Centrepin   0 #1 Posted November 10, 2019 Lest we forget.  Please take two minutes at 1100 to remember those who gave all.  Thank you.  Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Halibut   12 #2 Posted November 10, 2019 Those who had it stolen from them. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Anna B Â Â 1,365 #3 Posted November 10, 2019 And please remember that it is about so much more than 2 minutes silence on Rememberance Sunday. There are generations of children and young people for whom the wars are ancient history and whose ignorance is sometimes alarming. The Snowflakes in particular are in need of real level of understanding. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
ECCOnoob   985 #4 Posted November 11, 2019 (edited) Is there any reason for the derogatory term "snowflake" being used here.  Have you actually stopped to think maybe why the "children and young people" might not have such a high level of understanding of an event that happened over a century ago.  Who and how have they been taught about it. How often.  How long.  How in depth. What about all the other prominent historical events that have happened since which may, in their generations' education and curriculum, have more prominence.  Its not acceptable to just insultingly claim that they are ignorant.     It may not be such a case at all.  Think about other events in history.  WWII, the cold war, US and African apartheid, the rise and fall of the iron curtain, the falklands war, the gulf war, the Ireland Troubles, the terror attacks of 2001, the Iraq war.....  We have a fresher university generation who are post Google, even post smart phone. They school with laptops. They teach with tablets.  The subjects, methods and ways of educating are wholly different now.  Of course the events of WWI should not be forgotten but its pretty obvious that with passage of time the prominence of history evolves and the next generations have their own significant events.  Edited November 11, 2019 by ECCOnoob Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Anna B   1,365 #5 Posted November 11, 2019 i aplogise for my clumsy use of the word 'snowflake.' I used it to refer to the latest  modern generation.   I used it to  describe a generation who have no direct experience of war or of Nuclear annihilation. When we talk of 'freedom' won at great cost,  do they have a real concept of a world without it? I'm afraid it will becomes a cliche, a soundbite that has no relevance.     I grew up in the aftermath of WW2, with bomb sites as playgrounds, disabled soldiers everywhere, rationing, poverty and in the shadow of the Nuclear Bomb (I well remember the Bay of Pigs and the tension) These are what coloured in the reality for me and they can't be taught. And they were nothing compared to the actual experience of war. It's not about facts and figres that they may or may not have been taught in school, but the real visceral truth of conflict. Soon there will be no one left who has had a personal experience of the Wars. As it slips further and further into history we must find a way of making these threats, which have not gone away, stay real and relevant..  Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Lex Luthor   10 #6 Posted November 11, 2019 9 hours ago, Halibut said: Those who had it stolen from them. Indeed. Our men, themselves, and the ones who loved them. And not only the fallen. Many of those that returned still had their lives stolen. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Lex Luthor   10 #7 Posted November 11, 2019 2 hours ago, Anna B said: i aplogise for my clumsy use of the word 'snowflake.' I used it to refer to the latest  modern generation.   I used it to  describe a generation who have no direct experience of war or of Nuclear annihilation. When we talk of 'freedom' won at great cost,  do they have a real concept of a world without it? I'm afraid it will becomes a cliche, a soundbite that has no relevance.     I grew up in the aftermath of WW2, with bomb sites as playgrounds, disabled soldiers everywhere, rationing, poverty and in the shadow of the Nuclear Bomb (I well remember the Bay of Pigs and the tension) These are what coloured in the reality for me and they can't be taught. And they were nothing compared to the actual experience of war. It's not about facts and figres that they may or may not have been taught in school, but the real visceral truth of conflict. Soon there will be no one left who has had a personal experience of the Wars. As it slips further and further into history we must find a way of making these threats, which have not gone away, stay real and relevant..  I hope you will feel heartened by this.  My teenage son was fortunate to have a truly inspirational history teacher. His teacher sparked an interest in him to read extensively on British and European Military history. I can safely say he is more knowledgeable than me on the subject, even though it was a component of my degree. This year alone he has bought several special commemorative badges for rememberance and our soldiers past and present are never far from his thoughts.  His great Uncle was tricked in to serving in Korea, as a young man. When he came back, his innocence (as well as his hair due to shock) and peace of mind was lost forever.  It is our job to keep the memories of those we knew alive, so that the horrors and futility of war are never forgotten in the hope that future generations will find alternatives to wars, in the name of those who have had their lives stolen. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Anna B   1,365 #8 Posted November 11, 2019 Thankyou so much for this, and yes, I do feel heartened by it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Lex Luthor   10 #9 Posted November 11, 2019 (edited) 16 minutes ago, Anna B said: Thankyou so much for this, and yes, I do feel heartened by it. I'm very glad, Anna.  Also, with the advances in technology, and interactive resources available, teachers are able to show real footage and far more, at the touch of a button to students and children are also being set homeworks to use some of the impressive online resources available on the subject, on the BBC bitesize website and elsewhere to get a good grasp of what it was like at home and for those serving elsewhere.  With this, and also the study of poets in English, such as Wlfred Owen, where the futility and true horrors and costs of war are recurring themes that are explored, I am very hopeful that future generations will also 'Remember them'. 😊 Edited November 11, 2019 by Lex Luthor Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
Lex Luthor   10 #10 Posted November 11, 2019 (edited) My son was also fortunate enough to participate on a school visit to Normandy and the battlefields in France. I know this is also something that will stay with him forever, thanks to his dedicated teachers.  To make this cost effective they had to have a coachful of students wanting to go, and I understand that the trip has gone ahead every year since my son went, so that is also heartening. Edited November 11, 2019 by Lex Luthor Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
hauxwell   235 #11 Posted November 11, 2019 3 hours ago, Lex Luthor said: I hope you will feel heartened by this.  My teenage son was fortunate to have a truly inspirational history teacher. His teacher sparked an interest in him to read extensively on British and European Military history. I can safely say he is more knowledgeable than me on the subject, even though it was a component of my degree. This year alone he has bought several special commemorative badges for rememberance and our soldiers past and present are never far from his thoughts.  His great Uncle was tricked in to serving in Korea, as a young man. When he came back, his innocence (as well as his hair due to shock) and peace of mind was lost forever.  It is our job to keep the memories of those we knew alive, so that the horrors and futility of war are never forgotten in the hope that future generations will find alternatives to wars, in the name of those who have had their lives stolen. I also feel heartended by your post and your son, be proud of him. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...
tinfoilhat   11 #12 Posted November 11, 2019 11 hours ago, Anna B said: And please remember that it is about so much more than 2 minutes silence on Rememberance Sunday. There are generations of children and young people for whom the wars are ancient history and whose ignorance is sometimes alarming. The Snowflakes in particular are in need of real level of understanding. I'd agree that they're ignorance is alarming - you had the case of a premier league footballer not knowing who Hitler was. I'm not sure snowflake is the right word, dullard might be.  However, at odds with that is the increasing commercialisation - if that's the right word - of remembrance Sunday. Oneupmanship might be another. Are you wearing your poppy? Is the leaf at the right angle? It had better be if you're in the public eye. We now have the slightly odd image of a German football manager wearing one, i wonder how that goes down back home. We've had the glittery ones on strictly for a while, we've got them on cars and lampposts. So far so, erm rememberancy but this weekend brought a fresh hell of an RAF serviceman leading out a poppy MASCOT on to a football pitch. A big red foam thing with big black feet. I don't know if he wore a poppy underneath it. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites Share this content via...