NFR...at least not now....Remembering July 1st

[ron]

......and the sacrifice of the Somme July 1st 1916.  A date that still reaches down the years to touch us as a folk memory.

19000 lost lives amongst 57000 British casualties on that dreadful day. All of them young chaps who loved life, and probably

had their favourite clubs, FFC included. God Bless them every one.

[Berserker]

My great uncle died that day but not on the Somme strangly enough, but at on the Double Crassier at Loos. Often go and visit his grave when i'm over in Belgium or France

[Scrumpy]

Those figures are so, so depressing. 57000 injured in one single day. 19000 died. A whole generation of youngsters almost wiped out during that War.

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[ron]

My Grandfather (an FFC supporter all his life) volunteered in 1915, went over the top at 0730 on that July 1st, served through various campaigns (including 3rd Battle of Ypres (Passchendaele) in 1917) until 1918, and survived to pass away peacefully in 1983. He was always amazed how he managed to survive the war.

[Rupert]

I was at a multi-period history event yesterday, and there was a First World War unit there, their forebears went over the top at 7-30 am on July 1st and took heavy losses, so they marked it by having a parade at 7-30.
There were two lines of 1916 Tommies with some French and British Napoleonic units lined up, a couple of us from our lot inconspicuously at the back as we were dressed as 1813 Prussians (friends in 1813, not as such in 1916) and a few bods from the 17th Century. They started with the parade being brought to attention, a group of Tommies blew whistles (the signal to go over the top), then we had a minute's silence followed by the CO reciting the "They shall not grow old" poem.
It was very moving.

[TonyGilroy]

And what a pity that we rush to go to war as soon as someone shouts "oil". Or "democracy"

Clearly we've learned nothing from the Sommes and all the other shameful, wasteful, human carnages.

[Rupert]

And what a pity that we rush to go to war as soon as someone shouts "oil". Or "democracy"

Clearly we've learned nothing from the Sommes and all the other shameful, wasteful, human carnages.

Strongly disagree. Did you not see the protests before Blair pushed us into war? Pour scorn on those who lead us to war (and more fool the many who voted those people back in, of whichever political party they belong to), but many of us have learned from history.

Strangely enough, that was one message from the weekend event, we are in danger of losing our history as not enough attention is paid to properly teaching it any more.

[Jack Fulham]

And what a pity that we rush to go to war as soon as someone shouts "oil". Or "democracy"

Clearly we've learned nothing from the Sommes and all the other shameful, wasteful, human carnages.

Strongly disagree. Did you not see the protests before Blair pushed us into war? Pour scorn on those who lead us to war (and more fool the many who voted those people back in, of whichever political party they belong to), but many of us have learned from history.

Strangely enough, that was one message from the weekend event, we are in danger of losing our history as not enough attention is paid to properly teaching it any more.

I'd argue that we've lost the majority of our history already. Throughout my education, I've learnt very little outside of the 20th Century as they don't seem to teach it at all. I suppose this is easier as the 20th century is most documented but it is sad that other areas of history are neglected. The British Empire isn't really taught at all.

[MJG]

And what a pity that we rush to go to war as soon as someone shouts "oil". Or "democracy"

Clearly we've learned nothing from the Sommes and all the other shameful, wasteful, human carnages.

Strongly disagree. Did you not see the protests before Blair pushed us into war? Pour scorn on those who lead us to war (and more fool the many who voted those people back in, of whichever political party they belong to), but many of us have learned from history.

Strangely enough, that was one message from the weekend event, we are in danger of losing our history as not enough attention is paid to properly teaching it any more.

I'd argue that we've lost the majority of our history already. Throughout my education, I've learnt very little outside of the 20th Century as they don't seem to teach it at all. I suppose this is easier as the 20th century is most documented but it is sad that other areas of history are neglected. The British Empire isn't really taught at all.

During my secondary school history lessons (1978-83) we jumped from the 1300's to 20th century in a blink of an eye.
600 years just forgotten about.
Empire! Did we have one?

[MasterHaynes]

In my time at secondary school '66 to '73 in the first four years we started at Bronze age and slowly progressed through the Romans, Tudors, Elizabethans, Stuarts, Industrial revolution and East Indies trading company and Empire to the start of the breakup of Empire with India's independence in the 1950's.

Not sure but I think our O'level paper had questions fracross a very wide span of history. It certainly was not focused on a single century.

[Rambling_Syd_Rumpo]

my home town lost nearly half their young men,and smaller northern towns lost 75% of young men in a week,that's a generation nearly wiped out-in a week-we might have had an Empire that the sun never set on,but the working man paid a hell of a price


the Germans called the British army in WW1 " Lions led by donkey's" for a reason

makes me angry just thinking about it

[LBNo11]

...it is out of print now, but if you can find a copy of 'Somme' by Lyn Macdonald ISBN 0 333 36648 4 you will read of the unspeakable horror, of man's inhumanity to man, of ideals destroyed and the total futility of war on the mechanical scale.

Tonight - places like High Wood, Delville Wood, Crucifix Corner, Logueval, Bazentin, Death Valley, Caterpillar Wood, Trones Wood, Thiepval Ridge, Ginchy Ridge, Guillemont, the Ancre Valley etc., will sleep quietly - 96 years ago it would have smelt of blood, of cordite, sweat, the stench of death, the sounds of war, the dying, the rats scurrying around feasting on the corpses of the slain from both sides.

Sleep in peace, the fallen...

[Holders]

My grandfather was there and would never talk about his experiences, they were so horrific.

[Berserker]

I didn't know that book was out of print Lork, i will have to treasure my rather well thumbed copy more

[TheDaddy]

3 from my side of the family  000en.gif 065.gif

[NogoodBoyo]

"...it is out of print now, but if you can find a copy of 'Somme' by Lyn Macdonald ISBN 0 333 36648 4 you will read of the unspeakable horror, of man's inhumanity to man, of ideals destroyed and the total futility of war on the mechanical scale.

Tonight - places like High Wood, Delville Wood, Crucifix Corner, Logueval, Bazentin, Death Valley, Caterpillar Wood, Trones Wood, Thiepval Ridge, Ginchy Ridge, Guillemont, the Ancre Valley etc., will sleep quietly - 96 years ago it would have smelt of blood, of cordite, sweat, the stench of death, the sounds of war, the dying, the rats scurrying around feasting on the corpses of the slain from both sides.

Sleep in peace, the fallen..."
Nogood "loving old LBNo1418 for a man who knows his onions and raises awareness for July 1, 1916 every year, isit" Boyo