1 July 1916.

[georgeetta]

I know my Uncle Douglas was a "lifer" in Scots Guards as a Sgt Major . He got out to get married in 1938 ..I believe his pals were on a river peninsula in Burma or somehwere in jungle combat somehwere and were terribly done over by the enemy . He was a strong guy but he'd say "all my chums're dead" .

d

[Rós Ó hAllmhuráin]

"Scotland is poorer in men,
But richer in Heroes"

Magersfontein memorial.

[creagdhubh]

Lest we forget.

[James Hood]

Eternal honour to the fallen, to those left with wounds, to those who had to live with the horrible memories.

[Salvianus]

Remembered, one and honoured all.

Houseman's most famous piece "Epitaph on an Army of Mercenaries' was technically referring to the tiny professional British Expeditionary Force, the ‘Old Contemptibles’ although it was only published in the Times in 1917, during the Third Battle of Ypres, ‘Passchendaele'. However, it is much misunderstood and I prefer to contribute:


Peace is come and wars are over,
Welcome you and welcome all,
While the charger crops the clover
And his bridle hangs in stall.

Now no more of winters biting
Filth in trench from fall to spring,
Summers full of sweat and fighting
For the Kesar or the King.

Rest you, charger, rust you, bridle;
Kings and Kesars, keep your pay;
Soldier, sit you down and idle
At the inn of night for aye.

A.E. Houseman, Last Poems: VIII (published in 1922)

[sailortats]

All gave some and some gave all, and none shall be forgotten

In Flanders fields the poppies grow
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 fiields.

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.

Hard to type this with tears in your eyes but I think I corrected my typing errors.

[georgeetta]

I think 1 in 3 men in the army in ww1 in scotland were killed .

Uncle david and uncle tommy [youngsons] were in the gordon highlanders from aberdeen ..uncle tommy's hand was roughed up from shrapnel . I think tommy'd just been old (auld) enough to join .

Breaker morant was boer war in south africa just fyi .

When we were kids at parties ..all the men broke off and it was basically an army reunion swapping stories .

D

[georgeetta]

there was a bbc series set in scotland during ww1 .

the focus was I think about the wives and those at home hearing news and continuing on whilel men were across fighting ..TV is not history but rather than not imagine and not read up ..some good portraylas can help ..if you haven't been raised in a Scottish household or family circle POST world War hearing the tongues ..the phrases ..the banter ..it's a quick way to get acquainted ..

it was set in the country either a farm of an estate ..

Also there was a great disaster in Hebrides when returning men to the islands ship sank and hundreds of .......well those men coudln't be replaced there ..a whole generation of Islesmen gone forever .

On Ebay or Ebay,UK there are many men's portraits for their families done before going off ..Gordons ..the various regimenets ..you see how young the men were in their kilts and Tams ..groups of officers ..also a disturbing sight Boer War vintage of men just buryng their comrade .

d

[Rós Ó hAllmhuráin]

New Zealand had one of the highest casualty & death rates in WWI per capita, about a 58% casualty rate, about 16,697 New Zealanders were killed and 41,317 were wounded. We also suffered pretty badly in WWII as well, all for mummy england. I still reckon our fighting spirit came/ comes from our Celtic/ Scots/ Irish ancestors as contry to belief just as many if not more Scots settled NZ (and not just in the south island) as english.

ANZAC day is always a sombre day here so i agree with those who said it above Lest we forget!