A poppy is for all.

mac said:
How so?
We don’t just commemorate those who fell in Flanders Fields.
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Although they all could have.




  1. British Tommy
    – Soldier of the British Army on the Western Front.
  2. ANZAC (Australia / New Zealand)
    – Served at Gallipoli and in France/Belgium.
  3. Sikh Sepoy (British Indian Army)
    – Fought in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
  4. Muslim Sepoy (British Indian Army)
    – Also served in all major campaigns alongside Sikh and Hindu troops.
  5. British West Indies Regiment (Caribbean)
    – Volunteers from Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad, and other islands.
  6. Chinese Labour Corps (China)
    – Worked and died on the Western Front supporting the war effort.
 
I was reading about the white poppy meaning and like it but to be perfectly honest I always thought the red poppy was for all ? excuse my ignorance ….think by wearing a white one I’d get some fool remarking on it and get into a bad place but I think 99% on us wish all war could be stopped . Peace ✌️🕊️
 
The WWII Indian Army was the largest volunteer Army in history, growing from just under 200,000 in 1939 to over 2.5 million in 1945. It fought on every major front Britain was involved in,including North Africa,the Middle East, Italy,and the Burma campaign,playing a crucial role in Allied victory. Key battles included the pivotal battles of Imphal and Kohima,which stopped the Japanese invasion of India.
The Indian Army fought on the Western Front in WWI. First arriving in late 1914 thousands of their soldiers participating in major battles like Ypres,Neuve Chapelle and the Somme suffering heavy casualties. First Battle of Ypres (1914), La Bassee (1914), Festubert (1915), Neuve Chapelle (1915), Loos (1915), Somme (1916), Cambrai (1917).
 
borebage53 said:
The WWII Indian Army was the largest volunteer Army in history, growing from just under 200,000 in 1939 to over 2.5 million in 1945. It fought on every major front Britain was involved in,including North Africa,the Middle East, Italy,and the Burma campaign,playing a crucial role in Allied victory. Key battles included the pivotal battles of Imphal and Kohima,which stopped the Japanese invasion of India.
The Indian Army fought on the Western Front in WWI. First arriving in late 1914 thousands of their soldiers participating in major battles like Ypres,Neuve Chapelle and the Somme suffering heavy casualties. First Battle of Ypres (1914), La Bassee (1914), Festubert (1915), Neuve Chapelle (1915), Loos (1915), Somme (1916), Cambrai (1917).
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Involvement at the Somme and Cambrai was insignificant - never more than 2 battalions of Infantry or 2000 Cavalry. They served up until 1915 when they were transferred back to India (and then on to the Middle East) or direct to Eygpt.

Interestingly the 2nd Battalion Leicestershire Regiment were part of the British Indian Army and served at all the batttles you quote (after which the majority of the British Indian Army were transferred out as mentioned above).

There is a very striking memorial to Indian Troops at Neuve Chappelle - worth a visit
 
Popside said:
I was reading about the white poppy meaning and like it but to be perfectly honest I always thought the red poppy was for all ? excuse my ignorance ….think by wearing a white one I’d get some fool remarking on it and get into a bad place but I think 99% on us wish all war could be stopped . Peace ✌️🕊️
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The white poppy, and those that wear it, aint worth shit
 
Pen4 said:
The white poppy, and those that wear it, aint worth shit
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Why ? A white poppy I read includes hope for a future, no war, a commitment to peace , sounds good to me p4. Never should replace red obviously just found it a good message.
 
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In Britain's darkest hour, the young Polish pilots alongside the British heroically fought in the Battle of Britain. At a time when we were losing so many pilots, the Polish contribution was invaluable.
I think that's worth a mention.

It's also hard to comprehend what a different outcome in the Battle of Britain would have meant for the history of Britain.
If Britain had been defeated and occupied by the Nazis, then it would have been much more complex for the Americans to form a bridgehead without being able to use British territory.
We will never know how much longer ( if at all ) that Britain and Europe would have had to wait to regain it's freedoms.
Hats off and huge respect to all those that fought and died for us.
 
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Brauny said:
In Britain's darkest hour, the young Polish pilots alongside the British heroically fought in the Battle of Britain. At a time when we were losing so many pilots, the Polish contribution was invaluable.
I think that's worth a mention.

