American Reacts to Tower of London Poppies to Commemorate the First World War

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  • Опубликовано: 12 ноя 2022
  • In this video I react to the Tower of London poppies. This was such a beautiful artistic expression to remember the 888,246 lives that were lost in World War 1. Each ceramic red poppy represents one life. Seeing all the poppies in one place is a powerful visual reminder of just how many gave up everything for the freedoms we are blessed with today.
    Thanks for watching. If you enjoyed this reaction please give this video a thumbs up, share your thoughts in the comments and click the subscribe button to follow my journey to learn about my British and Irish ancestry.
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Комментарии • 1,7 тыс.

  • @garrethphillips4000
    @garrethphillips4000 Год назад +459

    Literally made me cry seeing those poppies again, half the shitbags today don't even know their born, Rest In Peace HEROES, you live on in the rest of us ❤️

    • @ORDEROFTHEKNIGHTSTEMPLAR13
      @ORDEROFTHEKNIGHTSTEMPLAR13 Год назад +31

      Absolutely bang on mate..

    • @IncubiAkster
      @IncubiAkster Год назад

      Name every single person that died in WWI to prove you are not one of these so called shitbags. I will wait.

    • @Hagg-o-tron
      @Hagg-o-tron Год назад

      Shitbag here.... 2 tours of Afghan, one of Iraq. Me and my wife have the boxed porcelain poppies that we put in place at the tower. Don't pit generations against each other. I thought of my grandfather who lost his hearing and legs in North Africa against Rommel in WW2. I know people think that comments on RUclips don't matter. But your comment is a piece of shit move. Where did you serve... ? I'll gladly tell you and my grandfathers service medals.

    • @edeledeledel5490
      @edeledeledel5490 Год назад

      And Mr Trump had imaginary bone spurs to avoid military service... fat cowardly bastard.

    • @edeledeledel5490
      @edeledeledel5490 Год назад +7

      Eric Bogle's song "No Man's Land" sums it up.

  • @LouLou10000
    @LouLou10000 Год назад +453

    Poppies are a serious thing here, now you know how serious . Be proud of your British heritage

    • @kathywarren6550
      @kathywarren6550 Год назад +21

      Oh ABSOLUTELY 💯 👌 🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧, God bless them all 🙏🙏 ❤, was there aswell.. I live on the corner of Tower Bridge, was over there to watching them putting it altogether ❤ and god bless my dad who was in W11, he actually got rescued by HMS BELFAST(when in service) when his ship got missiled! HMS BELFAST is now a Floating Museum. 🇬🇧🇬🇧

    • @MCD10000
      @MCD10000 Год назад +22

      yeah and the reason why poppies are the symbol is because when people went back to the trenches after the war, the fields where covered in poppies

    • @MCD10000
      @MCD10000 Год назад

      @itsme Emma and we don't want you back

    • @_---opKAM24---_
      @_---opKAM24---_ Год назад

      @itsme Emma I can't see the comment where anyone asked and on that note, shut up you silly cunt glad you left

    • @cheriegoodwin6819
      @cheriegoodwin6819 Год назад +6

      @itsme Emma It's your choice....

  • @lulabellegnostic8402
    @lulabellegnostic8402 Год назад +246

    The poppy was chosen as the symbol of remembrance because it was the first flower to grow back from the devastation of the trenches in Flanders.

    • @garymoore2535
      @garymoore2535 11 месяцев назад +1

      Poppy seeds can lay dormant in the ground for years, growth being paticularly triggered when the ground is disturbed........the ground doesn't get much more disturbed than by the artillery bombardments of WW1. When the battle fronts moved and there was the opportunity for plants to grow again, the poppy fields were especially spectacular marking where so many had perished.......field after field of blood red flowers marking where so many had fallen......could there be a more appropriate flower to remember them ? 😭

    • @steamfandan9682
      @steamfandan9682 11 месяцев назад +13

      They were also the only flowers found on the battlefield and we're also sent home to loved ones with letters

    • @colinmoore7460
      @colinmoore7460 10 месяцев назад +3

      They are also blood red...

    • @LiamLewyShepherd
      @LiamLewyShepherd 8 месяцев назад +1

      Interesting that it's different in France. The Bleuet de France is the French flower of Remembrance.

    • @Chris-dm1je
      @Chris-dm1je Месяц назад

      Poppy seeds germinate only in disturbed ground.

  • @ROLEPLAYA64
    @ROLEPLAYA64 Год назад +341

    Let's not forget those who came back, often physically or mentally broken. I still remember my great uncle Charlie. My family were simple country folk, from a tiny rural community. When he came back, he was shy, rarely spoke, and kept himself to himself on the farm, What haunts me to this day was his eyes. They were the eyes of broken innocence, of a boy who'd seen things no one should see, even when he was an old man. I can still clearly see his face in my memory more than 50 years after his death, I shall never forget.

    • @shirleyfortablet7958
      @shirleyfortablet7958 Год назад +9

      My heart always cries when I hear the news about our lovely boys and they bless them were just boys ,my dad was in ww2 he never spoke about the war ,it's about time our world should be at peace Shirley h Darlington 😘✌️🌹☮️

    • @calamityh.6684
      @calamityh.6684 Год назад +12

      My grandfather was gassed in first world war, {Age 18} he was a Gunner, he survived, although his quality of life was very poor.

    • @sarahbowen7721
      @sarahbowen7721 Год назад +10

      My mum was only saying the other day that she now realised her father must’ve had PTSD from his time in the trenches…her mum would tell the duds to leave their dad alone sometimes as he was ‘thinking’

    • @221b-Maker-Street
      @221b-Maker-Street Год назад +5

      @@sarahbowen7721 The pain and horror of untreated PTSD (often known as 'shell shock') after WW1 & WW2 must have ripped so many families apart further still, just as they felt they had the chance to 'get back on with their lives' and the sheer relief of having their husband, daddy, or brother home again.
      A nation unable to deal with the inevitable fall-out, just left to get on with it and consider themselves grateful their loved-ones had survived... 😔

    • @katiekatconway1880
      @katiekatconway1880 Год назад +4

      That is so sad. PTSD wasn’t recognised until comparatively recently. I always wear a poppy plus the purple one in remembrance of the animals killed in the line of duty.

  • @TK-Will.
    @TK-Will. Год назад +211

    The poppy is … red for the blood, the black center for mourning the fallen, the green stem for a new beginning. And the leaf points to the 11th hour on the 11th day on the 11th month.

    • @Irene-xs9pc
      @Irene-xs9pc Год назад +9

      Well said Will,❤

    • @granmut
      @granmut Год назад +18

      @@Irene-xs9pc Purple now for the animals we lost.

    • @Irene-xs9pc
      @Irene-xs9pc Год назад +3

      @@granmut wtf 😳 you on about??

    • @veronicawilliams7427
      @veronicawilliams7427 Год назад +3

      This Spring for the very first time since 1973 when we bought this house has dozens of Poppues growin in the front garden, and i didn't plant them so they must be a "gift from the birds"

    • @eh-i1841
      @eh-i1841 Год назад +17

      @@Irene-xs9pc all the horses that suffered and died horribly,the dogs,and the carrier pigeons.

  • @RichardMontgomeryYT
    @RichardMontgomeryYT Год назад +23

    He's suprised at 860,000 people dying, but that was just from the british empire. Nearly 8,500,000 died in total in WW1. Rest in peace.

    • @craiginboro679
      @craiginboro679 2 месяца назад

      Yep around 600,000 ppl just disappear in USA every year.
      But I think more ppl died of the Spanish Flu which apparently came from an American pig farmer.
      So an American was probably responsible for more deaths during WW1 than the Germans.

  • @simonjones7727
    @simonjones7727 Год назад +130

    People do not comment enough on how Brits have a such a strong visual sense. This installation is stunning.

