TOPIC:

I thought I would easily find a poppy in my small collection of memorial/cemetery photographs, but all that emerged was the one shown below. The poppy had already fallen off one of the crosses and it was very faded on the other one.

Brett

Hello Brett,
I well remember HM the Queen, laying poppy wreaths on her visit to the Natal battlefields back in 1999, there was a commomweath heads of nations meeting and it also happened to be the centenary of the Anglo Boer War.
Regards Frank

Brett Hendey wrote: David

I approve of the poppy in this context. It has long been used in South Africa in wreaths or on its own at Boer War memorials and graves.

Sadly, although the red poppy may be increasingly used as a memorial to the dead from wars both before and after Flanders, it seems to be on its way to extinction in South Africa. It is apparently seen as another symbol of the oppression of Africa's inhabitants by slavery, colonialism and apartheid.

Regards
Brett

There is an article on the BBC website from 1999.



The Duke of Edinburgh has remembered those who perished in the Anglo-Boer War at the site of a remote battlefield in South Africa.

Prince Philip travelled by helicopter from Durban to Spionkop, a remote and rugged region of KwaZulu-Natal, to commemorate the bloody battle that took place nearly a century ago.

In a spirit of reconciliation, he laid poppy wreaths on the war memorials of both the British and the Boers.

Inscriptions on the two wreaths read: "In memory of the brave soldiers of both sides who fought and fell on this site, and also of all those who lost their lives in the Anglo-Boer South African War, white and black, men, women and children. Never again - nooit weer nie."

The visit is part of a royal state trip with the Queen to Africa, taking in Ghana, South Africa and Mozambique.

Spionkop was one of the most calamitous defeats of the British Empire. At least 322 British troops died, 563 were wounded and 300 taken prisoner in 24 hours. The troops failed to secure an observation hill as part of an attempt to relieve the siege of Ladysmith in January 1900.

Casualties on the Boer side saw about 58 killed and 140 wounded or taken prisoner.

The British attempt involved climbing the hill at night and digging shallow trenches. But daylight revealed that the length of the trenches was directly in the sights of the Boer rifles and artillery on nearby Twin Peaks.

Communications and command were confused, and the British, although vastly outnumbering the Boers, retreated.

Among those at the Battle of Spionkop were a young Winston Churchill who, at 24, was a war correspondent, Gandhi who was a stretcher bearer for the British and, on the Boers' side, Louis Botha who later became South Africa's first prime minister.

Mr Churchill's grand-daughter Celia Sandys and his great-grandson Alexander Perkins, 13, were at Spionkop for the commemoration ceremony.

But for some, the move to reconcile over war is not enough. Afrikaans protesters in South Africa have demanded an apology from the British for their colonial past and alleged war crimes when Boer women and children were detained in insanitary concentration camps. Up to 28,000 died.

The Queen has expressed sadness at the loss of life during the Boer War, but stopped short of an apology.

Further tribute to those who lost their lives during war will be paid by the Queen and the Duke of Edinburgh on Remembrance Sunday. They will attend the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting to lay a wreath at the Cenotaph in Durban.

Good morning David,
That was the first time I had ever seen the Anglo Boer War being treated in exactly the same way as the campaigns that we are so familiar with today, but, then it was fought on the eve of the 20th Century and it was very much a new war for a new century, complete with many of the new horrors of modern warfare.
Kind regards Frank

Hi All

I see nothing wrong with a universal symbol such as the poppy being used for all wars, it has for so long been associated with British/Commonwealth rememberance services.(not sure about the USA and European countries, do they also use it?)

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remembrance_Day

www.sa-transport.co.za/military/armistice/armistice_day.html

I am privileged to have one of Major Percy Nugent Fitzpatricks WW1 medals, recovered it from the USA about 5 years ago.

Nice touch David.

Regards
Brian

Good afternoon Brian,
I do like your use of the word "recovered" a certain C J Rhodes was in favour of the "recoverery" of the United States!
Kind regards Frank

Brianc wrote: Hi All

I see nothing wrong with a universal symbol such as the poppy being used for all wars, it has for so long been associated with British/Commonwealth rememberance services.(not sure about the USA and European countries, do they also use it?)

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Remembrance_Day

www.sa-transport.co.za/military/armistice/armistice_day.html

I am privileged to have one of Major Percy Nugent Fitzpatricks WW1 medals, recovered it from the USA about 5 years ago.

Nice touch David.

Regards
Brian