Remembrance Day 2016 - Lest We Forget

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Remembrance Day 2016 - Lest We Forget to honour the many men and woman who have fallen.


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While we all got caught up in the US Presidential Race and it's unpredicted outcome, it may have been easy to forget what today means to many people around the world.

Personal Story:-
My Dad was regular Army and thankfully survived the War.
To my Dad, thanks for your contribution to our countries safety (he fought the Japs in PNG, always paying homage to the Fuzzy Wuzzy Angles).


To the many countries, Canada, New Zealand, Great Britan to name a few ...

On the 11th hour of the 11th Day of the 11th month ... respect ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-Pz5KsyfN0
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Remembrance day is not just about WWI.

Every year I bung these lads a few quid. If you're so inclined, feel free.

https://www.erskine.org.uk/support-our-work/donate/

This is not a political thread, so smart-arsed c u n t s who don't have a clue, please move on.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2kX_3y3u5Uo

Great thread David48, nothing but admiration to all those who fought
for our freedom.

But why do those Pommy politician gits have to wear a poppy in their lapel

A MONTH before the actual remembrance day? :england:

Lest we forget.

A day to remember all that fell, from so many countries, and gave the ultimate sacrifice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vH3-Gt7mgyM

Bought my Poppy when I was back in UK last month.

Indeed. Lest we forget.

Anyone in Pattaya, got mine at Witherspoons on Soi Beaukow.

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Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

Remembrance day is not just about WWI. Every year I bung these lads a few quid. If you're so inclined, feel free. https://www.erskine.org.uk/support-our-work/donate/ This is not a political thread, so smart-arsed c u n t s who don't have a clue, please move on.

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This isn't a go at you Harry but why the fcuk should ex military rely on charity handouts? The thing's a scam. Because of my feelings I've never bought a poppy.

Before I start getting :spin:I'm an ex serviceman having completed 12 years service. I was discharged unfit etc etc. To keep it short. I went through years of needing assistance and I got fcuk all from the agencies that were supposed to help. The SPVA that deals with ex servicemen is a complete bollix and has more red tape than you can imagine. They throw so much shit at you that you just want to give up. IMO the high rate of suicides committed by ex servicemen is down to the attitude of the SPVA.

IMO, go ahead and buy a poppy if it eases your conscience but it's just a con job.

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Artist Paul Cummins and his team made 888,246 ceramic poppies – one for each British and Commonwealth military dead – with the stated aim of raising “in excess of £15 million” for charity.
The Sunday Times reports that each of the ceramic poppies were sold for £25 each to the general public with millions of Brits turning out to see the breath-taking display.
However, company documents quietly filed earlier this year showed that charities received just £8.4 million of the £23 million raised – a bit over a third of the total.

It also showed that Ben Whitfield, once a city fat cat who worked for a hedge fund, made a seven figure profit after putting up the money to hold the display.
Whitfield, who lives in both London and the French Alps, is said by a source to have “at least doubled his money in eight months”.
Cummins’ personal company received £7.2 million of the total figure but insisted that it was to cover costs and that no profit was made.
He told The Sunday Times: “To make this project a reality, I had to seek private funding, without which it would not have been possible to create the artwork.”
The government took 5% of the total in VAT but later refunded the amount.
The Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red display gradually filled the grounds surrounding the tower of London between July 2014 and Armistice Day on November 11.
Around 5 million people visited the exhibition, including the Queen and the Royal Family, with Cummins awarded an MBE by Her Maj.

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The government took 5% of the total in VAT but later refunded the amount.

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Only cuz they were caught out.

testing

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Originally Posted by Seekingasylum

testing

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What no swearing? You feelin alright?

I'll raise a beer tonight and look skyward and thank all those that sacrificed their lives for their countries and eventual peace. This I do every year on the 11th of November.

Lest we forget.

IN FLANDERS FIELDS



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

- Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae

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Originally Posted by Pragmatic

This isn't a go at you Harry but why the fcuk should ex military rely on charity handouts? The thing's a scam. Because of my feelings I've never bought a poppy.

