I photographed this today.....made me sad but awe inspired too....

[Rocketeer]

A field in Hampshire....

 

[vikingBerserker]

WOW!

Well done!

 

[Aaron Brooks Wolters]

Nice shot Tony, but why'd it make you sad sir?

 

[tyrodtom]

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow in Flander's fields.
A line from a poem about WW1, I remember from high school.

 

[Gnomey]

Lovely shot Tony! Very moving.

 

[michaelmaltby]

IN FLANDERS FIELDS Poem, by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae

Proud Canadian

 

[N4521U]

Here in Oz the poppy is the mourning flower for remembrance of service men lost. Nice shot, nice thought.

 

[Rocketeer]

In the UK and Commonwealth Countries, the poppy will always be linked with remembrance of those in the military that laid their lives down for us to remain free. After WW1, the pounding of 1000s of tons of artillery shells and mortars disturbed poppy seeds that had laid dormant for 100s of years. They then flowered. In the UK, ploughing etc causes cycles of fields going into flower.

This field was amazing, there were also violet coloured poppies (seen a whole field of those and mistook them for linseed). That field will likely not flower again for decades.
As time goes on, the ranks of heros that fell in combat are once again joined by those that lived long lives and are sadly now leaving us. I can see them, joining up again, comrades in arms marching....ship mates sharing jokes and aircrews slipping the surly bonds once again. My Grandad is there, joined with old mates in 1986, flying long Catalina sorties with his old crew

A poem that moves me is about the Few:-

On Weald of Kent I watched once more....
again, I heard that wonderous roar...
of fighter planes...yet none were near
and all around the sky was clear...
Borne on the wind, a whisper came..
'Though men grow old...They stay the same'
Then I knew, unseen to eye...
The ageless Few were sweeping by.

Lord Balfour of Inchrye.

So a poppy, or a field of poppies sparks many emotions in me....sadness, gratefulness, inspiration, pride and wonder that God has given us such an amazing yet poignant reminder of man's follies and also the debt we owe.

 

[VBF-13]

What a moving sentiment.

 

[Njaco]

Here in Oz the poppy is the mourning flower for remembrance of service men lost. Nice shot, nice thought.

Same here in the US but its mostly forgotten and relegated to storefront veterans selling poppies next to the Girl Scout cookies.

 

[Vic Balshaw]

Always loved the poppy fields in UK, it's a sight that sticks in the mind and though associated with Flanders, they always bring on a smile. Many thanks for showing us.

 

[vikingBerserker]

It's the association with the poem that makes the shot so awesome to me.

 

[buffnut453]

On Weald of Kent I watched once more....
again, I heard that wonderous roar...
of fighter planes...yet none were near
and all around the sky was clear...
Borne on the wind, a whisper came..
'Though men grow old...They stay the same'
Then I knew, unseen to eye...
The ageless Few were sweeping by.

Lord Balfour of Inchrye.

Amazing I'd never read that poem before. It's fantastic - right up there with High Flight. Thanks for sharing.

Oh, and poppies do the same for me, too. Ironic that the poppy is a largely forgotten emblem in the US since it was an American lady who first came up with the idea and the poppy was first adopted by the National American Legion in 1920. France came next the following year and it was only after that that the UK started using the poppy as a symbol of remembrance.

 

[tyrodtom]

I don't think the poppy is that forgotten in the USA, I still see VFW veterans given them out for donations.

For some reason the ones the VFW give out now are blue, not red as they were when I did the same as a kid, they were called Buddy Poppies, then.

 

[buffnut453]

Maybe not entirely forgotten but there are relatively few in the US who recognize the significance of the poppy whereas in the UK there's hardly anyone who doesn't know what the poppy means. I wear my poppy every year in early November here in the DC area and get plenty of odd looks and questions.

 

[Crimea_River]

Great picture and sentiments Tony. Thanks for posting.

 

[A4K]

We wear them on April 25th, ANZAC day.

Great photo Tony.

 

[Njaco]

If you don't mind, I want to use that pic and poem for my "Inspiration" thread.

 

[Rocketeer]

Go for it! It is so beautiful it should be known by more. I have stood on various sites reciting it

 

[Airframes]

Just noticed this - great photo Tony, and I love the poem.