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Armistice Day, Christian thought, England, Flanders, Flanders Field, grandfather, London, Poppies, reflections, Remembrance Day, thanksgiving, the Great War, War, Ypres
As we remember the 100th anniversary of the start of the Great War (I have trouble with the word great) I can remember one grandfather and remember hearing about the other. My Father’s dad, Earnest Alfred Howard Kighley Sprange, was killed in action September 16, 1917. My Mother’s father, William Phillip Reid was gassed, wounded, taken prisoner in France and returned home with a permanent limp and damaged lungs.
They didn’t get his name right. Can you imagine the knock on the door. Opening the door to know this was the very worst of news. Can you imagine opening the envelope and reading this stark notice. I don’t know what happened to the enclosed message from the King and Queen. Can you imagine the frequency that these notices were being delivered.
Can you imagine the terror and horrors that all these front-line men experienced.
And the horror and the terror continue because of greed, demand for power, fear and hatred. Can you imagine a world in which these evil powers no longer rule?
I am grateful for knowing and loving and being loved by one of my grandfathers. I will share his story next time. He is my hero.
Lest we forget…