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Lest we forget

We shall remember them

lest we forget

The Last Post

More than 330,000 Australians served overseas in World War I. Of these, nearly 60,000 died, 152,000 were wounded, and over 4000 were taken prisoner, of whom 395 died in captivity.

The Anzac Legend

Australia fed 331,781 young men into the World War I mincer of France, Belgium, Gallipoli and the Middle East. Almost 60,000 never came home. Of those who did, 213,000 returned wounded, either in body or mind. Another 85,000 Australians enlisted but did not serve overseas. In a nation of just 4 million, 416,809 of its men - all volunteers - were in uniform at some time during the years 1914-18.

Shameful history of a desecration, SMH, 16 April 2005

The Historial's mobilisation figure for Australia is 413,000, although 313,814 embarked. It rounds off the [WW1] dead to 60,000, for a percentage of 14.5. Australia's estimated population in 1914 was 4.97 million. Extrapolated to today's population, the nation would lose 240,000 citizens.

Blood, guts and the stuff of legend, SMH, 24 June 2005

The British troops were suffering from 'an atrophy of mind and body that is appalling... The physique of those at Suvla is not to be compared with the Australians. Nor, indeed, is their intelligence... They are merely a lot of childlike youths without strength to endure or brains to improve their condition... After the first day at Suvla an order had to be issued to officers to shoot without mercy any soldiers who lagged behind or loitered in an advance... [By contrast] It is stirring to see them [the Australians].. they have the noble faces of men who have endured. Oh, if you could picture Anzac as I have seen it, you would find that to be an Australian is the greatest privilege the world has to offer'

Phillip Knightley quoting Keith Murdoch, father of Rupert, who wrote from Gallipoli in 1915.
Australia: A Biography of a Nation, 2000

It is a story of great valour under fire, unity of purpose and a willingness to fight against the odds that has helped to define what it means to be an Australian

Prime Minister John Howard, on the death of the last Anzac, Alec Cambell, Sydney Morning Herald, 17 May 2002

"Gallipoli was a bastard of a place," he said. "I never understood what we were fighting for. All I could think of was that I never wanted to go back to the bloody place."

Albert White, aged 100, Brisbane, Sydney Morning Herald, 17 May 2002

Government Enterprises Minister, Dr Armitage, said the State Government had no intention of expanding trading hours, particularly to days of religious significance. "There are certain sacrosanct days that should not be contemplated for shopping ... and I believe that includes opening early on Anzac Day," Dr Armitage said.

Anzac Shop War, Sunday Mail, 9 January 2000

We do not glorify war on Anzac Day. Far from it. We remember the dreadful loss of lives in the many gallant battles fought by those brave young men who stepped forward when called upon to serve their country. Nor are we agressive, but we believe in showing the future enemy that we are so determined to defend our shores that he should think twice before taking on the Sons of Anzac!

Sir Colin Hines, President, R.S.L. (NSW) 1977

Australian soldiers have always achieved successed out of all proportion to their numbers. It is just that these great victories were overlooked at the time and then later obscured by military historians.

Peter Firkins, The Australians in Nine Wars: Waikato to Long Tan.

At pubs across the country, war veterans are proving Anzac Day is not just about ceremony. Sharing memories with mates over a schooner or two is just as important to those who fought for our country.

Memories over a schooner, Sydney Morning Herald, Anzac Day 2002

Today is about compassion, about endurance against overwhelming odds, about mateship, it is about a 'fair go' - these are the values that were lived by our Anzacs and our Aussie boys on the Western Front and at Gallipoli

NSW Veterans Affairs Minister Danna Vale, Sydney Morning Herald, Anzac Day 2002

The Australian soldier of legend was enterprising and independent, loyal, bold, egalitarian, cheerfully undisciplined and contemptuous of the class of British officers.

Blood, guts and the stuff of legend, SMH, 24 June 2005

The West Australians assumed that death was certain, and each in the secret places of his mind debated how he would go to it. Mate, having said goodbye to mate ... went forward to meet death instantly, running as straight and swiftly as they could at the Turkish rifles. With that regiment went the flower of the youth of Western Australia ...

