It’s hard to believe that 10 years ago today, my mother died. Unexpectedly after having several bouts of cancer over the years but seemingly on the mend after a very recent operation. March is just a completely dead month to me. Her birthday on the 14th is quickly followed by Mothers Day and then a… Continue reading 10 years ago today, my Mam died
Tag: Remembrance
My first Remembrance Service at Bushey Memorial
Due to Covid, Sunday was the first opportunity I have have had to attend the local Remembrance Sunday ceremony at 11am as it didn’t run last year so despite having moved almost 2 years ago, this was the first time I got to witness it in person. I’d been to the memorial last summer and… Continue reading My first Remembrance Service at Bushey Memorial
There but not there
Last week whilst in the Sussex town of Arundel, I unexpectedly came across a very moving art installation. It is something I had heard about a few years ago and fleetingly throughout 2018 but for some reason had not expected to come across it just as I did. It is known as THERE BUT NOT… Continue reading There but not there
Alice Ayres – A Victorian Heroine
A few weeks ago I wrote on Postmans Park – The Memorial To Heroic Self-Sacrifice and I’d taken it upon myself to look some of the names whose valour has been memorialised her. At random I picked the unassuming sounding Alice Ayres. I picked Alice in particular because I’m familiar with Union Street in Borough, it… Continue reading Alice Ayres – A Victorian Heroine
Giving a public speech when you hate public speaking or My Remembrance Sunday Reading
People say to confront your fears and they will recede. Well I can definitely say that this is not the case. I’ve always hated flying and I’ve flown 37 times. Flight 37 was every bit as terrifying as flight 27, 17 and 7. I think everyone would agree I have given flying more than a… Continue reading Giving a public speech when you hate public speaking or My Remembrance Sunday Reading
They Called It Passchendaele
For the last three years or so, I have been post occasional extracts from my WW1 concise history book Lest We Forget, published by Endeavour Press of London. July 31st marks the centennial of yet another of the landmark actions of the First World War, namely the dreadful Third Battle of Passchendaele. Passchendaele is another… Continue reading They Called It Passchendaele
Missing Mam, 4 years on.
It’s now well over 4 years since I unexpectedly lost my mother and though I would very much like to say things have settled into a new normal, they really haven’t. Or if they have then the new normal really isn’t a very nice place. However there are a few things that I’d like to… Continue reading Missing Mam, 4 years on.
Manchester Remembered Around The World
As the world remembers the atrocity in Manchester this week, I’d like to thank everyone for their emails to me in the last few days from around the world. In the same spirit, here are some photos of just a few of the buildings lit up around the world in the beautiful Union Flag. I’m… Continue reading Manchester Remembered Around The World
Remembering My Great Grandad Ernest Heard Who Died 100 Years Ago Today in Amarah, Iraq.
Today marks the 100th anniversary of one of the biggest moments in 20th century history, if not for many people, at least for myself and perhaps a few others. For on this day, January 25th 1917, my Great Grandad Ernest Heard died in Iraq during WW1. Like many others in that particular campaign, he didn’t… Continue reading Remembering My Great Grandad Ernest Heard Who Died 100 Years Ago Today in Amarah, Iraq.
The Last Post
It is one of the most evocative and moving pieces of music and as with every year, The Last Post will be played all over the world on Remembrance Day but its origins had nothing to do with mourning. The Last Post was first published in the 1790s, just one of the two dozen or… Continue reading The Last Post
Stephen Liddell 