Monday, 4 July 2016

Memorandum Monday ~ Shrouds

On Saturday afternoon I met a dear friend in Exeter and we stood in the sunshine trying to comprehend what was laid out before us. 19,240 figures. Each one representing a life lost on the first day of the Battle of the Somme.

























It was almost impossible to take in. My photograph doesn't even begin to portray the enormity of it. I wondered aloud, what we have learned 100 years on. After the events of last week, not much it would seem.

Linking up with Sian this Monday afternoon. You can read about the shrouds here.
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14 comments:

  1. Sian4 July 2016 at 16:13

    I'm sure it took your breath away..

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  2. Patio Postcards4 July 2016 at 17:57

    WOW - that is certainly an emotional display. I think in an off way it is good to be reminded of the human cost of war. This weekend there was a CBC special about the Canadian element of this battle & the number of dead Canadian soldiers. Mind blowing.

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  3. jill5 July 2016 at 06:16

    I think that would have reduce me to tears if i'd had seen this for myself Fiona.
    It certainly makes you stop & think about all the Brave & poor souls that lost their lives .

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  4. debs145 July 2016 at 06:55

    Oh my goodness, that is such an emotional display.

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  5. Maggie5 July 2016 at 11:08

    That must have been a very sobering sight. You are right we must not forget. Those that I knew in the way of family and friends who lived through it would never talk about it.

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  6. This West London Life5 July 2016 at 11:16

    What an incredibly powerful image.

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  7. Twiglet5 July 2016 at 13:36

    I heard about this on the radio - what a brilliant, imaginative way to give us a timely reminder of the real horror of war.

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  8. Jo5 July 2016 at 13:46

    I bet it was so emotional to stand there and see it laid out before you. I found it so sad listening to the stories of the young men and said to Paul I wonder how many of the young men we see nowadays, with their jeans round their knees, would rush to join up!

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  9. KraftyKaren5 July 2016 at 20:56

    A very sobering sight and I am glad that art in various forms can communicate lessons from the past to us. I have been on some weekend trips with our local branch of the Fleet Air Arm to Dorset and part of the weekend usually involves going to a church service at the Fleet Air Arm church - I usually find myself in the small graveyard there and the ages on gravestones from recent conflicts like Iraq and the Falklands reveal that young men and women are still willing to give up their lives for their country.

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  10. Sandra5 July 2016 at 22:40

    It's heartbreaking nut more so, I scared you're right. What have we learnt? Xx

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  11. Susanne11 July 2016 at 13:55

    That's a heart-breaking site. But it is good to remember, lest we forget.

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  12. Cheri13 July 2016 at 02:04

    That is downright eerie. I don't think I could have stood there without breaking down.

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  13. alexa16 July 2016 at 12:43

    Oh my goodness, how powerful is both this place and your post ... It is indeed enough to make one weep for the uselessness and devastation that conflict brings. Oh, that we remember and remember and keep remembering ...

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  14. Karen4 August 2016 at 12:31

    Alexa chose the right word---powerful. No, it appears we haven't learned much at all. And to think that represents just one day; truly devastating.

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