It's also hard to comprehend what a different outcome in the Battle of Britain would have meant for the history of Britain.
If Britain had been defeated and occupied by the Nazis, then it would have been much more complex for the Americans to form a bridgehead without being able to use British territory.
We will never know how much longer ( if at all ) that Britain and Europe would have had to wait to regain it's freedoms.
Hats of and huge respect to all those that fought and died for us.
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Back in May I went to Bentley Priory home of Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain. Went with my wife, daughter and grandson. Well worth a visit if you are down that way. Very knowledgeable volunteers. More people need to know about Hugh Dowding, kiwi Keith Park etc
 
Sammelslongshot said:
Back in May I went to Bentley Priory home of Fighter Command during the Battle of Britain. Went with my wife, daughter and grandson. Well worth a visit if you are down that way. Very knowledgeable volunteers. More people need to know about Hugh Dowding, kiwi Keith Park etc
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My dad passed away 5 years ago.
He was always extremely interested in anything to do with WW2.
When I was a child I remember him watching and listening intently to the superb narration of Laurence Oliver's World at War.
My dad was never jingoistic about Britain helping to defeat the Nazis.
He had plenty of respect for the German regular army as well as our boys, but he was also fully aware that the Nazis were a brutal regime that was not representative of all of the German population.
He was born in 1930 and my mother in 1939.
Early in the 1940's my dad lived on Bretby Road just off Saffron Lane. He watched a German bomber circling around and witnessed the bombs being dropped not far away on Cavendish Road. Little did he know that a young girl in a cot was experiencing the windows being blown out and the room being filled with dust and debris.
That young girl was my mother, who obviously very narrowly missed that German bombers payload.
It's always been a treasured memory for me that in his retirement I took him to the IWM Duxford and the IWM London on several occasions.
He absolutely loved looking at all exhibits, stories and memorabilia.
 
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Brauny said:
In Britain's darkest hour, the young Polish pilots alongside the British heroically fought in the Battle of Britain. At a time when we were losing so many pilots, the Polish contribution was invaluable.


Commander-in-Chief of Fighter Command, Air Chief Marshal Sir Hugh Dowding, who once was so reluctant to allow Polish pilots into battle, summarised their contribution in probably the most telling way: "Had it not been for the magnificent work of the Polish squadrons and their unsurpassed gallantry, I hesitate to say that the outcome of battle would have been the same."
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Brauny said:
My dad passed away 5 years ago.
He was always extremely interested in anything to do with WW2.
When I was a child I remember him watching and listening intently to the superb narration of Laurence Oliver's World at War.
My dad was never jingoistic about Britain helping to defeat the Nazis.
He had plenty of respect for the German regular army as well as our boys, but he was also fully aware that the Nazis were a brutal regime that was not representative of all of the German population.
He was born in 1930 and my mother in 1939.
Early in the 1940's my dad lived on Bretby Road just off Saffron Lane. He watched a German bomber circling around and witnessed the bombs being dropped not far away on Cavendish Road. Little did he know that a young girl in a cot was experiencing the windows being blown out and the room being filled with dust and debris.
That young girl was my mother, who obviously very narrowly missed that German bombers payload.
It's always been a treasured memory for me that in his retirement I took him to the IWM Duxford and the IWM London on several occasions.
He absolutely loved looking at all exhibits, stories and memorabilia.
You don't need money to create memories like that.
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The German regular army were very involved in atrocities it was far from being just the SS involved.
en.wikipedia.org

War crimes of the Wehrmacht - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org
 
Brauny said:
Members of the British Army have committed atrocities in much more recent times. It can happen in a theatre of war especially when soldiers are faced with a ' you or them situation '
The fact remains that a lot of German soldiers were not Nazis.
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Apparently Allied soldiers were 'encouraged' not to take prisoners on D-Day
 
Brauny said:
Members of the British Army have committed atrocities in much more recent times. It can happen in a theatre of war especially when soldiers are faced with a ' you or them situation '
The fact remains that a lot of German soldiers were not Nazis.
Click to expand...
Have you read it?
Many German soldiers were involved in atrocities. The good ‘German soldier’ is a myth, the allies bought into it as the Russians were the new enemy.
 
And of course the Japanese were particularly cruel in ww2. The treatment of prisoners a clear example. My uncle was captured in Java in March 1942. Survived over 3 years of brutal conditions only to die 2 months before the end of the war with Japan. Now lies in Ambon Cemetery.
 
Brauny said:
Members of the British Army have committed atrocities in much more recent times. It can happen in a theatre of war especially when soldiers are faced with a ' you or them situation '
The fact remains that a lot of German soldiers were not Nazis.
Click to expand...
encyclopedia.ushmm.org

The German Military and the Holocaust | Holocaust Encyclopedia

The German military played a vital role in the consolidation of Nazi power and persecution and mass murder of Jews and other groups. Learn more
encyclopedia.ushmm.org encyclopedia.ushmm.org
 
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