Rememberance Day

[peapod]

Since today is rememberance day, maybe some people have a story about a relative or family member or even friends that had gone to war. Today I remember my grandfather, I never knew him, he died when I was 2. But because of genealogy I did get to know him a little. I obtained all his records from the first world war. He lied about his age, he was only 15. His hosptial records, from when he was wounded twice in a trench from shrapnel. I sometimes really wonder what it must be like to see all that at the age of 15. I read up on world war one because of him, and it was brutual. Later I obtained a set of letters he wrote his mother during his time at ypers. So today I think about him doing that leaving his home at the age of 15 to go to another land and see things that nobody should have to see. I am in awe of him.

The other person I think about today is a friend I made through where I work, which is with seniors. Sometimes you meet someone and they have a light around there face. You just know immediately that this person is special. His name was Mike cooper-slipper. He was the kindest most humbiest man I have ever met. Just to be around him you felt you were some kind of presence. It made you feel small, but in a pleasant way. As I got to know mike and his wife, I understood what made him so special. He was and still is the only idea of a "hero" I have ever met. His most startling qualitity was his absolute humility. He passed away in February, and his service was befitting for the person he was. I was happy that he was put into the canadian aviation hall of fame before he died. And he also made it back for one last time to the battle of britian rememberance with his son Chris. He shared his stories and his idealogy of war, with me, and who better than he to have
one. He was decorated as an ace in the battle of britian at the age of 19, and was captured by the japanese in the pacfic. He was the test pilot for the avro. He was one of the finest human beings I have ever met. Below are some links about Mike Cooper-Slipper and the avro. Do you have someone you think about on this day?

http://www.battleofbritain.net/bobhsoc/obit-slipper.html

http://www.avroland.ca/al-people-mike-2.html

http://www.avroland.ca/al-people-m-cooper-slipper.shtml

 

[broady]

I came across this post recently while searching the net for possible new articles regarding my late father, Mike Cooper-Slipper. Our family and countless friends who have now read the post were touched by the very kind and sincere words you wrote about Mike. To whoever the author is, on behalf of everyone that knew and loved Mike.....................thank you.

 

[broady]

I came across this post recently while searching the net for possible new articles regarding my late father, Mike Cooper-Slipper. Our family and countless friends who have now read the post were touched by the very kind and sincere words you wrote about Mike. To whoever the author is, on behalf of everyone that knew and loved Mike.....................thank you.

 

[broady]

I came across this post recently while searching the net for possible new articles regarding my late father, Mike Cooper-Slipper. Our family and countless friends who have now read the post were touched by the very kind and sincere words you wrote about Mike. To whoever the author is, on behalf of everyone that knew and loved Mike.....................thank you.

 

[peapod]

Wow!! I am completely blown away that you read this chris We never met, but we did talk on the phone once. I attended your father's funeral, but there were so many people, I did not get a chance to meet you or your wife and daughter. I will call your mom Rita and tell her who peapod is, I think you will have heard of me by my real name :wink:

It was a honor to know your father, he truly was one of the finest human beings I ever met, to talk with him and spend time with him was a humbling experience. You are very lucky to have had such a wonderful man for a father. I hope I get to met you one day when you are out this way visiting your mom...

 

[peapod]

Wow!! I am completely blown away that you read this chris We never met, but we did talk on the phone once. I attended your father's funeral, but there were so many people, I did not get a chance to meet you or your wife and daughter. I will call your mom Rita and tell her who peapod is, I think you will have heard of me by my real name :wink:

It was a honor to know your father, he truly was one of the finest human beings I ever met, to talk with him and spend time with him was a humbling experience. You are very lucky to have had such a wonderful man for a father. I hope I get to met you one day when you are out this way visiting your mom...

 

[peapod]

Wow!! I am completely blown away that you read this chris We never met, but we did talk on the phone once. I attended your father's funeral, but there were so many people, I did not get a chance to meet you or your wife and daughter. I will call your mom Rita and tell her who peapod is, I think you will have heard of me by my real name :wink:

It was a honor to know your father, he truly was one of the finest human beings I ever met, to talk with him and spend time with him was a humbling experience. You are very lucky to have had such a wonderful man for a father. I hope I get to met you one day when you are out this way visiting your mom...

 

[no1important]

Well another Remberance Day is fast approaching. Does anyone here do anything to acknowledge it?

I usually go down to the ceremonies at Victory Square downtown Vancouver (Cambie/Hastings/Hamilton/Pender all surround it). I stay for the ceremonies then I hang around and talk to some of the vetrans. They have very interesting accounts of the war and seem happy that someone is interested in what happened. They basically just want people to remember the sacrifice they and their buddies made, including the great many that did not come home.

During the moment of silence I usually think of the vets and my two grandfathers that served during the second world war.

One grandfather was based in Scotland and in the army during the war. My other Grandfather was in the Navy and served aboard the H.M.C.S Micmac and the H.M.C.S. Sussex-vale (not to be confused with the British ship H.M.S. Sussex). Sadly both are deceased now as are many veterans from the second world war and all I believe from the first war.

So this Friday stop for a moment and think about the Soldiers, Sailors,Airmen,Merchant Navy and others who sacrificed to stop great evils during the Two World wars and Korea.

BTW-Does anyone know why Americans do not wear poppies for Remberance day?

 

[#juan]

It has been a tradition at our house

for at least thirty years to sit in front of the TV and watch the Remembrance Day ceremonies from Ottawa. I remember when there were many thousands of WW1 veterans marching past the Cenotaph. Last year I think there was only three or four WW1 vets left, all over a hundred years old.

