REMEMBRANCE DAY TFTW W/C 9TH NOVEMBER

THIS TERM WE ARE LOOKING AT BRITISH VALUES But it is appropriate that this week we remember those that have given their lives so that these values can remain.

WHAT IS REMEMBRANCE DAY? Every year at the beginning of November, people begin to wear poppies. We all know that it’s something to do with remembering people who have died in wars, but sometimes it doesn’t feel that it has much to do with us personally. But if you are one of the many people who have been affected by the recent wars in such places as Iraq and Afghanistan you probably wish that other people knew more about the sacrifices that soldiers have made, and continue to make.

THE FIRST WORLD WAR The Great War broke out just over a hundred years ago in July This was war on a scale that had never been seen before. This was the first war to use aeroplanes, tanks and submarines; and machine guns, mortars and poison gas meant that thousands of people could be killed in minutes. In the face of such overwhelming destructive power, defence became increasingly important, so miles and miles of foul and slimy trenches were dug across northern France and Belgium.

JOHN MCRAE WROTE OF HIS EXPERIENCES IN HIS POEM “IN FLANDERS FIELD” 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. I f ye break faith with us who die We shall not sleep, though poppies grow In Flanders fields.

At the 11 th hour on the 11 th day of the 11 th month in 1918, the guns finally fell silent. So many people died during the war that it’s impossible to get accurate figures, but over 10 million were killed and over 20 million were injured. The American President at the time, Woodrow Wilson, called it “The war to end all wars”. But he was wrong: “The Great War” is now best known as “The First World War”. Conflict continued throughout the twentieth century and on into the twenty-first: The Second World War, the Korean War, the Vietnam War, the Falklands War, the Gulf War, the Bosnian War, the Iraq War, the Libyan Civil War, the Syrian Civil War, and now the fighting in Northern Iraq. Millions more people have lost their homes and families, or been injured or killed.

Some people wear the poppy as a symbol of support for soldiers who are still fighting, but that was never the intention when the tradition began. It was worn as a reminder of all the people who had died; a reminder that all people should help to create a world where men, women and children did not have to die in bloody conflict. So in many ways, it could be seen as a symbol of peace. When we have the two minutes silence at the 11 th hour on the 11 th day of the 11 th month, remember those who have died. Or remember those who are still fighting. Or think of a world with no war, and make a promise to do your best to achieve it.

FINALLY In your planners, on today’s date, write down 3 things you have discussed during this session.