100 years on
All around the country communities have been coming together to remember this anniversary. Bridport has been a hive of activity since May with schools and other community groups producing poppies in various formats to decorate the town.
In West Bay the three silent soldiers and three sailors who sadly never returned home stand alongside a trench, their individual stories are told in the nearby visitors centre.
Over the past few weeks I have been making trench cake to give out as free samples to our visitors. Although the ingredients were unusual, the overall impression has been good. Each time I made the cake using this recipe it made me think of all those wives and mothers who had previously made the cake for their loved ones.
One of the local landmarks Colmers Hill has a river of poppies reaching to the summit. Despite the strong winds over the weekend there are still lots of poppies left. It was quite difficult climbing the hill with wellington boots, a dog on a lead and a camera in slippery conditions, but we did make it to the top!
Sarah x
What beautiful tributes. The poppies strung in the tree are lovely, and the poppy-covered hill is breathtaking. It's been so emotional this year, I've been so glad to see all the tributes and hear all the stories. CJ xx
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid I've missed the deadline to add my grandfather's story to the online archives. I still need to hunt down his photo among the bags of papers from my mother.
ReplyDeleteI really liked that idea of drawing portraits in the sand, and how stunning and detailed they looked - a poignant tribute to the brave soldiers who lost their lives during the First World War. The symbolism of the portraits being washed away as the tide came in was an important recognition of how life can come and go in an instant.
ReplyDeleteLove that last image of Colmers Hill with the poppies reaching up to a rather celestial looking sky.
So many wonderful expressions of commemoration. I love the ribbon of poppies leading to the top of the hill. I also like the idea of making Trench Cake! I am going to give that a go, and yes, it is a great way of getting close to all those women who were left behind to keep the home fires burning. Their lives must have been very tough too. Not knowing how their loved ones were faring must have been tortuous in itself, let alone dealing with everything else on a daily basis. I think the most beautiful and inspiration form of remembrance yesterday were the sand portraits, gently being washed away by the waves.
ReplyDeleteI wonder how many poppies were made in total in Britain - such a wonderful little symbol with a huge impact. My great gran never got to make trench cake for her son as he was killed only a few days into the conflict of the First World war.
ReplyDeleteWhat a sight to see. I remember the first time I saw a photo of all the glass (or whatever they are made of) of poppies in London; it was striking to see the hard work put into arranging all of these memorials, then it got me to think of an even more striking event: the day each soldier died to set the world free.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing some of the remembrance projects with us, Sarah. I am grateful for those who have invested their lives for the cause of peace...and had never realized folks made and sent out Trench Cakes. xx
ReplyDeleteI found it particularly moving this year. The hill looks beautiful and I think I would also find making that cake evocative. X
ReplyDeleteLovely to see all the different ways people have honoured Remembrance Day. What a good idea to tell the individual stories of the silent soldiers and sailors .. .I always relate to individual stories. Lovely photo of the church with the poppies along the grassy bank.
ReplyDeleteWe were away for Remembrance day, but I know people all over Australia knitted or croqueted poppies and they were laid out along the grounds of the War Memorial. It looked wonderful in photos.
It looks like it was a very big celebration. I am glad that people keep documents , photos and all things for the next generations to remember. Everyone took pride in making the decorations and everything looks so beautiful. I have seen photos of her majesty the Queen wearing black and using a poppy corsage. Here in the U.S. they also had celebrations for the Veterans. Thank you very much for sharing.
ReplyDeleteHow beautiful. I think that Colmers Hill looks stunning. Trench cake sounds interesting. My Dad always tell me that his mum sent sandwiches in the post to him!
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this interesting and thoughtful post...
ReplyDeleteLove from Titti