Commemorating World War One

One hundred years ago this year, saw the start of one of the most devastating wars our world has known, with over 37 million civilian and military casualties, and over 16 million people killed.  Maps such as the one above, and the one below show how in places the front line barely moved during the entire war, and yet these areas are doted with thousands of graves of those who died on the battlefield, many of them sadly unknown.

Like most people, I know of at least one relative, buried in France or Belgium as a result of this conflict.  This is why I quite like the idea of the 2014 Real Poppy Campaign; wouldn’t it be a fitting tribute to all those who suffered in this conflict, and who are still suffering in conflicts around the world, the see every verge, hedgerow and garden turn red in their memory?