The large area of flat land in the Vale of York was home to a large number of air bases in the Second World War. This shot was taken earlier this year at one of them which is now the home of an air museum.
Elvington was a multinational base, and at one time large numbers of French airmen were based there. This shot shows an outdoor memorial to the airmen who didn't return from their missions, and it focuses on a twisted and decayed propeller.
My mum had two brothers who flew in bombers. One was a rear gunner who never came back, and whose fate was never discovered. The second was in an aircraft that was shot down, and he spent a long time in a POW camp.
Many families in the UK and around the world will have simular stories to tell. Such enormous sacrifice in the name of peace.
Today, on the eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month, many will have shared a minute of silence in memory of that sacrifice.
I mentally went to Montreal Veteran’s Hospital. In 1967 a tiny man wearing the blue cords, white shirt, red tie uniform, asked the young radiographer if she was English. When I said I was, he told me “I was one of that contemptible little army” which I believe is how the British and Commonwealth army was described by its opponents.
Mother had an American boyfriend in WW2 His plane didn’t return.
An uncle spent years in a POW camp.
We mustn’t forget the horses, dogs and pigeons either.
Great story telling and memorial to go with it. Unfortunately it is very sorrowful that, although not world wars, we see or hear of wars and many people being killed because leaders are not ready to come to an agreement to stop the conflict.
Thank you all for your lovely comments and favs, they are very much appreciated.
To many, Remembrance can be a very sad experience, but very theraputic as well. We really can't allow ourselves to forget the horrors of war and the sacrifices of those involved, and hopefully we will eventually learn to avoid future conflict.
Ian
November 12th, 2024
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Mother had an American boyfriend in WW2 His plane didn’t return.
An uncle spent years in a POW camp.
We mustn’t forget the horses, dogs and pigeons either.
Thank you all for your lovely comments and favs, they are very much appreciated.
To many, Remembrance can be a very sad experience, but very theraputic as well. We really can't allow ourselves to forget the horrors of war and the sacrifices of those involved, and hopefully we will eventually learn to avoid future conflict.
Ian