    • @gingerfreak01
      @gingerfreak01 Год назад +8

      We're strange. We have few classically acclaimed composers but have had some of the best popular music artists. For every Turner or Constable there are 10s of celebrated Dutch, Italian, French painters, but we have produced some of the best architects, sculptors and conceptual artists.

    • @221b-Maker-Street
      @221b-Maker-Street Год назад +5

      ​@@gingerfreak01 For early _visual_ artists. I always understood that to be a blend of socio-economic factors, geography, and climate. Sorry, long but hopefully useful answer below - I got a bit carried away! 😆🎨
      As soon as art becomes more well-funded and democratised, it almost self-generates - spreading rapidly. eg the Dutch Golden Age of art is linked to it also being the golden era of the Duchy of Burgundy, the trickle-down prosperity in Netherlands' cities - the urban upper class discovered that paintings were a symbol of power, and objects to be collected avidly. The level of professional expertise demanded by the Burgundian court kept standards competitive and high. Their royalty was _interested_ in art, they commissioned it, they paid handsomely for it, they valued and paid for the _training_ of artists, and art became a thing - even farmers selling tulips to afford their art collections.
      Meanwhile, we had a series of rather dullard royalty who didn't really care for art, thanks to Henry VIII we were far too busy going through the philosophical and religious conflicts of the Reformation instead of building up and spending great fortunes on new palaces that needed outfitting. In fact the Protestant Reformations of England and Scotland we actively _destroyed_ existing religious art, and the production of new work virtually ceased. We became more focused on literature and poetry than the paintings associated with Renaissance high art, and it's not until the c17th that English visual art _slowly_ began to flourish in the same way as it already had across Europe.
      Thank goodness for 'Mad' King George III, who eventually founded The Royal Academy in 1768, with Turner later attending as a 14yo boy.
      Geography: Back to Holland - it was also the Mecca of trade due to its huge ports and rich networks of canals - paintings became _merchandise._ By contrast, eg Switzerland's harsh environment and impassable mountain landscapes = little spread. How many Swiss artists have you heard of? I can't name any!
      Climate: Before the mass production of glass in the c18th century, along with effective artificial lighting, British paintings were a rather niche product in a country where it rains at least ⅓ of the year, and it's dark by 4pm in Winter! As you can't see to paint indoors, or appreciate the work, we amused ourselves in er... other ways.

    • @MrBulky992
      @MrBulky992 10 месяцев назад +1

      ​​@@gingerfreak01John Dunstable, Thomas Tallis, William Byrd, Orlando Gibbons, Henry Purcell, Arthur Sullivan, Edward Elgar, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Frederick Delius, Gustav Holst, Michael Tippett, William Walton, Benjamin Britten.
      Also Arnold Bax, Edmund Rubbra, Arthur Bliss, Ivor Gurney, Herbert Howells, Hubert Parry, Malcolm Arnold, Gerald Finzi, John Ireland, Peter Warlock.
      There were lean times in the 18th and 19th centuries but I don't think we have done badly since then: the German-speaking territories had rich patrons and Italy too to account for their runaway success.

    • @gingerfreak01
      @gingerfreak01 10 месяцев назад

      @@221b-Maker-Street Nice, thanks! Definitely makes a lot of sense.

    • @221b-Maker-Street
      @221b-Maker-Street 10 месяцев назад

      @@gingerfreak01 My pleasure. 🤍

  • @karenward267
    @karenward267 Год назад +71

    I purchased one of these ceramic poppies. I'm a Brit living in California and I wasn't sure if the poppy could be shipped abroad. Every year on Remembrance Day, I bring out my ceramic poppy and remember the incredible sacrifice that these young men made so long ago.

    • @lynneharris7628
      @lynneharris7628 8 месяцев назад

      Men and women.

    • @davebilson
      @davebilson 5 месяцев назад +3

      I purchased a couple too. One for me and another for my wife.

    • @karenward267
      @karenward267 5 месяцев назад

      @@davebilson i am so glad to have found another person who felt this cause was so worthy to give our support to. Such a long time ago, but fir family and loved ones impacted by the loss, it happened as if it was yesterday.

    • @milliway2010
      @milliway2010 2 месяца назад

      When I was a child red paper poppies were hand made and sold by the VFW to support their Vet programs...they cost 25 cents and everyone wore one.

  • @angusrae1069
    @angusrae1069 Год назад +134

    They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
    Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
    At the going down of the sun and in the morning
    We will remember them.

  • @BeckyPoleninja
    @BeckyPoleninja Год назад +280

    And that is just 888.000 British and Colonials, don't forget the other countries. The total number of deaths includes from 9 to 11 million military personnel. But with disease and missing presumed dead the total number of military and civilian casualties in World War I was about 40 million:

  • @niven834
    @niven834 Год назад +107

    My two great uncles were represented by two of those poppies. Robert Hook was 20 Percy Hook was 18 RIP ❤️

    • @angierucinski5694
      @angierucinski5694 8 месяцев назад +5

      ❤❤RIP Robert and Percy. Still remembered.

  • @Mellow_Wood_Hill
    @Mellow_Wood_Hill Год назад +63

    This video and your reaction emphasises why many Brits get really angry when Americans online troll us about ‘coming to save Britain’ in World Wars. Our tiny islands gave SO MUCH to keep the world free.

    • @WJS774
      @WJS774 2 месяца назад +5

      Especially WWI. The American contribution to WWI was relatively tiny. Not to cast any shade on the soldiers who came over and fought, but they had very little effect on the outcome of the war at all, if America had stayed out of it it would have ended almost exactly the same.
      In WWII the American contribution was definitely far more important, though still greatly exaggerated.

    • @user-ip8jf1bk1c
      @user-ip8jf1bk1c 2 месяца назад +3

      @@WJS774 ww1 USA joined joined 1917 ww2 1942 about time they told the truth about when it REALY began

    • @Chris-dm1je
      @Chris-dm1je Месяц назад +3

      My mother always made a distinction between the US soldiers and the loudmouths who boasted about "saving our necks", who, she said, probably sat on their backsides back at home throughout the war as the soldiers she remembered being stationed in our town before leaving for France were far too polite and well mannered to say such things.

    • @user-im3hn5nx3r
      @user-im3hn5nx3r 12 часов назад

      Canada, Australia, India ,Pakistan,to name a few ,Newfoundland and Labrador. many of what are now members of the commonwealth of nations.

    • @user-im3hn5nx3r
      @user-im3hn5nx3r 12 часов назад

      @@WJS774I agree. Between Canada and Australia New Zealand Newfoundland and Labrador ,over 120,000 men.

  • @afterthemouse
    @afterthemouse Год назад +168

    My wife worked on the project. Volunteers planted the ceramic poppies, and groups called up and came together to plant poppies in the Moat at the Tower. On one day two groups arrived at the same time to plant the poppies - the first Group was from the Vietnamese embassy, and the other group from the US embassy... they worked together, alongside each other. Beautiful to see the peaceful harmony of former enemies.
    The whole event was truly emotional...

    • @59jalex
      @59jalex Год назад +13

      It's only with hindsight that we see how stupid we have been to each other. We don't have enemies until the first shot is fired.

  • @Kari_B61ex
    @Kari_B61ex Год назад +288

    Beautiful, just beautiful - no other words. The ceramic poppies were then sold and raised £15million for the six service charities.

    • @libradragon934
      @libradragon934 Год назад +11

      My son bought one for his wife!

    • @Happyheretic2308
      @Happyheretic2308 Год назад +10

      I bought 3 - they’re beautiful.

    • @Smudgie33
      @Smudgie33 Год назад +13

      I was lucky enough I buy of of these. They’re beautiful. ❤

    • @davidlawrence5091
      @davidlawrence5091 Год назад +5

      I got one

    • @olwenwilliams2939
      @olwenwilliams2939 Год назад +3

      My Nephew has traced my Great Grandfather and he did the Family Tree. He was buried in France, and it was the first time we knew where he is. He was in the 1914_1916 war.

