Lest We Forget

A simple sign this week

100 years ago the First World War started. The "Great War" or "The War to end all wars" unfortunately, as we know, wars still go on. 

At 11am on the 11th of November we remember all those who have given their lives in conflict. We will pause for two minutes and offer prayers to God for the all affected by conflict peace of the world. We do not glorify war but we do remember.

As a visual reminder of some of those who died in the First World War the Tower of London has an exhibition of ceramic poppies. One for each Commonwealth solider who died. There are 888,246 of them. I saw them in September. It is a truely awesome sight. A river of red to remember some of the fallen. I took the photo below, it doesn't do the sight justice at all!

I was asked by one of the children in church on Sunday why we wear poppies? We wear them because of this poem by Lt. Col. John McCrae who wrote this in May 1915.

In Flanders Fields

John McCrae

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