War Historian C. Bean who was stationed at Gallipoli during WW1

It was the birth of a nation, and one can only hope that this thought provided some comfort to the parents of the Anzac whose very Australian headstone stands where the first landing took place. It reads:

Died aged 18 near this spot
April 25, 1915
Did his best.

Phillip Knightley, Australia: A Biography of a Nation, 2000

Without naming Japan, Mr Howard said 20,000 Australians were captured in the space of a few weeks in 1942 - a reference to the sweep through South-East Asia by Japanese forces that culminated in the fall of Singapore in February of that year. The Australians "passed into captivity only to endure years of forced labour, starvation and brutality at the hands of a cruel enemy. Our prisoners of war came face to face with barbarity of a kind that younger generations can scarcely imagine. It was Australian soldiers on Papua (New Guinea) who checked and turned back a Japanese army that till then had known only victory. Australia, which had a population of just seven million in 1939, had "put a million men and women in uniform", Mr Howard said.

PM remembers 'cruel enemy', SMH, 15 August 2005

Former PoW Cyril Gilbert, secretary of the Ex-Prisoners Of War Association of Australia, condemned the Government's decision. "I would rather [the Japanese] get bloody shot, the lot of them. I wouldn't go and safeguard those Japanese murderers for all the rice in China," he said. "During World War II they murdered our chaps. They put them in huts and they set fire to the huts and those who couldn't get out were burnt alive and those that did get out were just shot and emptied into mass graves."

Are we now ready to forgive the Japanese, Daily Telegraph, 24 Feb 2005

You the mothers, who sent your sons from far away countries, wipe away your tears. Your sons are now lying in our bosom and are in peace ...

Mustafa Ataturk, 1934

Mr Casserly, who transported troops and ammunition at Ypres, Armentieres and Amiens, can never shake the memory of carting young soldiers off to certain death. "They had no idea of how terrible it was," he said. "I used to look at their young faces and think of their mothers. "Next day most of them would just be blood and bandages. "Wherever you looked there would be these poor buggers on the side of the road, all wanting cigarettes, all busted up, some with arms and legs gone."

Last WWI digger dies, aged 107, SMH 24 June 2005

The Unknown Australian Soldier we inter today was one of those who by his deeds proved that real nobility and grandeur belongs not to empires and nations but to the people on whom they, in the last resort, always depend. That is surely at the heart of the Anzac story, the Australian legend which emerged from the war. It is a legend not of sweeping military victories so much as triumphs against the odds, of courage and ingenuity in adversity. It is a legend of free and independent spirits whose discipline derived less from military formalities and customs than from the bonds of mateship and the demands of necessity.

Funeral Service Of The Unknown Australian Soldier, Prime Minister Keating, November 11, 1993

Many surviving diggers are concerned families could eventually take over the occasion. Rats of Tobruk Association president Joe Madeley said it destroyed the meaning of Anzac to have children and non-veterans marching in the column. And Terry McGuire, 82, secretary of the 26th Infantry Brigade Association, slammed the "carnival atmosphere" growing during Anzac Day marches. "It is a dignified march in memory of the fallen and I feel it is disrespectful to have kids running around cheering," he said. Norm Stockdale, secretary of the 39th Battalion Association, said too many families joining in would change the nature of the event. "We restrict it to one family member per veteran but it is in danger of becoming an American style celebratory parade," he said. He said: "Anzac Day is a solemn occasion. Anzac is all about those who went to war and came back. We march to honour those who didn't come back. "Many youngsters who join the parade just want to get on TV and wave and carry on."

Marching against the tide, Sydney Morning Herald, April 9 2006

A digger is an Australian solider, typically from WWI and WW2. They are revered, and, in many ways, epitomise the real Australian culture that is perhaps dying with them. This reverence, very much alive in our children, is the closest thing most Australians have to a religion. We don't believe in God, but we respect our diggers like Gods. And with good reason.

Although not well known around the world (many would not even know Australia was involved), those diggers have given more than their fair share during both World Wars - especially as they had to travel half the world to give it, and they gave it for people who would be unlikely to return the favour. The truth is that Australia has the highest casualty rate in the world, during WW1. That's right. In the world. And all of our boys were volunteers. We volunteered to be slaughtered at a higher rate than any other: 70%, 70%! of our boys were either wounded, killed or lost. Every family was affected, from every town, and that can be seen in memorials all over the country. Someone died from every second family. Think about that.