  • @jeanlind7540
    @jeanlind7540 Год назад +134

    My grandfather died age 19 in WW1, my mother never knew him. When I went to France as a schoolgirl I visited his grave in Arras, they had several trenches left as they had been in WW1. It was so moving, graves were beautifully tended and names registered but there were some unnamed graves there as well, so terribly sad.

    • @angelaturner4376
      @angelaturner4376 Год назад

      So he had a kid at 19 then went to war ??

    • @bullet6140
      @bullet6140 Год назад +5

      @@angelaturner4376 Yes.

    • @cececox6399
      @cececox6399 Год назад +11

      @@angelaturner4376 that was common. There was lots of boys at 16 & 17 year olds who were husbands and about to become fathers when they were shipped off to war. They jumped at getting married because they were fully aware that they could die and it might be their only opportunity to leave a legacy. It gave them something to fight for. It was their only ray of hope. That their child might live in a better world because of their sacrifices. And also don’t forget that they couldn’t have any bedroom fun time if they weren’t married… so they certainly didn’t want to go to war, and possibly even dying, without losing it. 😂

    • @bennybenoit754
      @bennybenoit754 11 месяцев назад

      I have been to Arras several times as my great grandfather is buried there (Garrison Artillery). He was a 38 year old gunner and his eldest son died in the war a month before him. I hope to Christ he didn’t know before he died.

    • @herstoryanimated
      @herstoryanimated 11 месяцев назад +1

      My great grandfather died age 29 in WW1 at Ypres, we only found out a couple of months ago. His wife was 5 months pregnant with my grandfather when he died. His name is listed on the Menin Gate.
      Edit: for correct age.

  • @johnbanton5921
    @johnbanton5921 Год назад +53

    My Dad's Aunt Kitty was born in 1876 and lived close when I was young. I used to visit her, and she said there were many young women in the UK who never married because far too many of the young men had been killed in the Great War as it was known. Even though I was very young, I've never forgotten that.

    • @petergosden1
      @petergosden1 11 месяцев назад +4

      And the law and religious acceptance were changed to allow a widow to marry her dead husband's brother in recognition of that reality. My wife's grandmother was one such widow. My own grandfather was killed in France in early 1915 leaving my grandmother a widow with 6 children. One was my mother, the youngest, born late 1914, who never saw her father. Those were dreadfully hard times.

  • @999gothchick
    @999gothchick Год назад +215

    Its hard to visualise what 888,246 actually is - until you see those poppies, then it really brings it home. We will never forget ❤

    • @dfuher968
      @dfuher968 Год назад +18

      And these are not the total casualties of the war, its "merely" those from the UK and British colonies. Absolutely mindboggling.

    • @douglas3286
      @douglas3286 Год назад +10

      Sad fact. It was actually a whole generation that died.

    • @benjamintherogue2421
      @benjamintherogue2421 Год назад +6

      @@douglas3286 One out of four men in Britain between the ages of 16-36 died. Insane and tragic.

    • @-Old-School-Gamer
      @-Old-School-Gamer Год назад +6

      That 888,246 was only the British men, that doesn’t include the French, German and American soldiers etc. The total number was approximately 9.7 million.
      Plus;; between World War I and World War I, over a quarter of the worlds population of men had died. LET THAT SINK IN.

    • @paulroberts5677
      @paulroberts5677 Год назад +2

      From the rising of the Sun to the going down of the same we will remember them. We will remember them.

  • @JustMe-ks8qc
    @JustMe-ks8qc Год назад +179

    I have one of those poppies. It is my honour to keep it safe, and it is one of my most treasured possessions.
    When I visited the Shot at Dawn memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum (please visit if you can- it is a heart breaking, uplifting and beautiful place), I found a broken nameplate on the ground. I held it in my hand until I could give it to someone who could take care of it. Knowing that my poppy represented a soldier who died, I connected the name I carried to the poppy at home. William Hunter is always a guest at my table now. I don't know what he looked like or where he was from, just that he was 19 years old. A terrified kid, traumatised from the horrors he'd seen, executed for 'desertion'.
    William never made it home to his family, and I doubt any of his family who knew him are still alive more than 100 years later. Hopefully his living relatives remember him, as do we in his adopted family.

    • @songsmith31a
      @songsmith31a Год назад +1

      Harsh times indeed. But I guess that the military authorities of the day were driven to those measures
      by the fear of the behaviour being "catching" and causing loss of manpower that was already being
      severely depleted by the casualties suffered. The tragedy was that the time served in combat was
      probably not taken into account for its effect on the individual. .

    • @JustMe-ks8qc
      @JustMe-ks8qc Год назад +22

      @Nicky L Thank you so much for that. It makes me very happy to know that there are people who know and tell his story. It elevates him from the abstract of randomly attaching his name to a bit of ceramic to a real young man whose incredibly hard life was cut short.
      This will mean little to you, no doubt, but most of the year he sits in the sunlight among my house plants, and when the Christmas decorations come out, he moves to the dining table where the hundreds of lights dance on his shiny petals.
      I know some others keep their poppy outside, and I suppose it was designed to be outdoors, but I figured he'd endured enough cold, wet weather in life, he can at least stay warm and dry now.

    • @TheAuldphart
      @TheAuldphart Год назад +6

      Bloody heart breaking the way the way PTSDs
      were treated. The histories of the Vets,medical staff are.
      it’s a bloody wonder any body could mentally
      survive the WW one trebches

    • @JustMe-ks8qc
      @JustMe-ks8qc Год назад +1

      @Nicky L I'm sorry to hear about your poppy. I must be lucky that mine is so solid. Have you thought about mounting just the flower head in a box frame?

    • @lesjames5191
      @lesjames5191 Год назад +2

      @Nicky L I was born within 100 yards of Sunderland boys industrial school, it always looked like a grim place.

  • @saturdaysun5724
    @saturdaysun5724 Год назад +24

    How lovely to see our Pearly Kings and Queens , they do such a good job.❤

  • @colleenpotvin9595
    @colleenpotvin9595 9 месяцев назад +9

    In Canada, as in Britain, we wear the poppy to remember the lost warriors. We purchase a paper poppy from members of the Legion. The funds raised are used to help soldiers and others who lose limbs to purchase artificial limbs, etc.

    • @HanChap2
      @HanChap2 28 дней назад

      I used to live on an RAF base here in England. It has recently closed but it was in York, North Yorkshire, in a little village called Linton on Ouse. Every remembrance day, we would do the usual parades etc around York and the RAF station but we also had a poppy wreath laying ceremony at Linton on Ouse village hall where we paid our respects and remembered the awesome Canadian air force who came over to our little RAF station during the 2nd world war from 1942-1945. There used to be a whole section of one of the buildings on the RAF station dedicated to the history of it. All the local Army children (a lot were housed at Linton on Ouse both behind the wire (on the base passed the guardroom/guarded barriers) and on the Service family accomodation houses just outside the station in the village) and RAF children were taught about the history of both British and Canadians based at York during wwII and celebrated/remembered for what they did. Canada and Canadians are especially loved by a lot of us RAF personnel,and their families, from Linton on Ouse. a
      And, the stories left behind from your brave Canadian military men and women, are still passed on by us English as if we are passing on tales told by our very own family who served in the war. And not all the tales are sad either. The antics some of them got up to were hilarious!

  • @annemariefleming
    @annemariefleming Год назад +275

    WW1 was known at the time as "the war that will end all wars", because of the wholesale carnage and loss of life. Some were 14 and 15 years old, having lied about their ages to go on a great adventure with friends and following older brothers. It took just 20 years to be brushed aside and the destruction started all over again.

