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Haven't seen the Gumnut in a while. Is he back in the nunnery?
Anzac Day
- Thread starter Garpal Gumnut
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A Poem Worth Reading
He was getting old and paunchy
And his hair was falling fast,
And he sat around the RSL,
Telling stories of the past.
Of a war that he once fought in
And the deeds that he had done,
In his exploits with his buddies;
They were heroes, every one.
And 'tho sometimes to his neighbours
His tales became a joke,
All his buddies listened quietly
For they knew where of he spoke.
But we'll hear his tales no longer,
For ol' Bob has passed away,
And the world's a little poorer
For a Soldier died today.
He won't be mourned by many,
Just his children and his wife..
For he lived an ordinary,
Very quiet sort of life.
He held a job and raised a family,
Going quietly on his way;
And the world won't note his passing,
'Tho a Soldier died today.
When politicians leave this earth,
Their bodies lie in state,
While thousands note their passing,
And proclaim that they were great.
Papers tell of their life stories
From the time that they were young
But the passing of a Soldier
Goes unnoticed, and unsung.
Is the greatest contribution
To the welfare of our land,
Some jerk who breaks his promise
And cons his fellow man?
Or the ordinary fellow
Who in times of war and strife,
Goes off to serve his country
And offers up his life?
The politician's stipend
And the style in which he lives,
Are often disproportionate,
To the service that he gives.
While the ordinary Soldier,
Who offered up his all,
Is paid off with a medal
And perhaps a pension, small.
It's so easy to forget them,
For it is so many times
That our Bobs and Jims and Johnnys,
Went to battle, but we know,
It is not the politicians
With their compromise and ploys,
Who won for us the freedom
That our country now enjoys.
Should you find yourself in danger,
With your enemies at hand,
Would you really want some cop-out,
With his ever waffling stand?
Or would you want a Soldier--
His home, his country, his kin,
Just a common Soldier,
Who would fight until the end.
He was just a common Soldier,
And his ranks are growing thin,
But his presence should remind us
We may need his like again.
For when countries are in conflict,
We find the Soldier's part
Is to clean up all the troubles
That the politicians start.
If we cannot do him honour
While he's here to hear the praise,
Then at least let's give him homage
At the ending of his days..
Perhaps just a simple headline
In the paper that might say:
"OUR COUNTRY IS IN MOURNING,
A SOLDIER DIED TODAY."
(author unknown)
Pass On The Patriotism!
YOU can make a difference
An ANZAC veteran is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank cheque made payable to 'Australia' or 'New Zealand' for an amount "up to and including my life".
That is Honour, and there are way too many people in this world who no longer understand it.
(received by email today and had to share_
He was getting old and paunchy
And his hair was falling fast,
And he sat around the RSL,
Telling stories of the past.
Of a war that he once fought in
And the deeds that he had done,
In his exploits with his buddies;
They were heroes, every one.
And 'tho sometimes to his neighbours
His tales became a joke,
All his buddies listened quietly
For they knew where of he spoke.
But we'll hear his tales no longer,
For ol' Bob has passed away,
And the world's a little poorer
For a Soldier died today.
He won't be mourned by many,
Just his children and his wife..
For he lived an ordinary,
Very quiet sort of life.
He held a job and raised a family,
Going quietly on his way;
And the world won't note his passing,
'Tho a Soldier died today.
When politicians leave this earth,
Their bodies lie in state,
While thousands note their passing,
And proclaim that they were great.
Papers tell of their life stories
From the time that they were young
But the passing of a Soldier
Goes unnoticed, and unsung.
Is the greatest contribution
To the welfare of our land,
Some jerk who breaks his promise
And cons his fellow man?
Or the ordinary fellow
Who in times of war and strife,
Goes off to serve his country
And offers up his life?
The politician's stipend
And the style in which he lives,
Are often disproportionate,
To the service that he gives.
While the ordinary Soldier,
Who offered up his all,
Is paid off with a medal
And perhaps a pension, small.
It's so easy to forget them,
For it is so many times
That our Bobs and Jims and Johnnys,
Went to battle, but we know,
It is not the politicians
With their compromise and ploys,
Who won for us the freedom
That our country now enjoys.
Should you find yourself in danger,
With your enemies at hand,
Would you really want some cop-out,
With his ever waffling stand?
Or would you want a Soldier--
His home, his country, his kin,
Just a common Soldier,
Who would fight until the end.
He was just a common Soldier,
And his ranks are growing thin,
But his presence should remind us
We may need his like again.
For when countries are in conflict,
We find the Soldier's part
Is to clean up all the troubles
That the politicians start.
