My grandfather, fought alongside ANZAC troops in the trenches during WW1.
He told my father they were some of the finest troops going.
"We shall remember them".
IKB.
It is worthwhile takng two minutes to close your eyes and try to imagine the horrors the front-line men of World War 1 went through.............many of their experiences were so vile, so horrible that many of the men couldn't ever talk about them afterwards.
I am ashamed to say that us kids took the mickey remorselessly out of a lovely old gentleman named Sid Rice. As he would walk across the fields on a cold morning to check on his livestock, with his walking stick, a pronounced limp and a hacking cough we would follow at a safe distance behind and call out "Hiya Sid, how's your heart, your lungs, your liver and your leg?" Of course, we didn't know any better and it was only at his funeral that we were told of his bravery in the trenches! To think of what he did
for us so that we could breathe free air, and all we did was torment him!
Lest we forget!
If ever you get the chance to see any of the old War Graves in Northern France, pop-in and have a look. Row upon row of little crosses. It will move you!
..........and I am not just remembering the Allied troops in my thoughts - all the men who were called up or volunteered to fight did so because they believed, or made to believe, in what they were doing. We are so fortunate to have lived through relatively peaceful times!
