My great-grandfather served during the 1st World - this is a copy of picture that he drew. I am not sure whether he copied it from somewhere or was a scene that he witnessed. I do know that he received a gun shot wound to the head and although he survived - spent many years in and out of psychiatric units. Today, he would be treated for Post Traumatic Stress. It was drawn in May 1915.
I always watch the British Legions Remembrance Service and last night's was absolutely beautiful and, as always, I shed more than a few tears during the programme. When the poppies float slowly from the ceiling of the Royal Albert Hall and you see them landing on the service personnel hats and caps or just piling up on the floor - it really does hit home how many men and women have died during conflict. When I see the poppies lying on the floor it always reminds me of the fourth verse of the following hymn by George Matheson (1842-1906)
O Love that wilt not let me go,
I rest my weary soul in thee;
I give thee back the life I owe,
That in thine oceans depths its flow
May richer, fuller be.
O Light that followest all my way,
I yield my flickering torch to thee;
My heart restores its borrowed ray,
That in thy sunshine’s blaze its day
May brighter, fairer be.
O Joy that seekest me through pain,
I cannot close my heart to thee;
I trace the rainbow through the rain
And feel the promise is not vain,
That morn shall tearless be.
O cross that liftest up my head,
I dare not ask to fly from thee;
I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
And from the ground there blossoms red
Life that shall endless be.