Lest we Forget

Opening my post on 13th July was an unusual delight.  I was so thrilled to receive a copy of the Oldbury-on-Severn magazine,‘4-Ward’, which contained many interesting references to my Great Uncle Herbert.  It was especially lovely that it arrived exactly on the 100th anniversary of his death at the Somme aged 20.  Each of the 18 young men of Oldbury-on-Severn who died in WWI are being carefully researched.  Tributes to them are displayed in St. Arilda’s Church and their community magazine.

Herbert’s mother kept a candle lit in her window until her dying day, and never got over the loss of her son who went ‘missing in action’.  His youngest sister had kept Herbert’s photo close all those years.  It must have been devastating for his three teenage sisters when he was killed.  Across the country, millions more local lads are remembered who made the ultimate sacrifice for us all.

Over the last month, tributes have been paid to all those who died in the Battles of the Somme.  There is scarcely a village in the Country that did not mourn loved ones slaughtered in this or other battles of WWI.  Here in Eastington 22 young men died, and are listed on the War Memorial.  (Arthur) John Davis of Millend was also killed on the Somme.  He too is listed on the Theipval Memorial as killed on the 31st July 1916, aged 20.  Maybe his Mother also kept a candle burning for him in the hope that her missing son might return one day?

Some memorials list more than the names of those killed.  Less we forget what led to the devastating world wars of the 20th Century poignant advice is sometimes offered. In a discreet corner of Goslar, Germany, we recently came across a War Memorial with a simple message; the translation reads:

Renounce Hatred

Reconcile and Serve The Peace -

Build Bridges between Each Other

Given the current uncertainties across our troubled world, it may be sobering to reflect on our options to avoid history repeating itself, with inevitable tragic consequences.  

Andrew Niblett