When The Guns Fell Silent
Discussion
My maternal grandfather was captured in WW2 and was a POW in Germany for quite some time. His experiences and treatment had life-changing impacts on him, including some sort of debilitating Parkinsons-like illness. Sadly he died in the early '80s, so I never met him.
An Uncle had an interesting war out in the Far East, but never talked about it. I only learned about any of it at his funeral a few years ago.
I do wonder what both men would make of the increasingly 'War Christmas' feel to Remembrance. It has lurched from something quiet, poignant and personal to little more than an ugly wrapper applied to an even uglier form of British (or English) nationalism. The imagery of both World Wars rolled up into a single event; Spitfires and Lancasters flitting over 'Are Brave Boys' (sic) stomping through the trenches. An ugly form of virtue signaling that you are obligated to participate in. The fact that this weapons-grade 'Remembrancing' has taken on this vivid form as the number of veterans of those conflicts dwindles to nought seems more than a coincidence.
An Uncle had an interesting war out in the Far East, but never talked about it. I only learned about any of it at his funeral a few years ago.
I do wonder what both men would make of the increasingly 'War Christmas' feel to Remembrance. It has lurched from something quiet, poignant and personal to little more than an ugly wrapper applied to an even uglier form of British (or English) nationalism. The imagery of both World Wars rolled up into a single event; Spitfires and Lancasters flitting over 'Are Brave Boys' (sic) stomping through the trenches. An ugly form of virtue signaling that you are obligated to participate in. The fact that this weapons-grade 'Remembrancing' has taken on this vivid form as the number of veterans of those conflicts dwindles to nought seems more than a coincidence.
I still dont understand what ww1 was all about, all those deaths and suffering and what did it acheive other than a precursor for another world war. I guess the recording kind of shows that 1 minute there was war, then the next there wasnt, the opposite to how it started, totally pointless, it must never be allowed to happen again.
Blackadder said:
Baldrick: The thing is: The way I see it, these days there's a war on, right? and, ages ago, there wasn't a war on, right? So, there must have been a moment when there not being a war on went away, right? and there being a war on came along. So, what I want to know is: How did we get from the one case of affairs to the other case of affairs?
Edmund: Do you mean "Why did the war start?"
Baldrick: Yeah.
George: The war started because of the vile Hun and his villainous empire-building.
Edmund: George, the British Empire at present covers a quarter of the globe, while the German Empire consists of a small sausage factory in Tanganyika. I hardly think that we can be entirely absolved of blame on the imperialistic front.
George: Oh, no, sir, absolutely not. [aside, to Baldick] Mad as a bicycle!
Baldrick: I heard that it started when a bloke called Archie Duke shot an ostrich 'cause he was hungry.
Edmund: I think you mean it started when the Archduke of Austro-Hungary got shot.
Baldrick: Nah, there was definitely an ostrich involved, sir.
Edmund: Well, possibly. But the real reason for the whole thing was that it was too much effort not to have a war.
George: By Golly, this is interesting; I always loved history...
Edmund: You see, Baldrick, in order to prevent war in Europe, two superblocs developed: us, the French and the Russians on one side, and the Germans and Austro-Hungary on the other. The idea was to have two vast opposing armies, each acting as the other's deterrent. That way there could never be a war.
Baldrick: But this is a sort of a war, isn't it, sir?
Edmund: Yes, that's right. You see, there was a tiny flaw in the plan.
George: What was that, sir?
Edmund: It was b
ks.
Baldrick: So the poor old ostrich died for nothing.
Edmund: Do you mean "Why did the war start?"
Baldrick: Yeah.
George: The war started because of the vile Hun and his villainous empire-building.
Edmund: George, the British Empire at present covers a quarter of the globe, while the German Empire consists of a small sausage factory in Tanganyika. I hardly think that we can be entirely absolved of blame on the imperialistic front.
George: Oh, no, sir, absolutely not. [aside, to Baldick] Mad as a bicycle!
Baldrick: I heard that it started when a bloke called Archie Duke shot an ostrich 'cause he was hungry.
Edmund: I think you mean it started when the Archduke of Austro-Hungary got shot.
Baldrick: Nah, there was definitely an ostrich involved, sir.
Edmund: Well, possibly. But the real reason for the whole thing was that it was too much effort not to have a war.
George: By Golly, this is interesting; I always loved history...
Edmund: You see, Baldrick, in order to prevent war in Europe, two superblocs developed: us, the French and the Russians on one side, and the Germans and Austro-Hungary on the other. The idea was to have two vast opposing armies, each acting as the other's deterrent. That way there could never be a war.
Baldrick: But this is a sort of a war, isn't it, sir?
Edmund: Yes, that's right. You see, there was a tiny flaw in the plan.
George: What was that, sir?
Edmund: It was b
ks.Baldrick: So the poor old ostrich died for nothing.
While researching the family history online I accidentally came across the military record for a lad who had been discharged from the Army in WW1 because they found out that he'd lied about his age when he enlisted. It turned out that he was only 14½!
Luckily this was discovered before he'd finished his training and he was sent back to his mum.
Luckily this was discovered before he'd finished his training and he was sent back to his mum.
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