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As you sit there reading this exactly one hundred years ago today the boys of the 38th Welsh Division, many of your relatives amongst them, were making their way forward to the jumping-off point for the attack on Pilckem Ridge that went in at dawn on the 31st.
A blue pennant stone cromlech surmounted by a red dragon now marks the spot and commemorates the fallen but every war memorial in Glamorgan you pass by today carries the reaper's roll-call.
Before you go to bed tonight spare a thought for the boys who never came back...
An idea isn't responsible for those who believe in it.
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Exactly 100 years ago today...Passchendaele on 16:25 - Jul 30 with 4303 views
The utter horror and futility of Passchendaele - and many of the other WW1 battles - is emotionally overwhelming & has been much on my mind today.
There's a programme on BBC2 at 7pm tonight to commemorate the battle, which I'll be watching, but whether I'll get through all 3 hours of it I don't know.
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Exactly 100 years ago today...Passchendaele on 16:50 - Jul 30 with 4266 views
My grandad falls between the cracks. Thankfully he came back (so not on any monument) but was knackered as a result of poison gas and died in the 1930s.
On my visit I found it hard to reconcile the beauty of that monument (and the surrounding area) with the horrors of what went on there. A real juxtaposition.
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Exactly 100 years ago today...Passchendaele on 17:36 - Jul 30 with 4204 views
Well said Lohengrin. My grand- father's brother joined under-age and was killed in 1917, no known grave. His mother apparently took in any young vagrant who walked into the village and gave them a meal, a save and a bath- in the hope it was her missing son. Pitiful.
"Yossarian- the very sight of the name made him shudder.There were so many esses in it. It just had to be subversive" (Catch 22)
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Exactly 100 years ago today...Passchendaele on 18:02 - Jul 30 with 4171 views
Exactly 100 years ago today...Passchendaele on 17:36 - Jul 30 by Yossarian
Well said Lohengrin. My grand- father's brother joined under-age and was killed in 1917, no known grave. His mother apparently took in any young vagrant who walked into the village and gave them a meal, a save and a bath- in the hope it was her missing son. Pitiful.
That lady was far from alone in being consumed by grief, mate. It was with good reason that history and literature came to refer to the period 1918-1920 as 'The Great Silence.' For many the enormity of what had been endured, the crushing sadness of empty seats at the family dining table was benumbing.
When you hear talk of 'the war' today it is usually shorthand for World War II but the reality is the losses of The Great War, in terms of British lives cut short, utterly dwarfed the successor conflict.
An idea isn't responsible for those who believe in it.
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Exactly 100 years ago today...Passchendaele on 18:50 - Jul 30 with 4121 views
Exactly 100 years ago today...Passchendaele on 18:17 - Jul 30 by Lohengrin
That lady was far from alone in being consumed by grief, mate. It was with good reason that history and literature came to refer to the period 1918-1920 as 'The Great Silence.' For many the enormity of what had been endured, the crushing sadness of empty seats at the family dining table was benumbing.
When you hear talk of 'the war' today it is usually shorthand for World War II but the reality is the losses of The Great War, in terms of British lives cut short, utterly dwarfed the successor conflict.
Yes. It's tragedy determined the course of the nation in so many ways, and its influence is still relevant today.
"Yossarian- the very sight of the name made him shudder.There were so many esses in it. It just had to be subversive" (Catch 22)
Exactly 100 years ago today...Passchendaele on 18:17 - Jul 30 by Lohengrin
That lady was far from alone in being consumed by grief, mate. It was with good reason that history and literature came to refer to the period 1918-1920 as 'The Great Silence.' For many the enormity of what had been endured, the crushing sadness of empty seats at the family dining table was benumbing.
When you hear talk of 'the war' today it is usually shorthand for World War II but the reality is the losses of The Great War, in terms of British lives cut short, utterly dwarfed the successor conflict.
My relative was in the third battle. Sadly never found him, but he's at Tyne Cot with all his comrades.
RIP David Reginald Michael. Death 6th November 1917. Aged 19. Son of David Michael 205 Oxford street, swansea. Tyne cot memorial.
POSTER OF THE YEAR 2013.
PROUD RECIPIENT OF THE SECOND PLANET SWANS LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD.
