The past three days had been a time for the world to reflect and to remember past events, making it a weekend of Remembrance.

The Berlin Wall

Saturday marked the 30th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. The Wall was built in 1961 to stop the flood of people living in Communist East Germany moving in hope of a better life in the liberal West. It divided Berlin for 28 years before the border finally opened on November 9th 1989. In the 28 years at least 138 people died trying to cross the border. While some did make it safely across, it is unclear how many people exactly reached the western part. Some estimates claim that 5,000 East Germans reached West Berlin via the Wall. "Tear down this wall" is a line from a speech made by U.S. 40th President Ronald Reagan in West Berlin in1987, calling for the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev, to open the Berlin Wall. This happened during the “Thatcher, Reagan and Gorbachev" era.

Remembrance Sunday

Remembrance Sunday is held in the United Kingdom as a day "to commemorate the contribution of British and Commonwealth military and civilian servicemen and women in the two World Wars and later conflicts". It is held at 11.00 am on the second Sunday in November. This year marks the 75th anniversary of D-Day, the Battle of Kohima in India, the Battle of Arnhem in the Netherlands and the Battle of Monte Cassino in Italy. In London members of the Royal family and Government, leaders gather at the Cenotaph in Whitehall, Westminster for the traditional “poppy “wreath-laying service.

Cenotaph; (sin-a-taf) is an empty tomb or a monument erected in honour of a person or group of people whose remains are elsewhere.

Elsewhere in Kent countryside, a World War II plane flanked (accompanied) by two iconic Spitfires scattered 750,000 poppies over the famous White Cliffs of Dover in tribute to fallen soldiers.

White Cliffs of Dover

The White Cliffs are hugely iconic in Britain – due to their place in military history. They sit across the narrowest part of the Channel, facing towards continental Europe at its closest point to Britain and forming a symbolic guard against invasion. On a clear day, the white tops can be seen from France.

WW I: July 28, 1914 – November 11, 1918

Germany had formally surrendered on November 11, 1918, and all nations had agreed to stop fighting while the terms of peace were negotiated. On June 28, 1919, Germany and the Allied Nations (including Britain, France, Italy and Russia) signed the Treaty of Versailles, formally ending the war.

WW II: Sept 1, 1939 – Sept 2, 1945

Northern Ireland

For the past eight years, politicians and veterans from both sides of the Irish border have jointly- attended Remembrance Sunday service in Northern Ireland. The Irish Taoiseach (prime minister) laid a green laurel wreath commemorating the atrocity in Enniskillen. In November 1987, during the Remembrance Sunday ceremony the IRA detonated a bomb killing 12 and injuring 68. During the conflict in Northern Ireland a total of 186 children under the age of 16 were killed including a 7- month pregnant mother with her unborn twins.

Ireland

World War One: In all, about 210,000 Irishmen served in the British forces during World War One. Since there was no conscription, about 140,000 of these joined during the war as volunteers. 35,000 Irish died.

World War Two: 42,665 Irish citizens volunteered for service with the British armed forces. More than 5,000 volunteers were killed and many thousands more wounded.

Remembrance Day (Armistice Day) (11/11/11)

Yesterday, 11th November; Remembrance Day is a national holiday in France and Belgium. It commemorates the armistice signed between the Allies and Germany at Compiègne, France, for the cessation of hostilities on the Western Front, which took effect at 11:00 am—the "eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month." Yesterday marked 100 years since the two-minute silence was first observed on Armistice Day on November 11, 1919.

Now, 2019 we have the “snowflake generation” in the UK trying to stop these ceremonies! One deluded-flake reality TV stars said; World War Two should not be taught in schools as it is “too intense” and would upset children. He went on to say “we have bigger things to worry about like Brexit”. What are parents teaching this Pea-Brain-Generation?

Can you imagine in the future Kim Jong-un or Putin launching a nuclear missile, against Snowflake -Solders? Wait wait-Selfie! or Be careful-My hair!

Remembering the sacrifices of the past is not “glorifying war” it’s showing a mark of respect for the fallen.

Until next Tuesday-Be good

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