    • @theoldgreymare703
      @theoldgreymare703 Год назад +19

      The thousands of under age boys known as the "Sixpence boys" who fought alongside men in the trenches but were only paid 6p (old money) a day. Many of them died and their families never received their money which became a large fund that disappeared mysteriously. over the years.

    • @alisonhill3941
      @alisonhill3941 Год назад +10

      @@theoldgreymare703 In old money it's 6d, not 6p.

    • @theoldgreymare703
      @theoldgreymare703 Год назад +6

      @@alisonhill3941 Ok my mistake.

    • @kenvoysey8222
      @kenvoysey8222 Год назад +9

      We hardly had any choice in the matter so blame the correct people.

    • @linnettsamuel5026
      @linnettsamuel5026 Год назад +15

      My Gf was 14 years but lied about his age .He survived WW1 and later fought in WW2,survived Dunkirk and went on to serve in India, returned to Britain with bad lungs from being gassed in WW2 but otherwise. uninjured until ironically he fell downstairs in 1960's and became blind.

  • @jamespickersgill8416
    @jamespickersgill8416 Год назад +39

    What a genuine, humble, likeable man you are. I hope you get to visit some time.

  • @laurielovett8849
    @laurielovett8849 11 месяцев назад +26

    I'm Irish I'd love to wear a poppy to commerate these brave people including my uncle Dan who died and three other uncles who were so lucky to return, but unfortunately poppy day is not commerated in the South of Ireland which seems such a shame when so many men joined up.a whole generation of Irishmen forgotten. But at least greatfully remembered in Great Britain. Thanks to all who contributed in any way.

    • @johnmc128
      @johnmc128 9 месяцев назад +3

      My grandfather was in the Iniskilling Fusiliers WW l one son in the Irish Gd's one in the Scots Gd's and two nephews in the Scots Gds both nephews KIA in N. Africa in 1941 both early 20's and one son in the Irish Gd's K I A in Holland WW I I he was 23in 1944 the other was my father he was knocked out by a German shell was shot twice on sperate occasions a POW for 10 months before he escaped but he survived he was 23 in 1945 when the war ended.

  • @jenniferholden9397
    @jenniferholden9397 Год назад +42

    Thank you for your honest and genuine reaction to the awesome tribute to our fallen soldiers. It does take your breath away.

  • @bathsheba.b8656
    @bathsheba.b8656 Год назад +98

    Thank you for being so respectful, my great grandfather went to fight in the First World War as a thirteen year old. He lied about his age and looked after the horses that pulled the cannons. As a young child I remember him and his grief at seeing his friends mown down in the trenches and the horses wounded, starving and thrashing in the mud as they were dying. I got my love of horses from him and also my hatred of war.

  • @beany2456
    @beany2456 Год назад +123

    To everyone who gave their lives in every war….. WE THANK YOU ❤️🌺🌺

    • @Badgersj
      @Badgersj Год назад +3

      I know what you mean, and agree, but I think the more appropriate words would be "We are grateful to you".

  • @sarahyoung7394
    @sarahyoung7394 Год назад +44

    I love my country for all these reasons❤my heart goes out for all the soldiers and family’s around the world,absolutely heartbreaking.
    Peace and love

  • @peacefulrider
    @peacefulrider Год назад +21

    I have one of these. They were sold after Remembrance Day and came boxed with an authenticity certificate. I’ll always treasure it. Good to see you embracing our history and patriotism. 👍🏻

  • @BackToNature123
    @BackToNature123 Год назад +66

    As an injured veteran, it meant a great deal to be able to purchase one of the ceramic poppies. In my day job I support fellow veterans at their worst times so I see where the money is spent 💜

  • @sharonsmith9817
    @sharonsmith9817 Год назад +50

    My great grandfather Private Horace Brackley died of wounds 23rd June 1917 we must never forget the sacrifice our ancestors made for our freedom 🙏🏻

    • @wyattfamily8997
      @wyattfamily8997 Год назад +3

      There is an Epitaph at Kohima in India that is in rememberance of British forces that died stopping the Japanese there, an inscription reads, "When you go home tell them of us and say, FOR YOUR TOMORROW, WE GAVE OUR TODAY." Really encapsulates what those patriotic soldiers felt for their country and future generations.

  • @steveroberts728
    @steveroberts728 Год назад +20

    Thank you for showing this. Your respect is appreciated. The red poppy is such a powerful symbol for us in the UK & Commonwealth.

  • @donnawilletts7975
    @donnawilletts7975 Год назад +23

    I am so glad that I was living in London at this time. The atmosphere around the Tower of London was incredible and the view was awesome.

  • @lizstratton9689
    @lizstratton9689 Год назад +40

    So lovely to see a Pearly King and Queen, my parents were Londoners and this is part of an old tradition. After Remembrance Day that year the public were allowed to buy the ceramic poppies created by Paul Cummins for £25 each, eventually raising over £15million for six service charities. My Mum bought one - it is very precious, made by hand to represent one single soldier.

  • @jamespickersgill8416
    @jamespickersgill8416 Год назад +114

    John Condon (5 October 1900 - 24 May 1915) was an Irish soldier born in Waterford. He was believed to have been the youngest Allied soldier killed during the First World War, at the age of 14 years; he lied about his age and he claimed to be 18 years old when he signed up to join the army in 1913.

    • @molossergirl2
      @molossergirl2 Год назад +12

      😪😪 'cannon' fodder and one whole generation of men almost wiped out. Just so sad, but I thank each and every person who sacrificed their life that I am here today.

    • @laurielovett8849
      @laurielovett8849 Год назад +9

      Brave lad,makes me proud to be Irish. Had never heard of him till now. I had 5 uncles who fought in the first world war All were very lucky, one lost an eye one got shot in arm, Lovely to see those who lost their lives remembered,wish we had poppy day here

    • @mikelavin7317
      @mikelavin7317 Год назад

      What age was it back then 16

    • @59jalex
      @59jalex Год назад +3

      Most of us know about the 36th Division, but so many Irishmen have served, and with distinction. You only have to look at the Roll of VC's awarded to see that.

    • @alanbeaumont4848
      @alanbeaumont4848 Год назад +4

      @@mikelavin7317 18. A common anecdote is that when telling the recruiting sergeant their actual underage, he would suggest they go for a walk around the block and come back "when you are 18" a few minutes later.

  • @robertwilkins6422
    @robertwilkins6422 Год назад +12

    What a touching man you can see it in his eyes thanks mate thinking of all that died god bless you

  • @JAYDOG1337A
    @JAYDOG1337A Год назад +27

    I get a poppy every year, I think most brits do really... it is *important* that we remember these sacrifices, that they don't just become statistics one can look at and just say "oh that was pretty bad", no it must say "this is true horror, every single life that's lost, someone's world ended".
    Every one of those fatalities meant the entire world to someone, could've been the world to others they never got to meet because of war, wives never met, children never born, heroes not welcomed home with open arms.

    • @geoffbentley8774
      @geoffbentley8774 11 месяцев назад +1

      I keep 2 poppies in my cab every day.

  • @suehancey8355
    @suehancey8355 Год назад +56

    I'm spending a lot of time in tears watching your videos.😔 The Wars, first and second, are still very much part of the fabric of British life, especially to the older generations. Thank you.

    • @peacemaker6662
      @peacemaker6662 Год назад +1

      I agree with your sentiment, we should all be grateful. My father was born in 1914, he obviously didn't serve in the First World War, but did in the second, like my mother. Do you know what really grinds my gears.... currently we, in the UK are celebrating the Suffragettes. Statues and memorials, we have forgotten the 'White feather campaign' ... apparently. When women of 'standing' handed out white feathers to working class men... and boys who weren't in uniform. To signify their cowardice... while they, themselves sipping tea and cross-stitch discussing women's sufferage. It mattered not that those men dying in Belguim and France didn't have the vote either.. to them. Lest we forget... eh?

