Remembrance Day

 

“They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning,

We will remember them.”

 

On days like this, it is hard to ignore the fact that the games we love are based on the very real horrors of war. We take Remembrance Day seriously in Australia, mainly because so many of us have been buried in foreign lands. There are a couple of valid arguments against Australia fighting in foreign wars, and it is hard not to be cynical when politicians are so damn… political, but I keep falling back on something my grandfather once told me. He lived in Arnhem, Netherlands, during the occupation in World War II, which by all accounts was hell. He said to me that they were all just desperately waiting for someone to come and save them, it didn’t matter who (as it so happens, one of my mother’s first memories was of a Canadian soldier giving her chocolate from his rations). I probably wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Allied troops fighting in countries far away from home. Australian troops have answered that call many times.

 

Arnhem

 

Anyway, I digress. On this day in 1918, the guns of the Western Front fell silent after more than four years of continuous warfare. The day gained special significance in Australia after the war; the moment when hostilities ceased became associated with the remembrance of those who had died. This has now been extended to all those who have died or suffered due to their service in any armed conflict. As a student and a teacher, I have experienced many remembrance ceremonies on this day throughout the years. It is a testament to the gravitas of the occasion that, even at the roughest schools (yes, I’ve been there), the minute of silence that we observe is actually silent.

 

Flowers for the fallen

 

My mate Wade has a large Imperial Guard army that he has been slowly repainting in the colour scheme of the Australian armed forces (Auscam). As I have posted previously, he now has some Van Diemen’s World troops to add to the force, which I am working on converting for him. Hopefully they are ready in time for the next big memorial, ANZAC Day 2015. He has kindly sent me a few photos, including a wicked custom Leman Russ Punisher, to share with you all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lest we forget,

M4cr0