If we cannot do him honour
While he's here to hear the praise,
Then at least let's give him homage
At the ending of his days..
Perhaps just a simple headline
In the paper that might say:
"OUR COUNTRY IS IN MOURNING,
A SOLDIER DIED TODAY."
(author unknown)
Pass On The Patriotism!
YOU can make a difference
An ANZAC veteran is someone who, at one point in his life, wrote a blank cheque made payable to 'Australia' or 'New Zealand' for an amount "up to and including my life".
That is Honour, and there are way too many people in this world who no longer understand it.
(received by email today and had to share_
Julia
In Memoriam
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Margaret Throsbie, of Classic FM, in her Midday Interview a few days ago spoke with Dr Brian O'Toole who is conducting a longitudinal study on the effects of war with vets from Vietnam, their partners, and their children.
http://www.abc.net.au/classic/content/2013/04/22/3741060.htm
It's very interesting (available also as podcast, I think) and the conversation is interspersed with Dr O'Toole's choices of music which range from an extract from a Bach oboe concerto to this very funny/sad short song from Tom Lehrer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pklr0UD9eSo
Have a listen. Only a couple of minutes.
http://www.abc.net.au/classic/content/2013/04/22/3741060.htm
It's very interesting (available also as podcast, I think) and the conversation is interspersed with Dr O'Toole's choices of music which range from an extract from a Bach oboe concerto to this very funny/sad short song from Tom Lehrer.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pklr0UD9eSo
Have a listen. Only a couple of minutes.
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How sleep the Brave, who sink to Rest,
By all their Country's Wishes blest!
When Spring, with dewy Fingers cold,
Returns to deck their hallow'd Mould,
She there shall dress a sweeter Sod
Than Fancy's Feet have ever trod.
By Fairy Hands their knell is rung,
By Forms unseen their Dirge is sung;
There Honour comes, a Pilgrim grey,
To bless the Turf that wraps their Clay,
And Freedom shall a-while repair
To dwell a weeping Hermit there.
William Collins 1746
By all their Country's Wishes blest!
When Spring, with dewy Fingers cold,
Returns to deck their hallow'd Mould,
She there shall dress a sweeter Sod
Than Fancy's Feet have ever trod.
By Fairy Hands their knell is rung,
By Forms unseen their Dirge is sung;
There Honour comes, a Pilgrim grey,
To bless the Turf that wraps their Clay,
And Freedom shall a-while repair
To dwell a weeping Hermit there.
William Collins 1746
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Went to my first dawn service this morning. 4:30am rise. Worth it. Something to do at least once.
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If you were at the Martin Place Cenotaph I might have seen you. Was AMAZED how many people were there this morning. The coffee shop next to coles was doing a roaring business, as well as Max Brenners.
Pub near work was spilled out onto the st so they had to block 1 lane of traffic.
Was great to see so many families braving the weather to remember.
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I'm in Adelaide.
But yeh would have been huge in Sydney I imagine.
Some great numbers here too this morning. I was surprised at the level of commitment. Good to see kids along too!
But yeh would have been huge in Sydney I imagine.
Some great numbers here too this morning. I was surprised at the level of commitment. Good to see kids along too!
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Last edited by a moderator:
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Where it all began:
St John's in Albany, Western Australia
St John's in Albany, Western Australia
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Thanks for sharing that, Pixel, I didn't know that it started in W.A.
You always learn something in here.
I saw the website had the original paperwork/notes of when it was done.
Anzac day is a time to reflect and remember them, the sacrifices they made for our country.
You always learn something in here.
I saw the website had the original paperwork/notes of when it was done.
Anzac day is a time to reflect and remember them, the sacrifices they made for our country.
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Be alert and watch our police's back tomorrow.
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Watched an exceptional documentary on Anzac written and produced by actor Sam Neill.
Sam comes from a military family and his journey incorprates the fate of three of his relatives. Well worth watching.
ABC Iview http://iview.abc.net.au/programs/why-anzac-with-sam-neill/DO1308H001S00
Sam comes from a military family and his journey incorprates the fate of three of his relatives. Well worth watching.
ABC Iview http://iview.abc.net.au/programs/why-anzac-with-sam-neill/DO1308H001S00
Wysiwyg
Everyone wants money
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Running headlong into machine gun fire was suicidal and these poor souls lost their lives over several months in a failed strategy. Those cliffs should have been cleared before the beach landing. They stood no chance.
Value Collector
Have courage, and be kind.
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If we could change history, the thing to change would have been the European politics that lead to Australian boys being sent to fight Turkish boys in the first place.