In all, 100,000 Aussies were killed in wars during the 20th Century. 100,000 dinkum Aussies, who were more Australian than the current generation can imagine.

The following is a poem in their honour.

Diggers Lament

It was with great sadness, that we saw
a dusty old digger, turned from the door
for a century he and his mates had drunk
and laughed and cried, and lived through war

But now it seems, he is not the right class
No suit, no tie, no belt of brass
To him it was all a tragic mystery
Who were these Australians, who had forgotten their own history?

Somewhat in shock, we skulled our beers
and rushed to join, our aging peer
hey cobber, we yelled, knowing his tounge
he turned and stared, eyeing us one by one

We built this bloody country, said he
with our bloody hands
we spilt our blood, we gave our youth
and this is the thanks we have

In our day the pub was for one and all
a place for laugh and cheer
at the very least, an honest bloke
could find an honest beer

Now noone wants to know us
they throw us on the street
sometimes I wonder why we bothered
getting butchered, like raw meat

the fair dinkums we were known as
as we fought the war of hate
but most of all, we aussie blokes
fought for one another - as good mates

Now I look around at Sydney
Well, it just ain't the same
the crowds - they aren't my people
what they are is just a shame

they shove, they push, they toot their horns
they speak american if you're lucky
the dinkum aussies, my cobbers and I
we're disappearing in a hurry

there's no shouting, mateship or blokeyness
and 'bloody oath' is considered crude
they think they are all winners
I just think they're bloody rude

they carry on, throughout their lives
chasing the almighty zac
but they know no joy, they have no mates
they'll die alone - for moneys sake

and what's worse, he sighed, is not here and now
but where we're going to be
and I ask myself, as I slowly die
what happened to my country.

David Downie, 2000

NOTE: This poem may be reproduced so long as the author's name and date remains intact.:: Please let us know if you do reproduce it.

:: too lazy to

__________________
When life hands you lemons, ask for tequila and salt and call me over.

There comes a point in your life when you realise;
who matters,
who never did,
who won't any more...
and who always will.
So, don't worry about people from your past,
there's a reason why they didn't make it to your future.

tldr

I agree but..


Remembrance Day – also known as Poppy Day, Armistice Day (the event it commemorates) or Veterans Day – is a day to commemorate the sacrifices of members of the armed forces and of civilians in times of war, specifically since the First World War. It is observed on 11 November to recall the end of World War I on that date in 1918. (Major hostilities of World War I were formally ended at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918 with the German signing of the Armistice.) The day was specifically dedicated by King George V, on 7 November 1919, to the observance of members of the armed forces who were killed during war; this was possibly done upon the suggestion of Edward George Honey to Wellesley Tudor Pole, who established two ceremonial periods of remembrance based on events in 1917.[1]
Contents
[hide]

* 1 Observance in the Commonwealth
o 1.1 Australia
o 1.2 Bermuda
o 1.3 Canada
o 1.4 New Zealand
o 1.5 Papua New Guinea
o 1.6 South Africa
o 1.7 United Kingdom
* 2 Outside the Commonwealth
o 2.1 France
o 2.2 Germany
o 2.3 Republic of Ireland
o 2.4 United States
o 2.5 Anglican and Roman Catholics
* 3 Poppies
o 3.1 Canada
o 3.2 United Kingdom
o 3.3 Other Countries
* 4 Name
* 5 See also
* 6 External links
* 7 Notes
* 8 References

Observance in the Commonwealth
Remembrance Day, London, 2006.

Common British, Canadian, South African, and ANZAC traditions include two minutes of silence at the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month (11:00 am, 11 November), as that marks the time (in the United Kingdom) when armistice became effective.

The Service of Remembrance in many Commonwealth countries generally includes the sounding of "Last Post," followed by the requisite two minutes of silence, followed again by the sounding of "Reveille" (or, more commonly, "The Rouse"), and finished by a recitation of the "Ode of Remembrance." The "Scottish Bagpiper's Lament", "O Valiant Hearts", "I Vow to Thee, My Country" and "And did those feet in ancient time" are often played during the service. Services also include wreaths laid to honour the fallen, a blessing, and National Anthems.[2]

Australia

In Australia Remembrance Day is always observed on 11 November, although the day is not a public holiday. Services are held at 11am at war memorials in suburbs and towns across the country, at which "Last Post" is sounded by a bugler and a one-minute silence is observed. In recent decades, however, Remembrance Day has been partly eclipsed by ANZAC Day (25 April) as the national day of war commemoration.

