the day after you were elected MEP for North West England.

Please don't leave egg on ours.

You wore a Poppy lapel badge during your news conference to celebrate your election victory. This was in direct contravention of our polite request that you refrain from politicising one of the nation's most treasured and beloved symbols.

The Poppy is the symbol of sacrifices made by British Armed Forces in conflicts both past and present and it has been paid for with blood and valour. True valour deserves respect regardless of a person's ethnic origin, and everyone who serves or has served their country deserves nothing less.

The Poppy pin, the Poppy logo, and the paper Poppy worn during Remembrance are the property, trademark and emblem of The Royal British Legion.

For nearly 90 years, The Royal British Legion has pursued a policy of being scrupulously above the party political fray. It is vital that everyone - the media, the public and our beneficiaries - know that we will not allow our independence to be undermined or our reputation impaired by being closely associated with any one political party. This is more important now than ever.

On May 27th, 2009, the National Chairman of The Royal British Legion wrote to you privately requesting that you desist from wearing the Poppy or any other emblem that might be associated with the Legion at any of your public appearances during the European Parliamentary election campaign.

He appealed to your sense of honour. But you have responded by continuing to wear the poppy. So now we're no longer asking you privately.

Stop it, Mr Griffin. Just stop it.

Regards,

The Royal British Legion

The Royal British Legion is the nation's leading Armed Forces charity providing care and support to all members of the British Armed Forces past and present and their families. It is also the national Custodian of Remembrance and safeguards the Military Covenant between the nation and its Armed Forces. It is best known for the annual Poppy Appeal and its emblem, the red poppy.