Changing any military strategy would result in the same net effect, both sides suffer a loss, all you are doing it adjusting which side takes more casualties, our tribalism means that we would rather see the guys holding the other flag take more casualties, but we have to understand they were just as innocent as our boys. WW1 was a diplomatic failure a lot more than a military one.
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Yes, the Anzacs were sacrificial lambs to act as a diversion from the real attack. The "convicts" were just fit for cannon fodder according to Churchill and the other elite British commanders, which is why we should never trust their sort again.
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I received this Ballad from an old mate. Quite timely, and it fits into this topic like fist in glove:
The Old Digger
He was getting old and paunchy
And his hair was falling fast,
And he sat around the R.S.L.,
Telling stories of the past.
Of a war that he once fought in
And the deeds that he had done,
In his exploits with his mates;
They were heroes, every one.
And 'tho sometimes to his neighbours
His tales became a joke,
All his mates listened quietly
For they knew where of he spoke.
But we'll hear his tales no longer,
For ol' Jack has passed away,
And the world's a little poorer
For a Digger died today.
He won't be mourned by many,
Just his children and his wife.
For he lived an ordinary,
Very quiet sort of life.
He held a job and raised a family,
Going quietly on his way;
And the world won't note his passing,
'Tho a Digger died today.
When politicians leave this earth,
Their bodies lie in state,
While thousands note their passing,
And proclaim that they were great.
The Media tell of their life stories
From the time that they were young,
But the passing of a Digger
Goes unnoticed, and unsung.
Is the greatest contribution
To the welfare of our land,
Some smoothie who breaks his promise
And cons his fellow man?
Or the ordinary fellow
Who in times of war and strife,
Goes off to serve his country
And offers up his life?
The politician's stipend
And the style in which they live,
Are often disproportionate,
To the service that they give.
While the ordinary Digger,
Who offered up his all,
Is paid off with a medal
And perhaps a pension, small.
It is not the politicians
With their compromise and ploys,
Who won for us the freedom
That our country now enjoys.
Should you find yourself in danger,
With your enemies at hand,
Would you really want some cop-out,
With his ever-waffling stand?
Or would you want a Digger
His home, his country, his kin,
Just a common Digger,
Who would fight until the end?
He was just a common Digger,
And his ranks are growing thin,
But his presence should remind us
We may need his likes again.
For when countries are in conflict,
We find the Digger's part,
Is to clean up all the troubles
That the politicians start.
If we cannot do him honour
While he's here to hear the praise,
Then at least let's give him homage
At the ending of his days.
Perhaps just a simple headline
In the paper that might say:
"OUR COUNTRY IS IN MOURNING,
A DIGGER DIED TODAY."
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Now I have severed my country, so dont take this the wrong way but..
Completely over this whole ANZAC weekend thing. I do not subscribe to the "gave birth to a nation " moto in fact in reading history it was a complete screw up from the start, I loath Churchill and his plan and if Australia didn't have its head so far up the British ass it would have forced a republic right then and there.....
Today was a complete write off at school they already had the flower laying ceremonially thing on Monday what a 7 year old thinks of putting flowers down and having a minutes silence is beyond my education level, I haven't asked my daughter because I expect not much.
Then today they colored in Medals and watched war on TV????!!!! Complete waste of time and then at Cubs tonight they got to make Poppies?? Nope. Took kid home it seems the entire long weekend is just one celebration/remorse session for a battle that would best be forgotten about.
I''m all for the dawn service and the March through the streets on the day but it has been getting on for a week already.
Completely over this whole ANZAC weekend thing. I do not subscribe to the "gave birth to a nation " moto in fact in reading history it was a complete screw up from the start, I loath Churchill and his plan and if Australia didn't have its head so far up the British ass it would have forced a republic right then and there.....
Today was a complete write off at school they already had the flower laying ceremonially thing on Monday what a 7 year old thinks of putting flowers down and having a minutes silence is beyond my education level, I haven't asked my daughter because I expect not much.
Then today they colored in Medals and watched war on TV????!!!! Complete waste of time and then at Cubs tonight they got to make Poppies?? Nope. Took kid home it seems the entire long weekend is just one celebration/remorse session for a battle that would best be forgotten about.
I''m all for the dawn service and the March through the streets on the day but it has been getting on for a week already.
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Lest we forget.
A sea of handmade poppies is cascading through Federation Square after one woman’s tribute to her war-serving father touched hearts all over the world.
http://www.heraldsun.com.au/enterta...scade-of-poppies/story-fni0fcgk-1227319099588