Bermuda
Remembrance Day Parade, Hamilton, Bermuda, 1991.

In Bermuda, which sent the first colonial volunteer unit to the Western Front in 1915, and which had more people per capita in uniform during the Second World War than any other part of the Empire, Remembrance Day is still an important holiday. The parade in Hamilton had historically been a large and colourful one, as contingents from the Royal Navy, British Regular Army, the local Territorial units, the Canadian Forces, the US Army, Air Force, and Navy, and various cadet corps and other services were all contributed at one time or another to march with the veterans. Since the closing of British, Canadian, and American bases in 1995, the parade has barely grown smaller. In addition to the ceremony held in the City of Hamilton on Remembrance Day itself, marching to the Cenotaph (a smaller replica of the one in London), where wreathes are lain and orations made, a smaller military parade is also held in St. George's on the nearest Sunday to Remembrance Day.

Canada

In Canada, Remembrance Day is a holiday for federal government employees; for private business, provincial governments, and schools, its status varies by province: in Western Canada and Atlantic Canada, it is a general holiday; in Ontario and Quebec, it is not, although corporations that are federally registered may make the day a full holiday, or instead, designate a provincially-recognized holiday on a different day.
Poppies are laid on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier on Remembrance Day in Ottawa.

The official national ceremonies are held at the National War Memorial in Ottawa, presided over by the Governor General of Canada, any members of the Canadian Royal Family, the Prime Minister, and other dignitaries, to the observance of the public. Typically, these events begin with the tolling of the Carillon in the Peace Tower, during which serving members of the Canadian Forces arrive at Confederation Square, followed by the Ottawa diplomatic corps, Ministers of the Crown, special guests, the Royal Canadian Legion (RCL), the vice-regal party, and, if present, the royal party. Before the start of the ceremony, four armed sentries and three sentinels – two flag sentinels and one nursing sister – are posted at the foot of the cenotaph.

The arrival of the Governor General is announced by a trumpeter sounding the "Still," whereupon the viceroy is met by the Dominion President of the RCL and escorted to a dais to receive the Vice-Regal Salute, after which the national anthem, "O Canada," is then played. The moment of remembrance begins with the bugling of "Last Post" immediately before 11:00 am, at which time the gun salute fires and the bells of the Peace Tower toll the hour. Another gun salute signals the end of the two minutes of silence, and cues the playing of a lament, and then the bugling of "The Rouse." A flypast of Canadian Air Command craft then occurs at the start of a 21 gun salute, upon the completion of which a choir sings "In Flanders Fields." The various parties then lay their wreaths at the base of the memorial; one wreath is set by the Silver Cross Mother, the most recent recipient of the Memorial Cross, on behalf of all mothers who lost children in any of Canada's armed conflicts. The royal and/or vice-regal group return to the dais to receive the playing of the Royal Anthem of Canada, "God Save the Queen," prior to the assembled Armed Forces personnel and veterans performing a March Past in front of the royal and/or viceregal persons, bringing about the end of the official ceremonies.[3] A tradition of paying more personal tribute to the sacrifice of those who have served and lost their lives in defence of the country has emerged since erection of the The Tomb of the Unknown Soldier at the War Memorial in 2000. After the official ceremony the general public pay their respects by placing their poppies atop the Tomb.
The military Remembrance Day parade in Ottawa.

