I have just come home from a very special morning visit. The grounds of the Australian War Memorial have been filled with over 62,000 crocheted red poppies. They have been made by ladies from all over the country and "planted" to commemorate the end of the First World War, which ended 100 years ago next month. There is a poppy for every Australian soldier killed in the war. In 1918 the population of Australia was under 5 million, so the loss of these men was a huge one for a "new" country. As well as those killed, over 150,000 were badly wounded and many never fully recovered. WW1 is sometimes called "The Great War", but as far as this small bear is concerned there is nothing "great" about any war. We really have to remember the sacrifices of those who gave their all for our country, and those who did the same for their countries, and work to make the world a place where war never happens again.
Labels: Canberra, heroes
# posted by Bart Bear @ 3:04 pm
