Following the 2014 ceramic poppies at the Tower of London, which represented the 888,246 British and Commonwealth Service men and women who lost their lives in the First World War, this Tommy commemorates the centenary of the end of the 1914-1918 war and those who lost their lives.
“There But Not There reminds us of those who served in WW1 and did not return home. I believe that alongside each symbolic figure stands the spectre of five others who did return and found themselves so changed by what they had experienced that life for them and their families would never be the same again. There But Not There stands as a powerful symbol for us to not forget them too.”
Lt Gen Andrew Graham CB CBE
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.
Robert Laurence Binyon
Tags: Armistice 100, Art Installation, Arundel, Cathedral, Parish Church, Privatisation, Remembrance, Remembrance Day, There But Not There, Tommy, WW1, WWI
This weekend marks the Centenary of WWI, a time for reflection and remembrance…
I share a personal family anecdote.
My grandfather’s brother served in the Royal Army Medical Corps during WW1, serving some time in Egypt. Within his line of duty, he treated casualties from both sides. It is difficult to comprehend the atrocities he would have encountered and been forced to deal with on a daily basis. He became friends with one of his German patients, who out of gratitude gave him his field binoculars.
During WW2 whilst carrying out his duties as a member of the home guard he was shot in the face with blanks which blinded him for a time. In 1942 he shot his wife before shooting himself; my aunt still remembers the day the news came to the rest of the family. There was an inquest which concluded that his being shot in the face had caused blood clots which led to the actions he took.
Unlike his brother, my grandfather didn’t serve in WW1 although he did try to join the Navy on two occasions. On the first occasion he did join up and received the ‘King’s shilling’ only to be told by his mother to take it back. The second time he tried to join up his boss persuaded him against it. He was in a reserved occupation and therefore not obliged to sign up and take part in the conflict.
Some years ago the German field binoculars were passed on to me along with a pair of my grandfather’s binoculars. The binoculars that belonged to my great uncle are a poignant reminder of the futility of war and the consequences of power and greed but most importantly they remind me of man’s humanity to his fellow men.
When I went to get the binoculars out of the cupboard to take the photograph to go with this post I got both pairs of binoculars out and it was only then that I realised that the second pair were English Army issue from WW1 and that they must have belonged to my great uncle before my grandfather.
This personal story highlights the effects of PTSD, that many service men suffer, even now in more recent conflicts.
Tags: Consequences, Family, freedom, Life, Love, War, WWI
Ultimately we have just one moral duty: to reclaim large areas of peace in ourselves, more and more peace, and to reflect it toward others.
And the more peace there is in us, the more peace there is in the world.
Etty Hillesum
Tags: Cherie's Place Thought, Cragside, Flower, National Trust, Peace, Sunflower, Vacation
Despite our best intentions we didn’t manage to cross the road from the Collingwood arms to visit the Church of St Helen.
We had also intended to get a closer look of the War Memorial, also just across the road from the Collingwood arms…
St Helens’ church is on my list for my next visit to the area 
Tags: Church, Memorial, The Collingwood Arms, War Memorial
The Collingwood Arms is a grade II listed Coaching Inn built during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. On first appearance there are tell-tale signs of the hotels Georgian roots with its archetypal centred entrance and the somewhat symmetrical frontage including the grand single paned sash windows that flood the hotel with natural light.
It is plain to see upon entering that the Hotel draws upon its nautical ancestry, illustrations and paintings of Vice Admiral Collingwood and even the porthole clock hanging in the main entrance steer you toward the conclusion that we have a close tie with Horatio Nelsons second in command. Currently with all 15 bedrooms being named after the Galleons that sailed under the Vice Admiral many believe that we must have been a favoured spot for Lord Collingwood or even owned by him at one point or another, unfortunately this is all too good to be true.
What many don’t know is that the hotels name and rich heritage comes more from the merchant family that owned the property up until 1955. Although there is some correlation between the Vice Admiral Collingwood and the Hotel through a very long and confusing lineage, little is still know about the Collingwood family that once resided here, however we do know that many of the passed family members ar memorialised just across the road in St Helens Cemetery.*
*Information from hotel room information booklet
Tags: Bear, Cornhill-on-Tweed, Northumber- land, Ted, TedVenture, TedVentures, The Collingwood Arms, Vacation