    • @davidroberts8179
      @davidroberts8179 Год назад +2

      Quite agree, shame so many of the post wars generations don't seem to know anything war entails and what these people gave to the following to be able to live the life they have today.

  • @herindoors3552
    @herindoors3552 Год назад +20

    I am honored to be the owner of one of the poppies that were at the Tower of London, its a precious piece I will pass to my son.

  • @Irene-xs9pc
    @Irene-xs9pc Год назад +12

    I wear a poppy every year, thankful for all those young men who died for us to live in a free country, and I wear it with pride ❤✨✨✌🏾

  • @elizabethbibby7518
    @elizabethbibby7518 Год назад +11

    We “British” really do love our country and do this type of things very very well🥰🥰

    • @deeboneham2738
      @deeboneham2738 Год назад

      There was Irish in the ranks of the British Army so be proud of both roots of your Ancestry

  • @annebrown4831
    @annebrown4831 Год назад +87

    I cry every year on Remembrance Sunday. It is still incomprehensible to me what people have had to endure. The sheer bad luck of being born during that time. The pride, determination and the tragic loss of lives must never be forgotten.

    • @helvete983
      @helvete983 Год назад +3

      Me too Anne, My stepfather is a veteran and parades in York every remembrance Sunday, I always make a point to call him and thank him.

    • @wyattfamily8997
      @wyattfamily8997 Год назад

      So true, and yet mankind repeats it time and time again.

    • @valeriewalker9438
      @valeriewalker9438 Год назад

      Me too. I was in the RAF Md my parents both of them served in the RNavy.pround to be British

  • @robertsnare1411
    @robertsnare1411 Год назад +40

    I went to london to see this, it truly was remarkable, haunting, beautiful, moving and awe inspiring.

  • @cannyexplorer5357
    @cannyexplorer5357 Год назад +12

    I remember walking under the poppy arch as you entered the tower. What brought me to tears as well was seeing and hearing a robin singing in the arch. The sound stopped people for a minute as it seemed it was the bird’s way of honouring those who gave up their lives. Still remember today how proud I was of those who never hesitated to fight against evil. We must never forget them ever in both World Wars. With out them would some of us be here today.

  • @davidshipp623
    @davidshipp623 Год назад +16

    Hi Steve, Poppies were chosen for remembrance because the shelling in WW1 disturbed the soil so much and poppies are one of first flowers to flower as the seeds stay in the soil. So the battlefields were covered in them. Like many my own great grandfather died in WW1 (in the battle of the Somme), visiting his grave makes you realise that these are people. This installation made you realise that and just how many. Beautiful and moving.

  • @lizroberts1569
    @lizroberts1569 Год назад +46

    At 8 every evening in Belgium at the Menin Gate the last post is sounded for all the fallen who were lost, who gave their lives but were never found it’s incredibly moving. The average age was about 24 but some joined at 14 and during the latter stages they were desperate so we’re taking all ages.

    • @deeboneham2738
      @deeboneham2738 Год назад +2

      Yes you must go there

    • @herstoryanimated
      @herstoryanimated 11 месяцев назад

      My great grandfather's name is on the Menin Gate, my great grandmother was pregnant with my grandfather at the time. He was 29.

    • @roberthowell7095
      @roberthowell7095 10 месяцев назад +1

      It's located in Ypres.

  • @duntalkin
    @duntalkin Год назад +48

    The thousands they talk about in the video are just the British and Commonwealth dead not the total dead
    Thank you for remembering 🙏

  • @johnl7710
    @johnl7710 Год назад +9

    I used to work near to Tower Bridge and walked by this every day while it was on. It was a beautiful and moving tribute. My Grandfather fought in WWI and survived it but i never knew him as he died before I was born.

  • @PLuMUK54
    @PLuMUK54 Год назад +2

    I am so proud that I have one of those poppies in memory of my Great Uncle Frank Yardley, who was killed aged 21 in 1917. He gave up his tomorrows for my today. Thank you Frank.

  • @lordylou1
    @lordylou1 Год назад +24

    I'm just home from one of the remembrance services taking place all over the country today. Along with the rest of the country we stood in a churchyard at a war memorial, united in grief for the loss of men we never knew in life and who are long dead.
    When you go home, tell them of us and say
    For your tomorrow, we gave our today - John Maxwell Edwards

  • @pamelatitterington2453
    @pamelatitterington2453 Год назад +31

    Beautiful, i am English, in the UK and it never fails to move me, glad you understand also all soldiers all over the world, then and now, should be remembered,

  • @lesleyking4239
    @lesleyking4239 Год назад +3

    No greater love hath a man than this, that a man giveth up his life for his friends.

  • @John-re2qw
    @John-re2qw Год назад +6

    We were in the UK at this time, returning to spread my father's ashes. My mother and I visited the Tower and this incredible display was truly astonishing and unforgettable. I can't imagine a more fitting tribute to those who made the ultimate sacrifice. Both of my grandfathers served in WW1, my maternal grandfather in Turkey and on the Western Front and my paternal grandfather in Palestine and my father in WW2. The 800,000 + fatalities is just the British Commonwealth. The total death toll from all combatant nations was 9.5 million, with 20 million wounded and 8 million of those permanently disabled. The figure are simply staggering.

  • @cheryla7480
    @cheryla7480 Год назад +66

    So beautiful, yet at the same time so heart wrenching. Canada lost 66,000.🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇨🇦🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧🇬🇧

    • @alanbobbymcguire5099
      @alanbobbymcguire5099 Год назад +6

      I remember visiting my family in Mississauga ,and after a trip to a local licensed premises,well it was very hot , especially for us Scot’s. I stumbled across a war memorial. Where the Canadian Solder was Kilted. It took my breath away. Such a touching memorial for the 66,000 who traveled so far away to a stupid war in Central Europe thank you Canada.

  • @JD-cw4qg
    @JD-cw4qg Год назад +95

    Such a beautiful post Steve on Such a special day, thank you 🙏. To our soldiers and veterans worldwide, we salute you.

  • @Jjudes9665
    @Jjudes9665 Год назад +3

    Rememberance Sunday is part of who we British are. It’s our heritage, millions fought in the two World Wars to give us our freedom to be British citizens. They are remembered as true heroes. We are proud to be British and we are strong people because of surviving the wars. I had many of my relatives fight in the wars, some injured, some died. One of my great uncles lost both his legs and one arm at Dunkirk. Another relative was hit by shrapnel in the trenches and suffered a full mental breakdown. I’m free to live my life because of them.
    LEST WE NEVER FORGET.❤️🇬🇧

  • @teresakirby8827
    @teresakirby8827 Год назад +1

    I remember going to the Tower to see this installation; what you can't see on the film, is the view of the window - where the poppies spill out from the window of the Tower - which looks like the blood of those who lost their lives. This installation moved around the country, in different forms. As you're so interested in researching ... there's something else you might be interested in from this period and that's the statue of the unknown soldier at Paddington railway station. Throughout 2014-2018 there were various projects to engage people with the horrors of WW1 and one of those was a project for the public to write a letter to the unknown soldier. Every letter was archived (in digital form) at the British Library, and a book was published of those deemed to be the most interesting. I'm an English teacher and I asked my year 9 students to write a letter, as I too did, as well as members of my family - we didn't make the book, but we're in the archives and it was a great project. Going back to the poppies - the poppy is the symbol of of that war and people wear it coming up to and including the 11th November; it's not called Poppy Day because we wear the poppy for more than one day. Poppies sprang up in the disturbed earth of the battlefields (the seeds can lay dormant for up to one hundred years) but it was the poem In Flanders Fields which sealed the poppy as the symbol. I'll put it below.
    In Flanders Fields
    BY JOHN MCCRAE
    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.

