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A SAD ENDING? WW1 Memorial Stone


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Thanks for those coments - I was worried that (due to my disorganisation) it was going to stand out as being different, and the point about the others being identical is that it is not a competition, but a chance to reinforce a common theme of Remebrence. Seems I got away with it!

(Point to remeber in case anyone asks me to organise anything :whistle: )

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I was stuck in the office all day and at the appointed hour the fire alarm went off to signal the two minutes silence. One of my colleagues decided to talk through it, telling us what a waste of time it all is and how nobody is bothered. She shut up after twenty seconds. Then another idiot walked in and asked if the fire alarm went off and should we leave. I quickly told him it was the two minute "silence" and he promptly gibbered sorry...sorry over again for the next thirty or forty seconds, squeeling how insensitive he was. That was 11am in my office. My son James marched out with the ATC in Southend in the rain. They have a Christian minister, a Rabbi and the locall Imam address the throng there. The three clerics message is broadly the same. Just as the Imam was doing his bit, a cheerful soul in the crowd yelled out GO HOME!. Having seen many hundreds of Indian army and labour corps muslim graves as well as French equivalents on my travels around the western front of both wars I suppose I feel sick at this crud. My wife wanted to have words with hm, but the idiot vanished in the throng. She was not alone apparently. Maybe next year.....

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I was stuck in the office all day and at the appointed hour the fire alarm went off to signal the two minutes silence. One of my colleagues decided to talk through it, telling us what a waste of time it all is and how nobody is bothered. She shut up after twenty seconds. Then another idiot walked in and asked if the fire alarm went off and should we leave. I quickly told him it was the two minute "silence" and he promptly gibbered sorry...sorry over again for the next thirty or forty seconds, squeeling how insensitive he was. That was 11am in my office. My son James marched out with the ATC in Southend in the rain. They have a Christian minister, a Rabbi and the locall Imam address the throng there. The three clerics message is broadly the same. Just as the Imam was doing his bit, a cheerful soul in the crowd yelled out GO HOME!. Having seen many hundreds of Indian army and labour corps muslim graves as well as French equivalents on my travels around the western front of both wars I suppose I feel sick at this crud. My wife wanted to have words with hm, but the idiot vanished in the throng. She was not alone apparently. Maybe next year.....

 

 

 

 

It just goes to show, those who 'look in humour', at what we do, during the year, ie, spend time with Military vehicles, etc, really DON'T live in the real world. :angry:

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Gentlemen a suggestion has been made to me. If the original stone goes on loan to the

Norfolk museum. Why do we not seek permission to erect our own monument to him in the area? Apparently this can be done relatively easily. A cairn or some such with a plaque.

 

 

I was talking with Rosemary the Royal British Legion lady at Thetford who arranged all the ceremonial wreaths, she was quite insistent that the stone should stay local. Interesting how many people seem to have an instant view on this, with no hesitation.

 

Until we hear back from those on the list, which I hope will be soon, I do not think we should rush our decision.

 

But if it does stay, I would be happy to help create something for this suggestion.

 

Wotja got in mind ? Just one idea - I could possibly find up a nice large natural block of stone and get it recessed to take an engraved plate :dunno: Might need Jack's gmc to take the weight? :whistle:

 

Wording? In some ways the family wording on our stone might not be appropriate anyway if placed in France, so what should go on it? Chance to put some small wording on, like "erected by members of HMVF" or similar :dunno:

 

Oh yes, Regimental museum cannot find any photograph showing Jackson, apparently units were put together so quickly that group pictures were not always taken (which surprises me).

 

 

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I was talking with Rosemary the Royal British Legion lady at Thetford who arranged all the ceremonial wreaths, she was quite insistent that the stone should stay local. Interesting how many people seem to have an instant view on this, with no hesitation.

 

Until we hear back from those on the list, which I hope will be soon, I do not think we should rush our decision.

 

But if it does stay, I would be happy to help create something for this suggestion.

 

Wotja got in mind ? Just one idea - I could possibly find up a nice large natural block of stone and get it recessed to take an engraved plate :dunno: Might need Jack's gmc to take the weight? :whistle:

 

Wording? In some ways the family wording on our stone might not be appropriate anyway if placed in France, so what should go on it? Chance to put some small wording on, like "erected by members of HMVF" or similar :dunno:

 

Oh yes, Regimental museum cannot find any photograph showing Jackson, apparently units were put together so quickly that group pictures were not always taken (which surprises me).

 

 

 

 

 

Tony (N.O.S),

 

If you are incuring any cost's here, please let me know,...............will gladly chip in.

 

Thanks for all you are doing .

 

All the best,

 

Andy

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I was just thinking if that's the sort of thing you want, I might be able to source a 'free' stone through quarry connections, and "persuade" local masons at Diss to recess it for us as a gesture, they reburbed our village war memorial a while back.

 

Between us all we might be able to twist a few arms :dunno: An engraved gunmetal plate would look nice, big rivets around edge like a WW1 tank plate? Stop me now.

 

Tony B's suggestion is great, but what sort of memorial would you like to see?

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Do you want me to explore the idea of a memorial in France further? I can try and find out what permissions we need and who to talk to. As to materials, I'm showing my ignorance here, what is local to Norfolk? It would need to be enduring, our great grandkids might need to clean it.

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The material associated with Norfolk is FLINT, and with the Thetford area in particular, as the neolithic flint mines at Grimes Graves are only a few miles northwest of the town.

 

If you want a durable plinth out of flint, we could ask John Lord the flint knapping master from Thetford to knap some, to build whatever together with some Norfolk red bricks

 

There are some flints as big as a gmc wheel in interesting shapes too.

 

Sounds like the basis of a plan :-)

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A hint of slow, but positive, progress on Trench Maps -

 

The local WFA trench map man has found the maps we want, which are on the CD of maps mentioned a while back. But he has printer trouble , so has given them to his daughter to print in colour. Hopes to get them by end of week.

 

The 1917 area maps are really good quality examples of the breed, he says, but the 1918 ones are not in the same league. If I cannot scan them I'll get copies posted to whoever needs them - Rick W, Tony B, anyone else?

 

French memorial idea - if building a base plinth in knapped flint and red brick, this would be a multi - day construction job , whereas a stone can be "planted" direct into a concrete mulch. Just something to bear in mind.

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:goodmorning:it worked :computerterror:so if you look ne of bepeume then you will find bungy on the road to campri at a cross roads it shows that the lines moved a great distance in the last month of the war

on a side note there was a program on channel 4 last night with ian hiscox called not forgotten and this was about the dead and the part women had to play and one mother from the cotswolds lost 5 sons so it takes our one part even further 8-)

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Beugny is NE of Bapaume - the road goes to Cambrai from there in a round about way. The cemetery stands in a field with a water tower behind it. Water towers are always marked on IGN maps and make for excellent reference points on a journey. Just near Beugny is the Louverval Cambrai memorial - a superb place. You can also get to many of the other 1917/8 cemeteries with ease - beautiful countryside there as with all Picardy and Artois.

 

The five sons lost were the Beachy boys. Only one has a grave - at Warlencourt. Went there in October. The cemetery included a man from my firm called Frank Whistle and a Southend High school teacher. There are lots of RFC/RAF people in it. We were also looking for three or four shot at dawns - but someone had stolen, or removed, the register which is common. We hadn't got the references off CWGC before we left,

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