Before I start getting I'm an ex serviceman having completed 12 years service. I was discharged unfit etc etc. To keep it short. I went through years of needing assistance and I got fcuk all from the agencies that were supposed to help. The SPVA that deals with ex servicemen is a complete bollix and has more red tape than you can imagine. They throw so much shit at you that you just want to give up. IMO the high rate of suicides committed by ex servicemen is down to the attitude of the SPVA.

IMO, go ahead and buy a poppy if it eases your conscience but it's just a con job.

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I agree and respect your opinion. You have earned the right to it.
While the government continues to fail in its obligation to service personnel, we are left with the RBL, SSAFA, ABF, regimental associations and a plethora of other service charities to pick up the slack. Each in its own way does sterling work on behalf of the services.
With charities picking up the bill, the government can carry on paying lip service to veterans, so I can follow your logic.
There is an RBL branch here in Thailand.
Welcome to the Chonburi Thailand Branch of The Royal British Legion - Chonburi Thailand Branch - The Royal British Legion.

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Originally Posted by Pragmatic

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Originally Posted by harrybarracuda

Remembrance day is not just about WWI. Every year I bung these lads a few quid. If you're so inclined, feel free. https://www.erskine.org.uk/support-our-work/donate/ This is not a political thread, so smart-arsed c u n t s who don't have a clue, please move on.

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This isn't a go at you Harry but why the fcuk should ex military rely on charity handouts? The thing's a scam. Because of my feelings I've never bought a poppy.

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They shouldn't have to, I completely agree. That's why I donate directly to Erskine.

But I wear a poppy simply to show that I remember.

How does it feel to wear a poppy on the streets of Dublin a year after the queen's visit?
PUBLISHED
11/11/2012 |

I am walking down Talbot Street in Dublin city centre, heading towards Connolly Station, when a man on a bicycle materialises alongside me and starts to roar abuse.

"That f***ing thing," he shouts, pointing to the bright red poppy on my lapel. "Go back to England with your f***ing poppy."
It's a bizarre outburst, considering that the 30-something cyclist is wearing a tracksuit top emblazoned with the words Chelsea FC -- one of England's top football teams.

His words rattle me badly and I don't respond. He has the countenance of someone who would be quite happy to let his fists do the talking and I'm relieved when he cycles away, rant over.

The idea had been simple: how do Irish people regard the poppy and its meaning in 2012? It's one thing to see it sported by every presenter on British television -- but what reaction would I get if I walked through the streets of Dublin wearing it?
How many are now keen to acknowledge the thousands of Irishmen who served in the British army, especially the 200,000 or so from here who fought in the First World War? Of those, more than 50,000 perished in the trenches.

Despite the verbal abuse from the angry Chelsea fan that first day, I don't experience any direct hostility. Sure, there are lots of inquisitive stares and there is an unsettling moment when a pair of young men with strong Northern Irish accents suspend their conversation as I walk by: they stare at the poppy -- and then at me -- with open contempt. But for the most part, anyone who has something to say to me about it, is positive.
I'm touched by a chance encounter with a woman in Bewley's on Grafton Street, who says it's great to see an Irish person wear the poppy in acknowledgement of all those countrymen who died fighting in both world wars. She is originally from Kent and has lived in Ireland for 30 years. She is heartened to see that relations between this country and Britain have improved significantly in recent years.

Another day, an elderly Dublin man stops me near the Spire on O'Connell Street to applaud my decision to wear the poppy. He says he grew up hearing the stories of many Irishmen who "gave their lives for Ireland" by fighting in British colours during the First World War.
He is saddened that for many, the poppy is seen as a symbol of British imperialism, rather than a simple acknowledgement that people died fighting for a cause they believed in and that we all benefit from today.

"It's a way of showing that we haven't forgotten," he says, "and are grateful."
That the poppy is a contentious symbol is without question. The UK television journalist Jon Snow refuses to wear one on air, citing "poppy fascism" as his primary motivation -- the pressure to be seen to do the right thing.