Similar ceremonies take place in provincial capitals across the country, officiated by the relevant Lieutenant Governor, as well as in other cities, towns, and even hotels or corporate headquarters. Schools will usually hold special assemblies for the first half of the day, or on the school day prior, with various presentations concerning the remembrance of the war dead. The largest indoor ceremonies are believed to be held in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan, with over 7,000 gathering in Credit Union Centre.[4]

New Zealand

New Zealand's national day of remembrance is Anzac Day, 25 April.[5] "Poppy Day" usually occurs on the Friday before Anzac Day.[6] Some services are held on 11 November, which is generally referred to as Armistice Day.[7]

Papua New Guinea

In Papua New Guinea, New Guinea marks Remembrance Day.[8]

South Africa

In South Africa, the day is not a public holiday. Commemoration ceremonies are usually held on the following Sunday, at which, as with Australia and Britain, the "Last Post" is played by a bugler followed by the observation of a two-minute silence. The two biggest commemoration ceremonies to mark the event in South Africa are held in Johannesburg, at the Cenotaph (where it has been held for 84 consecutive years), and at the War Memorial at the Union Buildings in Pretoria. In Cape Town a Remembrance Service is still held on 11 November each year.[9] Many high schools hold Remembrance Day services to honour the past pupils who died in the two World Wars and the Border war.

United Kingdom
Memorials outside London's Westminster Abbey for Remembrance Day, 2002.

In the United Kingdom, although two minutes of silence is observed on 11 November itself, the main observance is on the second Sunday of November, Remembrance Sunday. Ceremonies are held at local war memorials, usually organised by local branches of the Royal British Legion – an association for ex-servicemen. Typically, poppy wreaths are laid by representatives of the Crown, the armed forces, and local civic leaders, as well as by local organisations including ex-servicemen organisations, cadet forces, the Scouts, Guides, Boys' Brigade, St John Ambulance and the Salvation Army. The start and end of the silence is often also marked by the firing of a cannon. A minute's or two minutes' silence is also frequently incorporated into church services, and even everyday locations such as supermarkets and banks may invite their customers and staff to fall silent at 11:00 am.[10]

The main national commemoration is held at Whitehall, in Central London, for dignitaries, the public, and ceremonial detachments from the armed forces and civilian uniformed services such as the Merchant Navy, Her Majesty's Coastguard, etc. Members of the British Royal Family walk through the Foreign and Commonwealth Office towards the Cenotaph, assembling to the right of the monument to wait for Big Ben to strike 11:00 am, and for the King's Troop, Royal Horse Artillery at Horse Guards Parade, to fire the cannon marking the commencement of the 2 minutes of silence. Following this, "Last Post" is sounded by the buglers of the Royal Marines. "The Rouse" is then sounded by the trumpeters of the Royal Air Force, after which, to "Beethoven's Funeral March" (composed by Johann Heinrich Walch), wreaths are laid by attendees in the following order: the Queen; senior members of the Royal Family attending in military uniform; the Prime Minister; the leaders of the major political parties from all parts of the United Kingdom; Commonwealth High Commissioners to London, on behalf of their respective nations; the Foreign Secretary, on behalf of the British Dependencies; the Chief of the Defence Staff; the First Sea Lord; the Chief of the General Staff; the Chief of the Air Staff; representatives of the merchant navy and Fishing Fleets and the merchant air service. Junior members of the Royal Family usually watch the service from the balcony of the Foreign Office. The service is generally conducted by the Bishop of London, with a choir from the Chapels Royal, in the presence of representatives of all major faiths in the United Kingdom. Before the marching commences, the members of the Royal Family and public sing the national anthem before the Royal Delegation lead out after the main service.

Members of the Reserve Forces and cadet organisations join in with the marching, alongside volunteers from St John Ambulance, paramedics from the London Ambulance Service, and conflict veterans from WW1, WW2, the Falklands, Kosovo, Bosnia, Northern Ireland and the ongoing conflicts in Afghanistan and Iraq. After the service, there is a parade of veterans, who also lay wreaths at the foot of the Cenotaph as they pass, and a salute is taken by a member of the Royal Family at Horse Guards Parade.

Outside the Commonwealth

France

Armistice day is celebrated in France. It commemorates the armistice signed between the Allies and Germany at Compiègne, France, for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front, which took effect at eleven o'clock in the morning - the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month."