  • @faithpearlgenied-a5517
    @faithpearlgenied-a5517 Год назад +22

    It's overwhelming. And to think most of those poppies also represent wives who lost their husband, children who lost their dad, mums and dads who lost their son, brothers and sisters who lost their brother, partners who lost the man they loved. It's just heartbreaking and so hard to comprehend.

  • @saundyuk
    @saundyuk Год назад +48

    The way I learned to put the loss of that many young men into context was by something my great grandmother once said to me as a kid, before she passed. She remembered travelling to and from various towns and cities in the years directly after the end of WWI and the thing she noticed most, more than everyone pulling together to try and rebuild their lives... was the lack of the sound of children playing. Because almost an entire generation of would-be fathers had been lost.

    • @douglasthompson296
      @douglasthompson296 Год назад +9

      So many young men lost their lives, so many sweethearts never married, so many spinsters left. Social conditions so different than today, the lack of social welfare, so many single ladies had to live under the same roof as it would be an outrage to society if a lady lived on her own. I had 2 spinster aunts needing to share a cottage just to live they shared money and possessions and no hope of a suitable man to marry.

  • @yvonnewright7856
    @yvonnewright7856 Год назад +4

    The poppies were ceramic and steel. I was one of thousands of volunteers who "planted" them. Each poppy had to be assembled and then hammered into the ground. It wasn't easy and we were asked to bring gardening gloves to protect our hands. After the installation finished, thousands of volunteers had to remove and wash them as everyone had been sold to raise funds for the Royal British Legion. I still feel honoured to have helped with this.

    • @lynneharris7628
      @lynneharris7628 3 месяца назад

      Thank you and every volunteer for doing a great job.

  • @gilliancoupland3688
    @gilliancoupland3688 Год назад +4

    Not just people, we need to remember the animals that lost their lives too

  • @gillothen8913
    @gillothen8913 Год назад +42

    Thank you for sharing your response to this. The number quoted was simply members of the armed forces from across what was then the empire. Once you add civilians killed and volunteer nurses, labourers, administrative staff, it's much closer to a million. In addition both France and Germany lost roughly 3% of their entire populations. That's why WW1 is still a big deal over here. I grew up knowing an entire generation of elderly ladies who never married - because the men they might have married all died.
    Your reactions over the last few months have been so genuine and respectful. Thank you for that.

  • @susanashcroft2674
    @susanashcroft2674 Год назад +96

    Thank you for your respect Steve, I could see how moved you were. Both this installation of poppies and the poppies that fall from the ceiling at the annual Service of Remembrance in The Albert Hall (broadcast last night) always bring a lump to my throat.
    A few miles away from where I live was one of the biggest equestrian depots where not only soldiers were recruited but 250,000 horses and mules passed through, they were walked to our local station, boarded onto trains and shipped across to Europe to play their part in The War. Sadly very few returned due to being killed, suffering trauma, or injury which meant they were put down or it was deemed not feasible to bring them back and some were sold for meat. However some were put to work on farms in France, a few did return back here and were walked through the streets with pride on their return. The depot is no longer around but there is a War Horse walk which takes you on the route from the depot to the train station which people can re trace.

    • @malaika2940
      @malaika2940 Год назад +6

      Thank you for this.
      We hear very little about the animals who were conscripted. I wear a purple poppy (small button hole size) in my trench coat to highlight awareness.

    • @susanashcroft2674
      @susanashcroft2674 Год назад +8

      @@malaika2940 Horses, donkeys,mules, dogs, pigeons and many animals including camels, elephants, cattle all played their part.

    • @malaika2940
      @malaika2940 Год назад +8

      @@susanashcroft2674
      Yes, we hear very little (if anything about the animals who were at war), apart from the few who were awarded the Dicken Medal. The contribution made by the animals really should be highlighted much more.

    • @TimeyWimeyLimey
      @TimeyWimeyLimey Год назад +3

      To bring a tear to your eye, here's the War Horse tribute from the 2014 Royal Festival of Remembrance...ruclips.net/video/OKXADjROrH8/видео.html

    • @susanashcroft2674
      @susanashcroft2674 Год назад +1

      @@TimeyWimeyLimey Thank you for finding this.

  • @lauriemapplebeck1286
    @lauriemapplebeck1286 Год назад +3

    November the 11th in Canada is Remembrance day!!! We remember US, the UK, and all our allies! We wear the poppy!!🇨🇦❤️🇬🇧
    ,

  • @marybeaird6171
    @marybeaird6171 11 месяцев назад +3

    I bought one of the poppies. The money raised went to the Royal British Legion which looks after war verterans to this day. My Grandfather was a survivor of WWI and active in the Legion. I always remember him when I look at it. He was such a sweet gentleman. I can't begin to imagine what it was like for him to go through that.

  • @charlesfrancis6894
    @charlesfrancis6894 Год назад +53

    I am 74 and my dad was in the Lancashire Fusiliars in WW1 as dad was 50 when i was born i believe it is rare for people to say my dad was in WW1 usually it is someones grandad. This makes me feel i was lucky to be born though i was told dad was gassed.

    • @sallysmith7778
      @sallysmith7778 Год назад +7

      Like you, I’m 74 and my father was 50 when I was born. He was with the Queen Victoria Rifles , a London Regiment and fought at Passchendale. He never spoke about his time out there, so I know little more.

    • @carolineb3527
      @carolineb3527 Год назад +4

      My father joined the Royal Navy as a 'boy sailor' in 1912 so was already a trained signalman when WWI began. I only ever heard him speak of WWI three times. When he learned I was reading about Gallipoli at school, he told me he was there then he wept for the poor ANZAC boys. "The sea" he said, "turned red."
      At the Battle of Jutland, he was transferred by breeches buoy from one ship to another and as he landed on his new ship, his old ship was sunk "with all hands". Although he was grateful to be alive he never quite got over losing all his friends and shipmates in that way - over 1,000 men were lost. Years later, I took my dad to visit one of my mother's three brothers - they had also been in WWI, two in the trenches, and all of them came home. The third brother had been in the RN and also served at Jutland but there were two admirals involved and my uncle had served with "the other one". So I took Dad to see his brother-in-law more than 50 years after the battle and they still argued over whose admiral had been right!
      I am glad to know that I'm not the only one who had an older father and therefore still has a connection back to those times. I certainly wear my poppy with pride - and with gratitude that all my family members came home.

    • @charlesfrancis6894
      @charlesfrancis6894 Год назад +3

      @@sallysmith7778 Hello Sally ,Nice to know you have a similar experience to myself. I was 6 when my dad died and of course he never spoke to me about the war but my older brother told me that dad had been gassed plus i have a small piece of paper from the war office giving his number ,rank, and regiment .It would have been interesting if your dad and my dad were in the same regiment where there could be a chance they met. My dad died of lung cancer and i wonder if being gassed was part of the cause.

    • @charlesfrancis6894
      @charlesfrancis6894 Год назад +3

      @@carolineb3527 Hello Caroline , I am strangely pleased to know there are others with fathers in WW1 . I was too young for my dad to tell me anything about the war but i did learn about him being gassed and swimming a river to aid a crossing but that is all i know. My dad had a good sense of fun regardless and the only photo i have of him is one of him on a child's rocking horse with a big smile on his face. My brother told me that dad played cards with Arthur Askey and that Mr Askey was a bad loser.

    • @sandratuffs3734
      @sandratuffs3734 Год назад +1

      My dad was in the second world
      war.....his regiment was. the Lancashire Fusiliers....he was in
      Burma....I still have.his hat and I am 73

  • @leehuntingdon7066
    @leehuntingdon7066 Год назад +56

    It was a Canadian soldier who noticed the small red wild flowers growing in the war ravaged land at Ypres in the Flanders region inspiring him to write the poem Flanders Fields.....WW1 whole towns of young men,brothers,cousins,friends...all fought in same battalions and knew each other personally.
    Most would be wiped out or seriously injured...all the young men of towns would never return home,especially in that dreadfull morning in the Battle of the Somme.