150 of us are taking part in a charity bike ride to raise funds for SSAFA, the main armed forces charity. The event is called "Cycle the Somme" and we will be stopping to pay our respects at the Welsh regiment memorial at Mametz Wood and other battlefield sites. General f******g Haig replaced the commanding officer Major General Ivor Phillips for not trying hard enough to take Mametz, and the 14th Swansea battalion lost 400 either killed or wounded out of a force of 676 in one day in the next attack.
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Exactly 100 years ago today...Passchendaele on 19:40 - Jul 30 with 4065 views
Prince William excellent at the Service. Where is Charles these days?
Jackportis the brand. “A gifted posterâ€, “planet swans have a real talent on their hands in the name of Jackportis†sky sports 2018. . JP fully supports posters of LBG, mx orientation and ethnic minority groups. Update - now fully supporting the pansexual community.
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Exactly 100 years ago today...Passchendaele on 20:21 - Jul 30 with 4007 views
Exactly 100 years ago today...Passchendaele on 20:21 - Jul 30 by dickythorpe
Putting weed killer in his old man's tea
Philip has the question marks over him? Like 20 years ago this week.
Jackportis the brand. “A gifted posterâ€, “planet swans have a real talent on their hands in the name of Jackportis†sky sports 2018. . JP fully supports posters of LBG, mx orientation and ethnic minority groups. Update - now fully supporting the pansexual community.
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Exactly 100 years ago today...Passchendaele on 21:29 - Jul 30 with 3956 views
There is nothing we can thank these men for. It's an insult to thank them for simply being slaughtered. Just like posthumous VC's and other military awards are given, it's about time the same recognition is passed on to those that sent these young men to their graves. They should officially be remembered as mass murderers, because that is what they were.
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Exactly 100 years ago today...Passchendaele on 21:41 - Jul 30 with 3922 views
I know passchendaele is the epitome of futility, but also bear in mind, in 1939 we went to war for Poland's freedom, in 1945 it would be another 45 years before Poland became free. In 1914 we went to war for Belgium's freedom, in 1918 Belgium was free.
WW2 was ultimately won by American resources and Russian lives, The great war was won by the British armed forces, with the RN blockade of Germany being crucial, and the 100 days offensive a great a victory as any in British military history. Not forgetting the massive sacrifice France paid in lives lost.
Exactly 100 years ago today...Passchendaele on 21:29 - Jul 30 by Garyjack
There is nothing we can thank these men for. It's an insult to thank them for simply being slaughtered. Just like posthumous VC's and other military awards are given, it's about time the same recognition is passed on to those that sent these young men to their graves. They should officially be remembered as mass murderers, because that is what they were.
History has largely forgotten them (apart from Churchill obviously) and that is probably the greatest insult those men could endure. They probably saw themselves as the next Nelson or Wellington. Instead we think of them as general melchett.
The creatures outside looked from pig to man, and from man to pig, and from pig to man again; but already it was impossible to say which was which.
Over the years watching the various programs where survivors of the Great War gave interviews about their experiences. Many talking for the first time, it brought tears to my eyes watching these brave men cry when talking about how they had lost their mates and the carnage they had witnessed.
Many of these men like Harry Patch.....The Last Fighting Tommy...He only agreed in 1998 to talk to the cameras for the first time, so that future generations could see that War is futile, and that Governments only see them as "cannon fodder"
My own grandfather died in 1920 as the result of injuries sustained in 1915, which resulted in my father and sisters being put in an orphanage. These were the unforeseen results of the Great War for thousands of families long after it finished.
Rest in Peace. Heroes One and All
Everyday above ground ... Is a good day! 😎
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Exactly 100 years ago today...Passchendaele on 14:40 - Jul 31 with 3646 views
Exactly 100 years ago today...Passchendaele on 11:01 - Jul 31 by Highjack
History has largely forgotten them (apart from Churchill obviously) and that is probably the greatest insult those men could endure. They probably saw themselves as the next Nelson or Wellington. Instead we think of them as general melchett.
Strangely enough, mate, the 38th's OC at Passchendaele was General Blackader. That's not a joke either, and he seems to have been a capable and decent officer not at all like the stereotype portrayed in'Oh! what a lovely war.'
Killy if you're reading this it's the same man who put down the Easter Rising and had kind words to say about Pearse after the Court Martial.
An idea isn't responsible for those who believe in it.
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Exactly 100 years ago today...Passchendaele on 15:14 - Jul 31 with 3619 views
A very good read as to the military decisions made in WW1 is 'Mud, Blood and Poppycock' by Gordon Corrigan. Well recommended and discusses many of the myths that surround the Great War.
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