Germany

In Germany, Armistice or Remembrance Day is unknown. Public memory of World War I in Germany is generally scarce. Moreover, 11 November would be seen as an inappropriate date for such a holiday, as it traditionally marks the beginning of the German carnival. However, Volkstrauertag is commemorated. Originally this was on the fifth Sunday before Easter, but since 1952, has been celebrated two Sundays before the beginning of Advent. It has never been celebrated in the church since both the major German churches have their own festivals for commemorating the dead (All Souls Day in the case of the Roman Catholic church, Ewigkeitssonntag, or "Eternity Sunday" in the case of the Lutheran church. Both festivals also fall in November.)[citations needed]

Republic of Ireland

In the Republic of Ireland, Armistice or Remembrance Day is not a public holiday or a day generally observed. In July there is a National Day of Commemoration for Irish men and women who died in past wars or on service with the United Nations Peacekeeping Forces. Remembrance Day is observed by the Republic’s citizens who are serving or who have served in the British Armed Forces[11][12] and the wider Irish Protestant community as part of their tradition and heritage[13][14]. The Republic is a neutral state and has its own small army which is involved in UN peacekeeping missions; some citizens of the Republic of Ireland still enlist in the British Army[15][16][17]. The Irish National War Memorial Gardens is an Irish war memorial in Dublin dedicated to the memory of the 49,400 Irish soldiers who were killed in action in World War I[18]. Remembrance Sunday is marked in the Republic by a ceremony in St Patrick’s Cathedral, Dublin, in which the President of Ireland attends[19][20][21].

United States

Veterans Day is commemorated in the United States on 11 November, and is both a federal holiday and a state holiday in all states. However, the function of the observance elsewhere is more closely matched by Memorial Day in May. In the United States, and some other allied nations, 11 November was formerly known as Armistice Day; in the United States it was given its new name after the end of World War II. Most schools, particularly more middle and high schools than some elementary schools, throughout the U.S. usually hold assemblies on a school day prior, with various presentations recognizing teachers and staff members who served in one of the five branches of the United States Armed Forces, as well as remembering the U.S. troops who died in past and present wars, and some patriotic music by a school choir, band and/or orchestra, including songs from a musical used as a tribute to the troops (e.g. "Bring Him Home" from Les Misérables).

Anglican and Roman Catholics

For Anglican and Roman Catholics, there is a coincidental but appropriate overlap of Remembrance Day with the feast of St. Martin of Tours, a saint famous for putting aside his life as a soldier and turning to the peace-filled life of a monk. Statues or images associated with St. Martin are for this reason sometimes used as symbols of Remembrance Day in religious contexts (e.g., the Anglican Cathedral of Montreal).

Poppies
Wreaths of artificial poppies used as a symbol of remembrance.
Poppies are sold every year as an act of remembrance to fallen soldiers at war.

The poppy's significance to Remembrance Day is a result of Canadian military physician John McCrae's poem In Flanders Fields. The poppy emblem was chosen because of the poppies that bloomed across some of the worst battlefields of Flanders in World War I, their red colour an appropriate symbol for the bloodshed of trench warfare. A Frenchwoman, Anna E. Guérin, introduced the widely used artificial poppies given out today. Some people choose to wear white poppies, which emphasises a desire for peaceful alternatives to military action.

The Royal Canadian Legion suggests that poppies be worn on the left lapel, or as close to the heart as possible.[22]

Canada

In Canada, the poppy is worn by many members of society during the two weeks prior to November 11.

The Canadian poppies consist of two pieces of moulded plastic covered with flocking with a pin to attach them to clothing. The head portion of the pin is bent at an angle in a simple unusual design that requires a unique machine at manufacturing. Originally the poppies were manufactured with a black centre. From 1980 to 2002 the centres were changed to green to represent the green hills of Flanders. Current designs are black only; this reversion caused notable confusion and controversy to those unfamiliar with the original design.[23] Until 1996, poppies were made by disabled veterans in Canada, but they have since been made by a private contractor.[24]

United Kingdom

In England, Wales, and Northern Ireland the poppies are paper representatives of the flat Earl Haig variety with a leaf, mounted on a plastic stem. Wearers require a separate pin to attach the poppy to their clothing. In Scotland the poppies are curled at the petals with no leaf. In Northern Ireland, because the poppy honours soldiers of the British Armed Forces and due to The Troubles, it is worn primarily by members of the Unionist and the Irish Protestant community.

Other Countries

In Australia and New Zealand the poppies are curled at the petals with no leaf.

