We are now coming up to the 11th November. A date that is, despite the attitude to things warlike, still commerated as a Day of Rememberance to those who gave their all - and mortgaged the lives of their families - in the cause of freedom.
An article in today's Daily Telegraph recounts the story of the flag that was used to drape the coffin of The Unknown Warrior at his formal burial in a place of honour in St Pauls Cathedral in 1920. Now, mirroring the fate of many an Old Soldier, it hangs almost ignored and basically forgotten in a side chapel. There are moves afoot to return it to it's original resting place alongside the Tomb.
I urge you to read this article and support it in any way you can. It is in no way jingoistic. It sets out, in the history of the flag during the horrors of WWI when the higher command had little concern for lives lost, just what millions of men bore. It has relevance for those who are anti-war just as for those who, like me, have had some insight as to what the human spirit is capable of. The actions of a brave man or just a plain man doing his duty as he sees it are not reduced by the justness of his cause. We are at a time when the profession of 'soldier' is under attack and I will not go down that path right now. Maybe just reading the background to this national treasure will inspire some - I hope so. 'National treasure' you might ask? We have today read that Her Majesty has had a painting restored which now turns out to be a Caravaggio worth something North of £30 million. I know which I would be most honoured to own. It is not Italian. Both have lain unrecognised and without honour in a backwater. Let the Padres Flag advance to front and centre say I.
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