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Remembrance Day.
Friday, 11 November 2005 12:04 pmAn Irish Airman Forsees His Death
I know that I shall meet my fate
Somewhere among the clouds above;
Those I fight I do not hate,
Those I guard I do not love.
My country is Kiltartan Cross,
My countrymen Kiltartan's poor,
No likely end could bring them loss
or leave them happier than before.
Nor law, nor duty bade me fight,
Nor public men, nor cheering crowds.
A lowly impulse of delight
Drove to this tumult in the clouds.
I balanced all, brought all to mind,
The years to come seemed waste of breath;
a waste of breath the years behind,
In balance with this life, this death.
-- W.B. Yeats.
My favourite poem.
I've been watching Band of Brothers recently, and it has revived my love and respect for those who served in the Wars. The stories of many of the soldiers, which it tells, are true. In my teens, I was obsessed with WWII. My favourite plane of all time is the B17 Flying Fortress (like the Memphis Belle, for those who know what I am talking about), which was one of the most important American craft at the time. Ten men in each. Two pilots, a bombadier, a navigator, a radio operator and five gunners - including one in a rotating 'ball turret' beneath the fusilage. Death traps.
Every year, when I was in the ATC, I took part in the parade at Runnymede memorial - a large white building with a square court yard. I always found it incredibly moving, seeing the last of the old WWI soldiers and the terribly English pride of the WWII veterans; and as part of St. John, I was glad to see others marking the occasion, today. We stood outside - some people with their heads bowed, some (myself included) at attention; those of us who had been involved in the military and really knew what we were commemorating.
If I had gone into the RAF as I wanted to, I would probably have been drafted out to Iraq or Afghanistan by now. I could have been one of those dead, even though I opposed the reasoning behind the conflicts.
Or, I could have been one of the military wives, whose husbands have been lost. Playing Sarah in The Accrington Pals also brought that home to me. Every soldier lost - particularly in the World Wars - may now be remembered in a romanticised and heroic fashion, but they were also people. Many of them didn't even want to be there but had no choice. Don't forget that part when you remember them.
I know that I shall meet my fate
Somewhere among the clouds above;
Those I fight I do not hate,
Those I guard I do not love.
My country is Kiltartan Cross,
My countrymen Kiltartan's poor,
No likely end could bring them loss
or leave them happier than before.
Nor law, nor duty bade me fight,
Nor public men, nor cheering crowds.
A lowly impulse of delight
Drove to this tumult in the clouds.
I balanced all, brought all to mind,
The years to come seemed waste of breath;
a waste of breath the years behind,
In balance with this life, this death.
-- W.B. Yeats.
My favourite poem.
I've been watching Band of Brothers recently, and it has revived my love and respect for those who served in the Wars. The stories of many of the soldiers, which it tells, are true. In my teens, I was obsessed with WWII. My favourite plane of all time is the B17 Flying Fortress (like the Memphis Belle, for those who know what I am talking about), which was one of the most important American craft at the time. Ten men in each. Two pilots, a bombadier, a navigator, a radio operator and five gunners - including one in a rotating 'ball turret' beneath the fusilage. Death traps.
Every year, when I was in the ATC, I took part in the parade at Runnymede memorial - a large white building with a square court yard. I always found it incredibly moving, seeing the last of the old WWI soldiers and the terribly English pride of the WWII veterans; and as part of St. John, I was glad to see others marking the occasion, today. We stood outside - some people with their heads bowed, some (myself included) at attention; those of us who had been involved in the military and really knew what we were commemorating.
If I had gone into the RAF as I wanted to, I would probably have been drafted out to Iraq or Afghanistan by now. I could have been one of those dead, even though I opposed the reasoning behind the conflicts.
Or, I could have been one of the military wives, whose husbands have been lost. Playing Sarah in The Accrington Pals also brought that home to me. Every soldier lost - particularly in the World Wars - may now be remembered in a romanticised and heroic fashion, but they were also people. Many of them didn't even want to be there but had no choice. Don't forget that part when you remember them.