In South Africa, Poppy Day takes place on the Saturday nearest to Remembrance Day. On this day the South African Legion holds a street collection to gather funds to assist in the welfare work among military veterans.[25]

In Sri Lanka in the inter-war years, there were rival sales of yellow Suriya (portia tree) flowers by the Suriya-Mal Movement on Remembrance Day, since funds from poppy sales were not used for Sri Lankan ex-service personnel but were repatriated to Britain. However, nowadays poppy sales are used for indigenous ex-service personnel who have been disabled in the ongoing civil war.

Name

"Remembrance Day" is the primary designation for the day in many Commonwealth countries such as Australia and Canada. However, "Armistice Day" also remains, often to differentiate the event from Remembrance Sunday, and is the primary designation used in New Zealand and France.

"Poppy Day" is also a popular term used, particularly in Malta and South Africa. Veterans Day also falls upon this day in the United States, yet many other allied nations have quite different Veterans Days.

See also

* Armistice with Germany (Compiègne)
* Hari Pahlawan
* Veterans Day
* Unknown Warrior
* Remembrance Sunday
* In Flanders Fields (poem by John McCrae)
* The Soldier
* Royal Canadian Legion
* Veterans' Bill of Rights
* Returned & Services League of Australia
* Earl Haig Fund
* Royal New Zealand Returned and Services' Association
* Anzac Day
* Ode of Remembrance
* Remembrance Day Bombing
* Armistice Day
* White Poppy
* Volkstrauertag
* Collective memory

__________________
zooted adj : 1. under influence of drugs: relaxed, excited, or euphoric from taking illegal drugs, especially marijuana ( slang ) 2. intoxicated: very intoxicated ( informal )
looter n. : someone who takes spoils or plunder (as in war) [syn: plunderer, pillager, spoiler, despoiler, raider, freebooter]

I don't think the Australian contribution has ever been mentioned outside of your shores before. Congrats on spreading the word I guess?

__________________
563-773-1880

<Dwaggy> i caught you a delicious Bass
<The404> This is because you are an idiot

Australia's contribution was always just a part of the overall British contribution. Back then they were mostly British ex-pats and had, or rather felt, it their duty to help in their homelands struggle.

I respect the Australian soldiers who served exactly the same way I respect the British soldiers that served. They were one, united by a common bond.

The shame is that it was the cowardly unBritish drongo's who didn't serve that spawned a bunch of Queen hating, Brit hating mongoloids that piss over everything the brave Ozzy soldiers fought and died for.

quote:

---

Originally posted by cupidstunt
Australia's contribution was always just a part of the overall British contribution. Back then they were mostly British ex-pats and had, or rather felt, it their duty to help in their homelands struggle.

I respect the Australian soldiers who served exactly the same way I respect the British soldiers that served. They were one, united by a common bond.

The shame is that it was the cowardly unBritish drongo's who didn't serve that spawned a bunch of Queen hating, Brit hating mongoloids that piss over everything the brave Ozzy soldiers fought and died for.

---

__________________
I was never caught!

quote:

---

Originally posted by pHo
I don't think the Australian contribution has ever been mentioned outside of your shores before.

---

quote:

---

Originally posted by cupidstunt
The shame is that it was the cowardly unBritish drongo's who didn't serve that spawned a bunch of Queen hating, Brit hating mongoloids that piss over everything the brave Ozzy soldiers fought and died for.

---

__________________

yep Baha....

it was the battle of.......name escapes me.....

It was organised that the british would shell the crap out of the turks who were only 27 yards away from the anzac trench

they were to shell from 4.00 till 4.29

At 4.30 4 waves of of over 2000 diggers were to jump up and charge the turks .

This is the bit I still cant fathom
1) the brits stopped shelling at 4.21

This left a full 9 minutes of silence.

The turks realised what was about to happen so propped up the machine guns in readiness.

to add to this, the diggers were told to empty the 303 and attach the bayonets as the would be no time to shoot, they would just jump the turks and stick em.

Well as the first wave of diggers jumped up and begun the sprint to the other trench, the turks opened up and the legs of the diggers were turned to jelly.

then the next wave jumped up

same result

as the 3rd wave was being prepared to go, the turks would shout out from the trench back to the diggers...........NO..............NO (in turkish of course

I wish I could remember the name of this battle.......I think it sounds like the battle of neck? but i know its not neck......lol

we lost thousands in the space of minutes......