WW2 veterans are now all in their eighties and their numbers are dwindling. It brings a tear to my eye to think that during WW2 our military was a million strong. A million men and women in uniform from a country with a population of about nine million. A hundred and ten Canadian ships took part in the Normandy invasion on D-day.

I will be watching again this year.

 

[missile]

I am proud to wear the poppy every year, and I wear the poppy pin all year round. I remember the uncles who died in the War..the ones I never had the chance to know.

 

[Andygal]

Both my grandfathers fought for Canada in WWII. My grandmother's brother died in WWII(He was a Spitfire pilot). Those are the people I think of on Rememberance day.

 

[Dexter Sinister]

My mother's father was at Vimy Ridge. My father's friends were at Dieppe with the Hamilton Light Infantry. He and his brother were the only young men on the block they grew up on in Hamilton who survived the war. The fathers of my friends were in Sicily and Italy, on the beach on D-Day, and at the liberation of the Netherlands. They were prairie kids like me, with the Regina Rifles, the Royal Winnipeg Rifles, the storied Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry, the Stormont Dundas and Glengarry Highlanders... Most of them younger than my son is now. And because of the choices they made and the things they did, there's an ugly decision I've never had to make and my life is one of extraordinary comfort and privilege.

I wear the poppy with pride and gratitude.

 

[TenPenny]

My Grandfather's younger brother was a Rhodes Scolar who went overseas in WW1, and died of injuries within 2 months. Fortunately, we have his diary. Which is pretty stunning reading.

 

[Dexter Sinister]

Any chance you could share some of it with us?

 

[#juan]

In Flanders Fields


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.

http://www.greatwar.nl/

 

[#juan]

I think it is time to dust this topic off again and think of those Canadians still interred in foreign fields.

 

[Ocean Breeze]

In Flanders Fields


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.

http://www.greatwar.nl/

thanks for posting this.

A moment of respectful silence scheduled for tomorrow at 11:00 A.M. (at this end)

 

[#juan]

In Flanders Fields


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.

http://www.greatwar.nl/

thanks for posting this.

A moment of respectful silence scheduled for tomorrow at 11:00 A.M. (at this end)

And thank you for keeping it going.

 

[yballa09]

Living in the US going to college we have a Canadian Club here (about 50 people) and we have been handing out poppies all around the student centre this week. There is also a short ceremony from 11:00-11:15 (cant be too long because classes are still in session) which will also contain the traditional moment of silence. I am so proud and thankful to be a Canadian and be a part of this great heritage that we have. My grandfather fought in WWII. He was injured on his first assignment and therefore was sent home. I was told by him that the man who took his spot was killed. It is sobering to think of all of those noble and brave men and women who fought to help us preserve our freedom. Let us never forget their great sacrifices.

 

[Blackleaf]

The town of Assisi in Italy has adopted hundreds of British and Commonwealth war graves, as a "thank-you" to the British and Commonwealth soldiers who liberated their town in 1944 -


The Times November 11, 2005

Assisi adopts graves of heroes who fell liberating their city
From Martin Penner in Rome



THE people of Assisi have found a touching way of honouring the sacrifice of British and Commonwealth troops who died liberating their town in June 1944. Aware that the real relatives of the dead soldiers live too far away to visit the Commonwealth War Cemetery in Assisi, locals have begun “adopting” the graves of the 945 men that are buried there.

The “adopt a hero” initiative started last year and more than 300 graves have been allocated so far. Participants promise to visit the grave of their “hero” at least once a year, on the anniversary of his death, and to leave a flower there.

But more important than any practical obligation is a personal commitment to keep the memory of a particular soldier alive. “We want people to understand what this cemetery means and to carry this knowledge with them,” Vincenzo Cavanna, the co-ordinator, said, adding that until recently few people in Assisi had clear ideas about the site’s significance.

Signor Cavanna, 82, said that while allocating graves he has tried to prioritise soldiers from New Zealand, Australia and South Africa because their relatives were the least likely to visit.

The cemetery is almost always empty. Romeo Cianchetti, head of the local Second World War veterans’ association, decided something had to be done. The idea of an “adoption” scheme came to him amid preparations for the 61st anniversary of the arrival of Allied troops in Assisi on June 17, 1944.

Some local people have managed to put behind them past bitterness, taking this opportunity to make a gesture of reconciliation. Emiliano Zibetti was 3 in April 1944, when his father was strafed and killed by the machine guns of an RAF aircraft. The incident happened as he drove to a funeral in a lorry laden with wreaths.

Signor Zibetti admitted his family had been bitter for years because of the circumstances of his father’s death. But he has adopted the grave of Harry Barnett, a gunner in the Royal Horse Artillery (2nd regiment), who came from Ledbury, Herefordshire. He was killed about ten weeks after Signor Zibetti’s father, and was the same age. “I’ve come a long way mentally. But now, whenever I go to my father’s grave I also go to see Harry’s, too. They’ re buried only a kilometre apart.”

THE FALLEN

The Assisi cemetery has 798 British graves, 55 South African, 49 Canadian, 29 New Zealand, 10 Indian and 4 of unknown nationality


The Armistice Day two-minute silence starts today at 11am


The Royal British Legion Festival of Remembrance will be held on Saturday evening at the Royal Albert Hall before the Queen and the Prince of Wales


The Cenotaph Parade takes place on Sunday when a wreath will be laid by the Queen


The Combined Services men’s rugby team will play the Barbarians and the women’s team will play Netherlands Newbury RFC on November 15


34 million poppies, 107,000 wreaths and 800,000 Remembrance crosses will be made at the Poppy Factory in Richmond this year


There has been only one year, 1968, since the Second World War without a British service death on active service - Britain is the only country in the world in which it has had a soldier killed in combat in almost every year since WWII