    • @margueritahancock5472
      @margueritahancock5472 Год назад +3

      Yes this is true.

    • @kenvoysey8222
      @kenvoysey8222 Год назад +2

      All the young men ?

    • @Phlowermom
      @Phlowermom Год назад +6

      @@kenvoysey8222 It is historical fact that some villages & towns lost entire generations of young men.

    • @AV-fo5de
      @AV-fo5de Год назад +5

      @@Phlowermom They were known as "Pals Battalions" They joined up together and were guaranteed that they would all be together throughout their service. Sadly, no one thought about the possibility of entire battalions being wiped out in one action. Some "Pals" were made up of lads from the same school, or place of work.The practice was stopped after 1916.

    • @Phlowermom
      @Phlowermom Год назад +1

      @@AV-fo5de I am aware of this history. I was merely attempting to enlighten Ken Voysey as to historical accuracy. You'll get it, I'm confident.

  • @Lunabracco
    @Lunabracco Год назад +2

    We must not forget the Purple poppies that represent all the animal lives lost during the war, those Horses, dogs, pigeons, taken, donated to the war effort! Over the last few years they are just more and more being remembered with the purple poppy....

    • @Jill-mh2wn
      @Jill-mh2wn Месяц назад

      Unfortunately for the owners ,most of the horse taken were requisitioned, in other words,
      taken under military orders .
      Even farmers who at that time relied on everything that is now mechanised, were stripped of the best and Hunters and Children`s horses were taken.
      Compensation in money terms could not compensate Horsemen who valued the horses as companions and loyal workers.

  • @iriscollins7583
    @iriscollins7583 Год назад +4

    I met a man who fought in WWI who lied about his age, said he was 16. He became my step Grand Dad.

  • @catherinekenny3926
    @catherinekenny3926 Год назад +28

    I remember this and even watching it now the years are streaming down my face. I was in military from 76-91 and visited Ypres and all our war cemeteries all over Europe. Its a hubling experience. Stay safe and sane from Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 x

  • @lyndarichardson4744
    @lyndarichardson4744 Год назад +18

    Thank you for watching that film Steve, I could see you were really moved by it. Individual members of the public paid for those poppies. Often relatives of those who died in WW1, and when the installation finished, they could have their poppy back if they wanted it

  • @user-ee4mp1sg8c
    @user-ee4mp1sg8c 9 месяцев назад +2

    Things like this don't affect you when youre a kid, its when you reach my age and above and have your own family that it gets you, and this made me cry so much, it really reached my heart ❤

  • @adeleheywood7454
    @adeleheywood7454 Месяц назад +1

    My great grandfather died from his injuries while fighting for Britain in 1915. He was 34 and left 3 young children behind. My grandmother was the oldest at 9 years old.

  • @bear6845
    @bear6845 Год назад +62

    When you're able you should watch last night's Festival of Remembrance from the Royal Albert Hall. A modern and old mix of remembrance this year, also the service of the Queen. Probably/possibly one of the last times we'll see the E II R cypher on the chests of the servicemen's/trumpeters.

    • @markwolstenholme3354
      @markwolstenholme3354 Год назад +4

      Hi Bear, yes I "enjoyed " last nights F of R, it felt very special.

    • @laceyherst2786
      @laceyherst2786 Год назад +9

      That was a beautiful Festival of Remembrance as i'm typing this i'm watching the Veterans march past the Cenotaph but what got me in last nights Festival of Remembrance was the lone piper i had a vision of the Queen's piper piping as the coffin was lowered and him walking away

    • @bear6845
      @bear6845 Год назад +4

      @@laceyherst2786 I got exactly the same Lone Piper feeling.

    • @weedle30
      @weedle30 Год назад +4

      Me too….seeing the lone piper at Her Majesty’s funeral….the tears just flowed….and seeing the film clips on the F or R last night….they started again.
      Still quite can’t accept that Her Majesty is “no longer here” 😥

    • @dotregan1506
      @dotregan1506 Год назад +3

      I was going to suggest the same thing. It was beautiful wasn't it.

  • @pamelaadams1130
    @pamelaadams1130 Год назад +11

    If we lose our Monarchy we lose our traditions we are a small country, but we have played our part along side other nations to keep this world safe , and traditions remind us of those who died serving their country.

    • @samb1123
      @samb1123 Год назад +1

      I am one of his Majesty's Canadian Subjects. I believe that losing the Monarchy would precipitate our absorption into the Dumpster fire to the south of us. I think you will find that a higher percentage of Constitutional Monarchies are good places to live than republics. There is probably several reasons for this but one I think is the separation of the power from the glory in a way that no power hungry politician can attain. The most common objection to the Monarchy is I believe the idea that is not fair. Well life ain't fair and The King will just have to grin and bear the burden.

  • @sandfly60
    @sandfly60 Год назад +3

    It is one of the most profoundly moving tributes to the lives lost I’ve ever seen. It visually and eloquently represents the terrible loss. The lists of names on the many memorials have often reduced me to tears, whether it’s the Menin Gate memorial or Tyne Cot or one of the countless others stretching around the world.
    And as if all those poppies aren’t sobering enough, then there were the men who lived but were shattered physically, emotionally and mentally and the effect on their families, who were so thankful they came home but for whom life was never, ever the same. Lest we forget.

  • @kranson8514
    @kranson8514 Год назад +3

    We have no choice but to remember their sacrifice, to continually attempt to educate the younger generations of these men and women. Who have paid a high price, which allows our freedoms and privileges this day.
    Strange how other countries are surprised, at the historic British patriotism and culture of appreciation toward our service men and women past and present.

  • @duncanwyer2460
    @duncanwyer2460 Год назад +7

    I now have one of those poppies in my lounge they are ceramic and everyone is hand made and individual came in a lovely presentation box

  • @Codex7777
    @Codex7777 Год назад +11

    That figure is just for those who died fighting for Britain. The war claimed about 20 milkion lives and about another 20 million suffered life changing injuries.

  • @sylviamills5672
    @sylviamills5672 11 месяцев назад +1

    One of them is my great grandfather. Samuel Skelding. He volunteered from the workhouse. He got machine gunned in the legs at the battle of the Dardanelles. Miraculously he survived but his regiment were nearly wiped out. What survived of his regiment merged with another regiment that was cut to shreds too. He was then shipped from the Hellas field hospital to Gallipoli. His regimental diary says that he was mustard gassed and then blinded, got tangled in barbed wire on the beach near Suvla Bay. He screamed for 4 hours before his own officer shot him as an act of mercy. Rest in peace grandad Sam.

  • @torridavenport1031
    @torridavenport1031 Год назад +1

    My now deseased dad. Was in the Royal Navy as a Cheif Petty Officer during World War 11. He was there for the Normandy landings an told of the sheer horror of it. The scenes of Saving Private Ryan depict it perfectly. My dad told of the sheer amount of floating bodies that turned the sea red. An those injured that were pulled out of the water in the landing crafts an took back to the war ships stood by in deeper water. It never left him. An as a family. We always wore our poppies with pride an my dad was very involved with the Royal British Legion an the Salvation army all his life after the war. Even now he is gone. His grandkids know of his an others sacrifice during those war years. Its a debt that can never be paid back. If it wasn't for those millions more would have died under Hitlers regime as we all know. Yet its not just about that war an that debt. My dad an many millions more fought an died for their Country in many other was The Somme. Where my great grandad died. So when we Remember. It's for ALL who lost their lives. Not just world war 1 1

  • @pjmoseley243
    @pjmoseley243 Год назад +12

    Thankyou for posting and being so respectful. best wishes from UK

  • @dotty4654
    @dotty4654 Год назад +14

    I went to London to see the Poppies, it was breath taking and so emotional and it really bought home the colossal loss of a generation of young men, very humbling 😞💔

    • @josephinedewar4469
      @josephinedewar4469 Год назад +1

      And we often forget the women who lost their love ones and children who lost their feathers. Many young women didn't find a husband after the war, because there was a shortage of men. War causes so much suffering.