__________________
When life hands you lemons, ask for tequila and salt and call me over.

There comes a point in your life when you realise;
who matters,
who never did,
who won't any more...
and who always will.
So, don't worry about people from your past,
there's a reason why they didn't make it to your future.

I don't know which school you went to Baha but in the one I went to 'advanced Brit hating bullshit' wasn't on the curriculum.

By your definition it would be the British commands fault that 1000's of British soldiers died too. Of course, it has nothing to do with the fact the enemy were FUCKING SHOOTING BACK.

Cretin, you need to learn your history.

cupid, history cant be changed or manipulated to suit.

The fact of the matter is.............The British organised the diggers to do the part.

History tells us that the Anzacs......I call all Anzacs diggers btw were

1) Guided to land on the wrong beach.............thanks British intelligence

2) stopped a vital 8 minutes of shelling the Turks which cost thousands.

im not up to date with any Brits causing Brits deaths....as you comment on.

War is a savage way of sorting out conflicts.

we were a nation of only 5 million at the time and we lost plenty

AND as of today

We would do it all again

Thats the Aussie spirit which will never die or be killed

I wont search for any more because lest we forget

__________________
When life hands you lemons, ask for tequila and salt and call me over.

There comes a point in your life when you realise;
who matters,
who never did,
who won't any more...
and who always will.
So, don't worry about people from your past,
there's a reason why they didn't make it to your future.

quote:

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Originally posted by pHo
I don't think the Australian contribution has ever been mentioned outside of your shores before. Congrats on spreading the word I guess?

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__________________
When life hands you lemons, ask for tequila and salt and call me over.

There comes a point in your life when you realise;
who matters,
who never did,
who won't any more...
and who always will.
So, don't worry about people from your past,
there's a reason why they didn't make it to your future.

quote:

---

Originally posted by cupidstunt
I don't know which school you went to Baha but in the one I went to 'advanced Brit hating bullshit' wasn't on the curriculum.

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quote:

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Originally posted by cupidstunt
By your definition it would be the British commands fault that 1000's of British soldiers died too. Of course, it has nothing to do with the fact the enemy were FUCKING SHOOTING BACK.

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quote:

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Originally posted by cupidstunt
Cretin, you need to learn your history.

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__________________

Suggest if any of you actually like to know your history, go and watch the world at war set which is on 10 dvds and spans from 1938 to 1945 and covers all sides if i remember and set aside a week to watch em

Anyone remember the name of that mel gibson film when he was in australian army and he was running back and forth the trenches with messages on the front lines in ww1 i think

A side note EVERYONE suffered in ww2, and there was help from all sides in destroying 1 of the 20th century's worst mass murderers, and so many poeple died fighting for there country because don't think for a second hitler would have stopped at europe

__________________
I was never caught!

quote:

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Originally posted by Ripper
Suggest if any of you actually like to know your history, go and watch the world at war set which is on 10 dvds and spans from 1938 to 1945 and covers all sides if i remember and set aside a week to watch em

Anyone remember the name of that mel gibson film when he was in australian army and he was running back and forth the trenches with messages on the front lines in ww1 i think

A side note EVERYONE suffered in ww2, and there was help from all sides in destroying 1 of the 20th century's worst mass murderers, and so many poeple died fighting for there country because don't think for a second hitler would have stopped at europe

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quote:

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Originally posted by baha
The World at War is fantastic! I remember being gobsmacked by the Pacific land wars, especially the flame throwers on the beaches, had no idea that flamethrowers had such a distance!

Mel Gibson movie is 'Gallipoli', linked above in a previous post.

(Gallipoli and Anzac relevance is WW1.)

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__________________
I was never caught!

quote:

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Originally posted by baha
You're a racist blah blah blah

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quote:

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Originally posted by cupidstunt
Can't even be bothered to read your whole post. I kind of lost interest when you brought skin colour into it, talk about irrelevant.

Pwnt.

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Too much reading, if I start on that I won't read more for today.

tl;dr

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"The reason why this thread is failing para1, is that you can't flame a retard. You're too simple and stupid to be offended." -Ave