 |
Forum Eerste Wereldoorlog Hét WO1-forum voor Nederland en Vlaanderen
|
Vorige onderwerp :: Volgende onderwerp |
Auteur |
Bericht |
Regulus 1
Geregistreerd op: 17-7-2005 Berichten: 12472 Woonplaats: Jabbeke, Flanders - Home of the Marine Jagdgeschwader in WW I
|
|
Naar boven |
|
 |
Yvonne Admin

Geregistreerd op: 2-2-2005 Berichten: 45639
|
|
Naar boven |
|
 |
Yvonne Admin

Geregistreerd op: 2-2-2005 Berichten: 45639
|
|
Naar boven |
|
 |
Yvonne Admin

Geregistreerd op: 2-2-2005 Berichten: 45639
|
|
Naar boven |
|
 |
Yvonne Admin

Geregistreerd op: 2-2-2005 Berichten: 45639
|
|
Naar boven |
|
 |
Yvonne Admin

Geregistreerd op: 2-2-2005 Berichten: 45639
|
|
Naar boven |
|
 |
Yvonne Admin

Geregistreerd op: 2-2-2005 Berichten: 45639
|
Geplaatst: 16 Nov 2008 11:58 Onderwerp: |
|
|
Artikel:
Belgium marks 90th anniversary of WWI armistice
By Peter Bills at Ypres, Belgium
Wednesday, 12 November 2008
Independent.co.uk Web
Under the Menin Gate in the heart of Ypres, where the names of the 56,000 fallen on the Somme who have no known grave are inscribed, those who never knew, who couldn’t know strutted as proud as peacocks in their crisply pressed uniforms and civilian suits.
They played the Last Post, as they have here every night of the year since 1928. On the 90th anniversary of the ending of the Great War – the war to end all wars, the naïve called it – the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month was greeted with solemn ceremonies, the salute of dignatories and the silent tears of ordinary people.
And at the appointed moment, the exact time when the guns had at last fallen silent in 1918, their murderous business finally sated, the skies opened above this town of mourning. The tears of heaven fell in torrents, just as they had the night before.
Yet here, out in the graveyard just beyond the rebuilt town of Ypres, the lone piper playing his hauntingly melancholic lament beneath the Menin Gate could not be heard. Here, by complete contrast, the appointed moment passed without ceremony. Only the rushing wind, whistling through the trees, assailed the senses. That and the mind, with our thoughts of the loss, the terrible, wrenching loss?
Yet there was more. Here in the Ramparts cemetery and further away, down a quiet country lane where members of the Royal Irish Rifles are buried, some lie unknown, with headstones inscribed ‘A Soldier of the Great War’. As the rain poured down, the mud glistened in the surrounding fields and deep puddles swelled in the streets leading towards this saddened town.
Men like Corporal T. Wharepapa, and Privates H. Hauiti and P. Marunui rest here, all were members of the New Zealand Maori battalion. All three died on 23 December 1917 and they lay buried side by side. Comrades in life and in death.
Close by their headstones, separated only by the billowing autumn leaves that fell like the poppies from the roof of the Menin Gate during yesterday’s ceremony, lay more New Zealanders: Lance Corporals W.J. Bickerstaff and J.G. Snodgrass plus Sapper H.W. Neason of the NZ Engineers. All perished at a time when the war still had its murderous course to run.
The cemetery dedicated to the Royal Irish Rifles near Laventie lies in the heart of the countryside. Here, some lie unknown, with headstones inscribed ‘An Officer of the Great War, Irish Guards’. As the rain poured down, the mud glistened in the surrounding fields and deep puddles swelled beside the narrow, twisting lane. We, who never knew, stood silent under the elements; watching, wondering... For sure, there was no roaring of the guns but was it anything like this when these brave men fell?
Rest van het artikel:
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/belgium-marks-90th-anniversary-of-wwi-armistice-1013833.html _________________ Met hart en ziel
De enige echte
https://twitter.com/ForumWO1 |
|
Naar boven |
|
 |
Yvonne Admin

Geregistreerd op: 2-2-2005 Berichten: 45639
|
|
Naar boven |
|
 |
Yvonne Admin

Geregistreerd op: 2-2-2005 Berichten: 45639
|
|
Naar boven |
|
 |
|
|
Je mag geen nieuwe onderwerpen plaatsen Je mag geen reacties plaatsen Je mag je berichten niet bewerken Je mag je berichten niet verwijderen Ja mag niet stemmen in polls
|
Powered by phpBB © 2001, 2002 phpBB Group
|