    • @dotty4654
      @dotty4654 Год назад +1

      @@josephinedewar4469 Very true, two of my Great Aunt's lost their husbands on the same day at Dunkirk, all the women left alone had tough lives as well just trying to provide for their families as well, there was little or no social security help then either, we don't know how lucky we are really.

  • @G8TIC
    @G8TIC Год назад +5

    Fantastic video and reaction. I too love my country for all these reasons and my heart goes out for all the soldiers and familys around the world that made the ultimate scarifice in order to make the world a better place ❤

  • @gailbirmingham6224
    @gailbirmingham6224 День назад

    Whenever I watch a programme about this the sacrifice our soldiers gave to us Including my great uncle. Who never came home it makes me cry and fills me with pride for our soldiers and our allies god keep you and bless you.

  • @tonybennett7904
    @tonybennett7904 Год назад +7

    Armistice day 11/11 at 11 am Remenberance Sunday marked with a tribute at the cenotaph

  • @alibrowne6374
    @alibrowne6374 Год назад +8

    I always wear a poppy. We were brought up to commemorate all those who sacrificed their lives for our freedoms. Many in WW1 were under 20! Emotional video. Thanks for sharing.

  • @rplant2259
    @rplant2259 Год назад

    My great grandfathers 3 older brothers joined the fight in ww1. Olderst and youngest of the three returned. One lost his life on 4th November 1918, one week before the armistice.
    Private Harold Plant, 2nd Manchester Regiment. Aged 20, dying of wounds. Never forget my ancestors and everyone who was one of the forgotten generation in ww1. Me and my father went to the centenary of his passing in 2018. Very emotional driving down French/Belgium narrow roads to see graveyards of 20-30 every 400 yards.
    Thank you for your reaction to this video from a US perspective

  • @lesleyallinson8738
    @lesleyallinson8738 2 месяца назад +1

    One year i helped make the poppy's, i will never forget and was proud to be British and we care about the lost men and women.
    The money raised is used to help so many we are proud to be able to help in our own little way

  • @gillcawthorn7572
    @gillcawthorn7572 Год назад +5

    These commemorate just the Commonwealth lives lost .Remember there were as many, if not more, on the allied and opposing sides in Europe and worldwide.
    The deaths of all these young men affected a whole generation of ordinary people. Not just the families who were grieving for loved ones lost ,but the many young women who`s fiances died but were not then able to marry because of the scarcity of appropriately aged men.
    I started work as a teenager in the early 1950s and we cruelly laughed at the numerous women ,then aged approximately 50,who seemed to us just old women ,never attractive enough to have married .Now I realise, that for many ,there were great tragedies in their lives .
    We need to remember that the Great War affected so many more .

  • @sheilaheald2509
    @sheilaheald2509 Год назад +7

    My maternal grandfather was in the trenches during WWI. He was injured and ended up in a concentration camp. He was one of the lucky ones..

  • @MsTJPink
    @MsTJPink 8 месяцев назад +1

    Every single Poppy was hand made, after the display they were sold. There were a limited amount, I am the proud owner of one. It's a precious gift to me. My Grandfather was a Desert Rat in WWII, he was also a German Jew, his family fled from Germany during WW1 because of the persecution.. My Grandad grew up in the East End of London. He was, and will remain, my hero. You say you don't have the words to express your feelings? It's ok, you don't have to. The fact that you shared it and you got it? Is enough mate.

  • @Jaydaydesign
    @Jaydaydesign Год назад +1

    The origins and significance of the Red Poppy for remembrance.
    The first plants to raise their heads and bloom on the wastelands of the battlefield at Flanders after the guns fell silent,were a carpet of wild red poppies. It made the the fields look like they were running red with blood.
    War created the prime conditions for the poppy to grow en-masse.
    Continual bombardment disturbed the soil and brought the seeds to the surface. They were fertilized by nitrogen in the explosives and lime from the shattered rubble of the buildings

  • @claregale9011
    @claregale9011 Год назад +8

    A very moving display , we will remember them . Thank-you Steve.

  • @trailerman2
    @trailerman2 Год назад +5

    Wonderful post. Thank you Steve with heartfelt thanks for your respect.

  • @jeaniehale1847
    @jeaniehale1847 Год назад +4

    I saw this in 2014 and it was incredibly moving. We have to remember that many, many men and women who did survive never recovered from the experiences and trauma they had suffered. The poppy was chosen as they grow where the soil has been disturbed. In the Spring following the end of the war the land was covered with poppies where the trenches were and battles had taken place.

  • @Distant394
    @Distant394 8 месяцев назад +1

    I’m the proud owner of a ceramic poppy they sold a certain amount off for charity and I was lucky enough to get 1 , it sits proudly in my garden

  • @cindychristie4327
    @cindychristie4327 Год назад +10

    My 19yr old cousin, is on eternal patrol after his sub was hit by German depth charges. RIP to all the fallen , you are all heroes.

    • @MC-nb6jx
      @MC-nb6jx Год назад +1

      “Eternal Patrol”..
      What a beautiful way of putting it 💕💕
      My Great Great Grandad never came back, lost somewhere in France💔💔

  • @jaynebutterfield6344
    @jaynebutterfield6344 Год назад +8

    They called it Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red. I am proud to be an owner of one of those poppies. They included the metal rod to keep them outside but I chose to keep it safe in a display case inside.

  • @zollykod2541
    @zollykod2541 10 месяцев назад

    My gran was the youngest of 8 children - 6 boys then 3 girls. 3 of her brothers died in WW1 - two of them just a week apart, a couple of weeks before the end of the war. I can't imagine how her parents, my great-grandparents, coped with losing three children in the space of a few weeks. I found recently a letter written to his mum by one of them, in 2015 - beautifully-written in every way. The First World War was total carnage. :(

  • @stagracesims6502
    @stagracesims6502 Год назад +2

    My great grandfather served in WW1, he served at the battle of the Somme, he was a cavalry rider. This is a true story he recanted to me when I was old enough to hear it. He had been fighting and storming trenches for months, on this particular occasion he had been fighting for seven days straight without any rest, breaks or proper sleep, he was finally ordered back from the front line by his commander to return to the secondary lines so he and his horse could get some rest, he was truly exhausted it was around 11.30pm. When he got to the rear of the lines, his friend was already there, they had been best friends since child hood, he also was a cavalry rider. His friend had dug himself a large fox hole for both him and his horse and saw Albert coming looking drawn, dazed and in dire need of food and sleep. He called out to Albert and said here come here, my fox hole is large enough for both our horses and us, come and rest. My grandfather recalls saying no I should dig my own foxhole we got orders but thanks anyway. He proceeded in then digging a hole for the next three hours to settle both him and his horse. He fed the horse , fed himself then passed out huddled up next to his steed, he was so exhausted you have no idea how much...to help explain how tired the following description will help you gauge true fatigue. The next morning around 9.30am he awoke, he was confussed and there was much commotion and shouting as he tried to gather his senses. As he did he looked down at his horse and indeed himself to see he was covered and his horse head to toe in body parts and blood, he soon became alert at this point, and then a sense of dread surged through his mind and he lurched up to the top of his fox hole to look over the top to check on his best friend...there was nothing left other than remains, most of which were on Albert, he didnt even wake from the shell landing no more than ten feet away, he lost his best friend that day, and I remember the pain as he told me this story, it choked me up, and as I looked at him he said one thing....this we is why we have rules.