The Royal British Legion poppy appeal launched yesterday. I found this article by Hannah Wallis on the Huffington Post website today. Hannah talks about being moved by a school trip to the battlefields in Northern France and the emotions stirred up by the sight of endless headstones in the cemeteries.
As a child, my family and I often went on holidays to France. I remember once we visited the village of Oradour-sur-Glane in the Limousin region. The original village was destroyed in World War II and has been kept as a memorial. Men, women and children were massacred in the village by German soldiers on the 10th June 1944. The women and children were locked in the church while the men were shot and burned alive in barns around the village. The soldiers then blew up the church, shooting anyone who tried to escape. 190 men, 247 women and 207 children died.
I remember being so moved by the stories I read as I walked through the ruins of the village, past burned out cars and the rubble of former homes and businesses, left just as it was after the massacre took place. It is such a haunting place and a reminder of the horror of war. I remember almost being able to feel the people around me and feeling such sadness.
These pictures are from Wikipedia, taken by Dennis Nilsson.
I remember my Granddad telling me brief stories of his time during the war, about watching his friends and comrades being killed and injured. He is no longer with us and with him died the last living survivor of the war in my family. One day, World War II, like the First World War, will pass out of living memory but it is so important that we continue to remember those who fought and died for our country. My children will never know either of my Grandfathers or hear their stories but I will make sure they know who they were and what they fought for.
Wear your poppy with pride! xo
No comments:
Post a Comment