And this week, Roscommon Sinn Fein councillor Michael Mulligan criticised Frank Feighan for wearing a poppy in the Dáil, suggesting that it was a commemoration of the Black and Tans and of those British soldiers who committed atrocities during the Troubles.
Pam Roche, the Dublin county manager of the Royal British Legion, is well used to hearing such brickbats. But she says the response of her fellow Irish people tends to be much more considered and that support for the poppy is growing.

When I meet her on Monday morning in her office off Nassau Street, she is opening envelope after envelope of donations -- some of them anonymous. In the 12 months up to the end of October, some €250,000 was raised in the Republic alone.

"It's a really good figure," she says, "especially in an environment where people are suffering charity-fatigue and are struggling to make ends meet themselves."
Queen Elizabeth's visit to Ireland last year is likely to have helped Roche's cause.

"The amount collected was up by €60,000 on the previous 12 months," she says. "There's no doubt that the relationship between this country and Britain has improved greatly, even in the past 10 years.

"People are also finally acknowledging the huge contribution that our forefathers made in ensuring that this country could keep its freedom."

Several generation of Roche's family have served in the British armed forces, including her father, Joseph Cornelius Fahy -- who served in the Royal Air Force's Bomber Command during the Second World War. He died in 1991 and she shows me his treasured medals and the logbook which records the nightly attacks on Germany. Memory of his bravery drives her to raise as much money as possible.

"All money raised in this country stays in this country," she says. "I can give €7,500 to each eligible case, although in very special circumstances we can give up to €20,000. The money raised through the Poppy Appeal makes a very real contribution to people's quality of life."

Corkman Wayne Carroll, who served as a mechanic in the British army for five years in the 1980s, is among the recipients.

"I've had back trouble for years," he says, "and the financial assistance given to me by the Legion has helped me greatly when money is tight."
He had reason to be grateful to the organisation in late September when, in a cruel twist of fate, his 25-year-old daughter Amanda was killed in a motoring incident.

He says: "They helped with the cost of the funeral and also gave me great emotional support. Amanda was 13 weeks' pregnant when she died."


Pam Roche says the help given to people like Wayne Carroll is a very real part of the work done by the Legion -- and of the money raised by the Poppy Appeal.

"Often, it's The Great War that people think of when they see someone wearing the poppy," she says. "But the Legion also helps people who are serving today. There are about 4,000 people from the Republic of Ireland who are in the British armed forces right now and -- God forbid -- they might one day need our help."

How does it feel to wear a poppy on the streets of Dublin a year after the queen's visit? - Independent.ie

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Originally Posted by chassamui

There is an RBL branch here in Thailand.

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You are correct and I had a nice gent phone me from their branch in Pattaya. Unfortunately he couldn't help me and so I tried to get online assistance from the UK RBL. I gave up with them. A total bollix.
I went on my own, and with persistence regarding the SPVA I managed to overcome the barriers they kept putting up. Never let hardships deter.

As I said, It's a scam.

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Shame of the poppy day profiteers: Charity is banned in crackdown on rogues ripping off our heroes while another raised £3million - but gave out just £250,000

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Support The Heroes charity banned on eve of Remembrance Day over amounts given to cause | Daily Mail Online

BBC iPlayer

Excellent programme on BBC TV last night - Royal British Legion's annual Festival of Remembrance,

Does anyone remember a scam involving some bozo claiming to be from the RBL that was doing the rounds 3-4 years back.

These guys were selling insurance based out of Chiang Mai. A mate put me on to them and I followed it up with the RBL in the UK. All a con of course.

I can't find the thread I did but if you get offered insurance by someone claiming to be representing the Royal British Legion ask questions. Lots of questions.

Nice pic from Vancouver..son and granddaughter at remembrance parade..

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^^^^
Thankfully my now deceased dad (gunner/driver and comms) came home from North Africa ,France and Holland...otherwise the above would never have existed.

^^^
My dad once told me after several pints of Guinness that he abhorred shelling Germans..They were ”just men like us... obeying orders” from a nutter.