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Peter Jackson's WW1 film


Parsnip

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The thing I found eye opening about it was that, from the the soldiers own point of view, it was all very matter of fact, and seem like normality. Talk about the embodiment of the stiff upper lip. All we ever hear about it looking back is how horrific it was, like hell on Earth. But they were like ‘oo, life wasn’t so bad really, if you were lucky you could catch a rat to eat, and maybe you could get a pair of good boots off your dead mate, if you could find his legs.’ Like it was all totally normal. 

I don’t know if that says something amazing about their guts, something very sad about how they’d almost been brainwashed into thinking that was normal, or something horrific about what mankind can do to each other and bear. 

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19 minutes ago, TigerTedd said:

The thing I found eye opening about it was that, from the the soldiers own point of view, it was all very matter of fact, and seem like normality. Talk about the embodiment of the stiff upper lip. All we ever hear about it looking back is how horrific it was, like hell on Earth. But they were like ‘oo, life wasn’t so bad really, if you were lucky you could catch a rat to eat, and maybe you could get a pair of good boots off your dead mate, if you could find his legs.’ Like it was all totally normal. 

I don’t know if that says something amazing about their guts, something very sad about how they’d almost been brainwashed into thinking that was normal, or something horrific about what mankind can do to each other and bear. 

Probably a bit of everything - for a lot of the "Tommies" in the infantry i can imagine life back home wasn't particularly a bed of roses, so perhaps they genuinely didn't see the army as being such a massive step down. Wasn't it something like 5 days in the front line, 5 in the reserve line and 5 off behind the lines or something? I'm sure i read something to that effect.

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Absolutely brilliant programme which I have watched twice and encouraged those around me to check out.

Two things which stood out were the comment 'I have never felt so alive' which shows the adrenaline rush and the fact that trench warfare was so far beyond  the imagination of those at home that on the soldier's return they were not treated as heroes but pariahs excluded from many job ads.

A true waste of youth to be repeated just 21 year later.

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11 hours ago, King Kevin said:

My grandad and his three brothers are all on the Crich Roll of Honour ,his brothers were all old enough but my grandad lied about his age to go .

One was wounded but thankfully they all got back.

My grandad was the only one of 4 brothers who survived. One of his brothers technically survived but died of pneumonia in a field hospital in France two weeks after armistice day.

Its a heartbreaking film that gives a tiny idea of the horrors they went through. Not just the fighting but the trench foot, lice, latrines leaking back into the trenches....

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A good friend of mine and his good lady wife visit the WW1 battle fields several times a year. They are in the process of photographing every grave and memorial and logging those killed.

He has a Facebook site and each day he posts those killed on this day 100 years ago and those who lost their lives but were never found.

Even though the war ended over 100 years ago now, soldiers were still dying from the effects years later. 

The clean up also lasted several years and bodies were being removed from the battlefields for years after the war ended.

The youngest killed was 14, several 15 year olds.

 

 

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2 hours ago, uttoxram75 said:

My grandad was the only one of 4 brothers who survived. One of his brothers technically survived but died of pneumonia in a field hospital in France two weeks after armistice day.

Its a heartbreaking film that gives a tiny idea of the horrors they went through. Not just the fighting but the trench foot, lice, latrines leaking back into the trenches....

Doesn't seem quite right to like this if you get what I mean .If you flick through the Crich website it tells the story of soldiers who died of disease rather than anything else . Glad your grandad made it.

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6 hours ago, King Kevin said:

Doesn't seem quite right to like this if you get what I mean .If you flick through the Crich website it tells the story of soldiers who died of disease rather than anything else . Glad your grandad made it.

Had a look at the Crich website KK.

Here's a link to Uttoxeter's Lost generation, a brilliant piece of work that gathers as much detail as is available about each name on the town memorial. This is my grandads brothers page...

http://www.uttoxeterlostgeneration.co.uk/moorep.htm

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5 minutes ago, uttoxram75 said:

Had a look at the Crich website KK.

Here's a link to Uttoxeter's Lost generation, a brilliant piece of work that gathers as much detail as is available about each name on the town memorial. This is my grandads brothers page...

http://www.uttoxeterlostgeneration.co.uk/moorep.htm

It's great to be able to piece your family history together , very distinguished record there. The archivist  that contacted me has put a lot of work into the Crich project, It's good that people take the time to make sure they are not forgotten.

It's absolutely right that the people who fought in WW2 are regarded as the greatest generation but the WW1 participants had it harder I reckon.

 

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