Brenda

Poppy Day: Remembering those lost to war

I wear my poppy with pride, and this Remembrance Sunday I wanted to honour the sacrifice made by so many in the name of peace.

There is so much violence, pain and suffering in the world today caused by the conflicts we see. Irrespec of the labels, the results are always the same – death and destruction.

War memorial gate standing in a field of blood red poppies. Picture also contains a ghosted image of a soldier marching
Image by Alan Dobson from Pixabay

Growing up, my interpretation was that on Armistice Day (11th November) and Remembrance Sunday we remember those who fought and are fighting for our freedom. The focus was always on those serving in the forces who had lost their lives in combat. Naively I thought that in previous wars, battles were fought on battlefields. Now I realise, of course, that this wasn’t the case. Many more people, civilians were and are caught up in the death and destruction. We just need to look at the current situations, in Ukraine and in The MIddle East. We can see just how much normal people like us are paying the price with their lives. Those who survive are also paying a heavy price – losing family and friends, their homes, their communities, their cities.

On Remembrance Sunday we need to think about everyone lost and suffering through war. Think of their sacrifices. We should never forget, but we need to learn from these shockingly horrific actions. World War 1 ended on 11th November, 1918 at 11am and was seen as “the war to end all wars”! But what have we learned? Wars continue and humans develop novel and horrific weapons to obliterate each other.

Remember those we have lost, but don’t lose sight of the lessons we should be learning. How can we move forward and ensure that no more people are making these sacrifices.

Image shows a floral arrangement made from red remembrance day poppies
Poppies in St Giles Cathedral, Edinburgh
Image by Brenda Harrison

25 comments

  6. There is just one thought and one thought only.
    “May a world emerge where peace prevails, and the echoes of conflict fade into history,”
    Sadly humans are not willing to heed the saner voices.
    Goodmorning from India

    Reply

    • Thank you Dawn. My hubby was worried that I might get some backlash … but sometimes we just need to say what’s in our hearts. That said, I haven’t had any problems

      Reply

Leave a Reply