Saw a man wearing a Normandy Veterns Association blazer in St James's Park today.
Went up and thanked him and was proud to shake his hand. I think he was slightly shocked.
Thanks to all the men who fought and died in Western Europe and elsewhere to defeat the fascists.
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I thank them all, and well done Mr Irving.
Always do this when I see a veteran selling poppies. Get the same reaction from them too... the modesty makes them even more special in my eyes.
Hear hear.
Well done Henry. All those who have served, whether it be on the Beaches of Normandy or in Iraq deserve a handshake and the utmost respect.
Guardians of our Great Britain.
Totally agree. It should be more widely commemorated than it is in my view. I shall watch The Longest Day again.
Here here
When I start speaking to them, the stories they tell are amazing to say the least.
I have come across an ex SAS in Woolwich who was in the first batch of soldiers who transferred over from their own units. Another was a gunner in a lanc. He was getting ready to fly off when a medical officer noticed his blood shot eye. Being a gunner, who depended on his eyesight to see the fighters, he was ordered directly to hospital. His place was taken by a relief gunner. He was almost in tears telling me that the aircraft didn't come back. It was lost over Berlin!
They were brave brave people.
Well my son goes to a state school and he is taught all about our history. As well as Romans, Tudors, Saxons, Vikings and next term Normans (boooooooo) he and his class have down WWII, The blitz, Churchill, Hitler, the great fire of London and lots of other bits of British history that I can't now recall. And this is when he was 6 to 9 years old. All this is part of the national curriculum so it's not just his school.
And they even have an English breakfast on 23 April.
In addition the school talks about poppy day every year and sells poppies.
So I'm afraid "they're not allowed to be taught about our countries great history" just isn't true and in any case that's as much my job to tell my son that as it is the schools.
I totally agree that it's the parents job as well. Unfortunately a large amount of parents couldn't give a shit. Your son is lucky to have parents who care and take there responsabilites seriously. To me that way of bringing children up puts you in the minority.
I'm not expert on secondary schools (I have the joy of visiting the local senior schools to come this year) but as I said those topics are part of the national curriculum.
Bromly is certainly a fairly affluent area (although I'm finding it difficult to believe looking at my accounts at the moment) but the school is not awash with money, nor does the school select it's pupils. Allocations are done centrally by LB Bromley and solely on a residential basis. Most of the kids are white but my son has friends who are half brazilian (no jokes please), Rastafarian, Danish, Irish, Moroccan, etc, etc.
Of course the quality of the teaching and any slant is important but "not allowed to teach our countries great history" is just not the case.
The biggest growth area of historical research is our Anglo Saxon period. While i was at school and up till recently this period was "the dark ages" the anglo saxons had no culture , no launguage no written word etc. Forgeting the Normans enthnically cleansed it. How strange it is that with other races of people the fact that they dont have the written word its called " a rich oral tradition" yet the Anglo saxons were "barbarians" for having just the same?
I would think that World history with no political slant would be the best for the kids today and where the UKs history has impacted on it and its influences.
At the Menin gate every nite the last post is sounded for the dead, the local kids know its history and what part our forefathers played to keep their country free, but do our kids know ? i doubt it.
I agree GH. Just shows that history is written by the winners, in that case the Normans although that applies to other conquerors and empire builders.
I don't remember anyone saying that the Anglo Saxons had no language or written word. Bede and the Anglo-Saxon chronicles would have been the primary sources and would have disproved that theory as does the existence of the language I'm typing at the moment.
I'm currently reading "The Doomsday Quest - In search of the Roots of England" by Michael Wood in which he quotes the Anglo-Norman Historian Oderericus Vitalis (born 1075) on the arrogance of the Norman rules of his day saying "they had forgotten that the country they had conquered was far older and richer in it's achievements than their own".
I doubt if many English children know about the Menin Gate but I'd guess that not many adults, even on here, do either.
Then again how many know why we use the term Kop for a hill or bank or where the term Cardigan was invented . Maybe they should before they laugh at their wearers : - ). All part of our history.
OK, my son lives in a house where there are history books around the place, first world war silk postcards on the walls and WWI commemorative mugs on shelves so he is more likely to know but as I said every year at his secondary school they mark St Georges by asking the children to dress in red and white and they have a mural about St George on the wall (well is it called St Georges Primary).
In the run up to 11th November they watch a film about WWI and discuss why we wear poppies.
And remember many people on here don't know enough about their own football club's history to use the correct name for the stand where the away fans sit.
p.s. great discussions between yourself and Mr GH, I`m reading and learning, : Doffs cap to you both:
Never forget, never again.
Never forget, never again.
Just how many lessons does your son take?
The NC primary teaching is so painfully thin that I doubt many children of that age would remember much, especially when so many topics are taught in what, an hour a week.
Was he taught History at that age or Humanities?
Looking at the various GCSE schemes of work, there may be some case to say the youth of today have an idea of recent British history, but the vast majority of students of post Key Stage 3 students know precious little about WW1 or WW2.
Sadly
And Southampton, it surely has less to do with how good the teacher is at KS 1 and 2, but more to do with the amount of time available to get the basics across in a memorable way. And the degree of differentation required in each class
They alternate History and Geography each term so one lesson a week for have the school year.
That's KS1 and 2 so yes it is at a basic level hopefully suitable for them Do they all remember it? I doubt it but that would apply to many things they are taught.
But they are taught it. With some that will be it. For others it will spark an interested and get them reading fiction or factual books. It should at least be a foundation for them to build further learning upon in secondary school or elsewhere.
Looks like you committed a cardinal sin, Cardinal Sin.
;o)