Will do. How brave they were. 

braver than me

imagine 17yr olds now!

'im not goin OTT now innit! its madness innit! i'll be shot or shanked'

and you know what?

i wouldnt effing blame them

my candle is gonna shine for all them kids that were deemed 'deserters or cowards'

scared stiff-legging it-crying for their ma's

then shot by their own side for not being brave enough

The Great War 1914-1918
For the Fallen
Robert Laurence Binyon, by artist William Strang. Laurence Binyon

Poem by Robert Laurence Binyon (1869-1943), published in The Times newspaper on 21st September 1914.

With proud thanksgiving, a mother for her children,
England mourns for her dead across the sea.
Flesh of her flesh they were, spirit of her spirit,
Fallen in the cause of the free.

Solemn the drums thrill: Death august and royal
Sings sorrow up into immortal spheres.
There is music in the midst of desolation
And a glory that shines upon our tears.

They went with songs to the battle, they were young,
Straight of limb, true of eye, steady and aglow.
They were staunch to the end against odds uncounted,
They fell with their faces to the foe.

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.

They mingle not with their laughing comrades again;
They sit no more at familiar tables of home;
They have no lot in our labour of the day-time;
They sleep beyond England's foam.

But where our desires are and our hopes profound,
Felt as a well-spring that is hidden from sight,
To the innermost heart of their own land they are known
As the stars are known to the Night;

As the stars that shall be bright when we are dust,
Moving in marches upon the heavenly plain,
As the stars that are starry in the time of our darkness,
To the end, to the end, they remain.

We've got our candle ready.

Many of those 'Shot at Dawn' that were deemed to be deserters or cowards were neither.  They were suffering from shell-shock, Post Traumatic Stress and other problems that were a result of what they had gone through, seeing their pals blown to bits right next to them, for instance.

The young lad, Herbert Burden, who was the inspiration for the Shot at Dawn memorial had actually lied about his age to get into the Army and, at the time he was shot (by his own side) he was still too young, officially, to be in his regiment.

I will be doing it Pirate ....I feel it's the least I can do ....so I've got my candle ready .

The Archers had a lovely commemoration tonight too....brought a tear to me eye  

I missed it tonight, Baz.  Will catch up on iplayer radio

My lights will be out and I'll light a candle at 10pm.

It was beautiful Madame ...struck just the right note IMO  

done

I don't have a candle but have turned the dimmer switch down on my floorlight 

I think one light is just as good Sprout  

just blew mine out 

Me too

Me too. 

Can I just say that my mum told me lots of stories about WW1 and how she nearly fell for a British officer, but she'd met my dad by then and stuck to her guns. The war happened to ordinary Germans as well.

ordinary people cologne

 So true Cologne. It was nice there was a reading in German included at the Westminster Abbey service.

The Great War was the saddest of all wars i.m.o. - just heartbreaking. 

Did they turn them off in the house?

Might be an idea to neglect to turn them back on.

The decision to inter the body of an unknown British warrior in Westminster Abbey as a focus for the nation's grief was an inspired one and the tomb proved to be a source of some comfort for families whose loved ones had no known grave. 

He could have been anyone's son, husband, brother, father etc.

http://www.birminghammail.co.u...ool-discover-7527694

this is really good

you can find out who from any uk street never made it home from WW1

a bit morbid

but interesting