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Sunday 11 November 2018

Two voices from the Great War

Market Rasen Church this week
On the night before her execution Nurse Edith Cavell said 

"Patriotism is not enough.  I must have no hatred or bitterness towards anyone."

The poet Wilfred Owen, the news of whose death reached his mother one hundred years ago as today, said, 

"Christ is literally in No Man's Land.  There men often hear his voice: 'Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for a friend.'  Is it spoken in English only, and in French?  I do not believe so."  

One hundred years ago the guns fell silent.  The voices of those two people who died in that war should never be silent.

9 comments:

  1. I had to google information about both of these people. Their names were familiar but I knew nothing about how they died.

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    1. I think they may be better known in the UK. I "did" Wilfred Owen for "A" level and loathed his poetry at that time but learnt to appreciate it more recently.

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  2. Beautiful post, Mary. I know of Edith Cavell, but not a great deal. I need to do some reading.

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  3. How beautiful the poppies are on your church, what a clever idea.
    It was so good to hear the voices of the war poets at the British legion remembrance festival last night.

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    1. There are several churches locally similarly dressed. Many of the poppies are hand knitted or crocheted.

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  4. What a wonderful display of poppies. Gerard and I have been reading some of her poetry this morning.

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  5. It has been heartening to see how young and old have played their part this year - the massive (and many) displays of poppies have really helped my children to begin to understand the enormity of the numbers lost to the wars.

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