Thursday, 6 June 2013

Poppies - a Symbol of Remembrance

At the end of a very wet trip to France last week we stopped off at Arromanches on the way home. This small French seaside village was one of the places where allied soldiers fought their way ashore on D Day 6th June 1944. The locals were making preparations for the 69th D-Day Memorial Service and standing on the beach in the rain among the remains of the Mulberry Harbour it really made me think of the price people paid so that we could be free.

Something that stood out on this trip was the thousands and thousands of poppies we saw growing all over France. Waste ground, fields, grass verges, even railway tracks all had poppies in full bloom - a truly poignant symbol of remembrance.


06D-7614 Poppies (Papaver rhoes)
Fields of poppies always remind me of the words from "For the Fallen" By Laurence Binyon

"They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them."

2 comments:

  1. Very poignant. The words and the picture. Both are stark reminders of war and its horrors. But despite that, there are plenty of people in high places who are just too eager to embark on new atrocities.
    Cheers, Alen

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    Replies
    1. Very true Alen. When I watch the news atrocities seem to be committed on a daily basis. Sadly many more go unreported.

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