I showed her the pictures of the wonderful display at Windsor Castle - so beautiful and to my mind a shame that it couldn't be permanent, but then I suppose if it had been a permanent display people would not have appreciated its beauty.
From what I understand, that display has been dismantled and moved on to other sites around the UK. I hope so, as it truly was a work of art.
Being of that generation, my dad and his brothers served in WW2. In fact, my paternal grandma had 3 sons who (I believe) served in WW2 - my dad, my uncle George and my uncle Phil. I'm not sure about uncle George's background, dad I know served in Europe and uncle Phil had part of his foot blown off in Singapore. My dad's dad served in WW1 and was wounded in the Dardanelles, from where he was shipped back to England. He died a few years later as a result of his injuries. My grandma was then left a widowed mother of 6 children from a poor background, but was lucky enough to meet and marry a good man with whom she later had two more children. As dad said, he was as good a father to me as I could ever have wished for - a compliment indeed, particularly in those awful times.
 |
| Dad |
 |
| This picture of my grandad is about 100 years old - printed on cardboard! |
On that note, I wish you all a safe and happy weekend, where we will hopefully all be able to show our gratitude and respect to those who went before and gave so much!
The poppy display was dismantled and all the poppies sold to raise money. My mum bought one :-)
ReplyDeleteWhat a nice tribute! Here in the States poppies were sold and worn when I was a kid in honor of Veterans. They were everywhere close to Veteran's Day and Memorial Day but I have not seen them in years here.
ReplyDeleteI also want to thank you for a post you made on my blog during June. My father had just died and you said something about looking for a white feather.as a sign my guardian angel was near. I thought it was a very nice thought, but that was all I thought since there are no while birds here. A few weeks ago I was pinching back the basil and right in the middle of the plant was a snow white feather.Of course I brought it in and now it is one of my treasures. Thank you! I am not sure I would have ever noticed it if not for you.
Oh Anne I am so glad that I made a difference. I do happen to believe in the afterlife and treasure the huge feather I found at my dad's funeral. Either way it is incredibly comforting and I'm glad your dad chose that way to get in touch. Anna
ReplyDeleteAlthough the Tower of London poppy display was dismantled and most of the poppies sold, some of them are being used in an installation named 'Weeping Window'. The display has been in Northumberland, where it cascaded from the winding gear at a museum of coalmining, and it is currently in Liverpool, at St George's Hall. These two locations were chosen to commemorate the fact that so many young men from those areas 'signed up' in what became known as 'Pal's Regiments' during WW1.
ReplyDeleteMy great uncle was killed at Gallipoli, and my great grandfather at the Somme, so I bought two 'Tower Poppies' as a tribute to them.
Thanks Legaleagle, I had a vague feeling that there was still a "mobile" display going around the country, and I'm so glad it is as it was beautiful. And I would have bought the poppies if I could have - we have so much to be grateful for to those young men (and women). It kind of makes me laugh today when you see the ages of those men that fought and yet often today's thugs of 18-22 are treated as "children" and not responsible for their actions because they are "traumatized" over something - probably not getting the latest iPhone. Sorry, I feel a rant coming on so had better shut up. Cheers though. Anna
ReplyDelete