Ducati Sporting Club UK > General > Idle Chat > Remembrance Sunday

[uncle porry]

my "old man" was at driel in holland during operation market garden 1944, its near arnhem of "a bridge to far" fame, i have visited the area many times and would recommend a trip to arnhem/oosterbeek for anyone interested in ww2 history, i would be happy to help with info.

i have had a couple of very, lets say "unusual" experiances on my visits to this battlefield. it hard to explain but at these sort of places you get a feeling in the air of the struggles for survival that went on all those years ago.

[Crunchy]

Thanks Mad dog. The first time I watched the film was in a cinema in Vancouver with my brother (also ex-Army). We both sat there with our mouths open and goose pimples. We couldn't believe how realistic it was. Spielberg managed to show an audience exactly what the ALLIES went through. I wish he would do a film about the 1st world war because to me that was suffering with a capital "S". Maybe he could make "Birdsong" into a film.

[BDG]

This is one of the most poignant posts i've read on the forum for ages, possibly ever.

unfortunately it is all too easy for a lot of people to forget.

Did anyone watch Channel 4 last night on the Battle of the Somme. What an absolute bloody nightmare that must have been. Over a million people from both sides killed, injured or missing.

[clockwork orange]

Thanks for this post folks. You have given me goosebumps and brought tears to my eyes. My Grandad was Merchant Navy in WW2, his ship was ok but their companion ship disappeared without trace off the South African coast one night.

My Dad fought in Rhodesia as it was (rightly or wrongly) and my hubby in Angola (Also rightly or wrongly). As others have said, soldiers are out there for their countries, for us at home and for their mates. The things they see/experience should not have to happen, but unfortunateley the world is an angry place.

These guys/girls carry some pretty awful memories for as long as they live (Rob cannot hear The Last Post without breaking down, even now) and the least we can do is pay tribute to those who have laid down their lives for us.

[Ains.]

Originally posted by BDG
This is one of the most poignant posts i've read on the forum for ages, possibly ever.

unfortunately it is all too easy for a lot of people to forget.

Did anyone watch Channel 4 last night on the Battle of the Somme. What an absolute bloody nightmare that must have been. Over a million people from both sides killed, injured or missing.

1st day of the Somme. Get this. 60,000 casualities in the first 24 hours, over 19,000 dead. 70% of those were killed in the first hour! And that was British and Commonwealth only.

If you want to read a book on the Somme try Lynne McDonalds book, it's called 'The Somme', it has eye witness accounts of what happened and was written when there were enough old soldiers around to tell the story.
The other one is Martin Middlebrook's book.


Ains.

[philthy]

Ian

I went to the Somme with a friend on a Goldwing. We rode near to the cemetaries / battle fields and parked up about 15 - 20 minutes walk away. This gave us time to get '' in tune '' with the feeling of the place before we got there. We would spend time together at the site and then split up to have some time on our own.

We saw organised tours arrive, look around and leave while we stayed on for perhaps another hour after, soaking up the atmosphere.

On your own would be o.k. but I think it would be better to have someone to talk to while you were there. I'm sure we went in April after the ploughing, and then you can see the lines in the fields where the trenches were, and will come across bullets and shells that the farmers have ploughed up.

I have a book by George Ashurst called the Lancashire Fusileer and it was quite an emotional moment when we found, and stood in the sunken lane where he went ''over the top'' on the first day of the attack.

I hope you go - you will never forget the experience if you do.

Phil