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Post by donkeychomp on Dec 26, 2020 23:45:59 GMT 1
Just watched this on the beeb. Very moving, very sad, but also uplifting. The ending made me smile as a Spitfire pilot, who ran out of fuel fighting over the beach, made an emergency landing. The letters on the side of his plane was LC. Deffo worth a watch if it comes on again.
Alex
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Post by veg on Dec 27, 2020 0:02:46 GMT 1
It’s a fabulous film Alex plenty more like that. How to turn a defeat into a victory. 1917 is also a cracking film. 1916 by Motörhead is a brilliant song about the futility of war.
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Post by steve h on Dec 27, 2020 0:50:29 GMT 1
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Post by veg on Dec 27, 2020 1:41:43 GMT 1
Brilliant al Deere well known loved and respected BoB pilot. Read about winkle brown absolutely the legend. Also sgt ray Holmes.
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Dunkirk
Dec 27, 2020 8:33:10 GMT 1
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veg likes this
Post by Tobyjugs on Dec 27, 2020 8:33:10 GMT 1
I lived for 6 months on one of the small ships. A Thames river cruiser called the Latona. It had a lot of history. In the past a test pilot lived on it and wrote a book.
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Post by dusty350 on Dec 27, 2020 10:49:55 GMT 1
I knew a lovely old fella that had been at Dunkirk for over a week before he got out. He said, every night, the local French towns people would come and mock and berate the English troops for leaving/retreating. He didn't like the French after that !! The French army did fight an amazing rear guard action , slowing the advancing Germans and buying the allies time for a rescue. We stopped at Dunkirk after a trip to Ypres in 2018. Hard to imagine what it must have been like with over 400,000 troops on the sand. Over 338,000 got out, which far exceeded what Churchill had hoped for. Luck played a major part - bad weather hindered the Stukas and the lightening advance of the Panzers was halted for 2 days whilst the German waited for their infantry to catch up, buying the allies precious time for escape. The RAF lost over 140 aircraft protecting the rescue, and a quarter of the "little ships" did not return. The "Marchioness", which collided with the "BowBelle" on the Thames in 1989 with a terrible loss of life was one of the original "Little ships". And some of the surviving boats were used in the 2017 film. 20180416_132059 by dusty miller, on Flickr Looking across part of the beach to the East and West Mols 20180416_131011 by dusty miller, on Flickr Dusty
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Dunkirk
Dec 29, 2020 18:38:20 GMT 1
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Post by st66 on Dec 29, 2020 18:38:20 GMT 1
Both my grandfather's where at Dunkirk, I as a child I remember them both and neither of them sopke of it, not to me anyhow but at the age of six I knew I was going to be a soldier, all I ever wanted to be growing up, and I was for ten years,, growing up with my grandfathers history was a privalge, always gave me strength when I had none, sadly missed as all are, does make you stop and think, genuine reasons for war, but wot a waste its a shame such things happen and we as humans still don't learn,, maybe one day
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Post by dusty350 on Dec 29, 2020 21:40:35 GMT 1
Both my Grandfathers were first world war veterans, 1 Royal Engineer, 1 Royal Field, then Horse Artillery. First one died long before I was born, the second, who won the MM on the Somme and nearly lost his arm in the process, died when I was 6. He certainly never talked about it, in general conversation anyway. He was a tough Irishman, and was a Firewatcher on the top of Debenham and Freebody in the centre of London during the second world war, a dangerous place to be for sure. I am immensely proud of both of them, but I feel any sacrifices made by them, or our finest that follow in their footsteps and serve our country will never be enough for everlasting peace. Mankind will destroy itself eventually, and Mans inhumanity to Man knows no bounds. Me and my lad went to Krakow in 2018. Visited Auschwitz and Birkenau. A deeply moving experience; 20180927_111529 by dusty miller, on Flickr
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Dunkirk
Dec 30, 2020 3:37:12 GMT 1
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Post by 350wayne on Dec 30, 2020 3:37:12 GMT 1
I’ll second that Dusty , I went to Auschwitz / Birkenou a few years ago too . What a harrowing experience, when they took our group into the actual gas chambers at Auschwitz all the woman burst into tears , it was a very dark experience . But I’m glad I went , if that makes sense ?
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Post by dusty350 on Dec 30, 2020 8:56:01 GMT 1
Hi mate I believe it's part of the history curriculum for Polish kids to visit Auschwitz. You see bus loads of them larking about in the car park, as all kids do, before they go in. Very different atmosphere when they come out ! I did a thread on my France trip on here, but didn't do one for Auschwitz as I wasn't sure it was appropriate ? I would certainly encourage anyone with an interest to go, but brace yourself for what you will find. We were well read up on it so were ok, but there were plenty that walked through the gates that didn't know what to expect, and were visibly upset by the experience.
Dusty
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Dunkirk
Dec 30, 2020 10:18:46 GMT 1
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Post by 350wayne on Dec 30, 2020 10:18:46 GMT 1
Morning Dusty , Yes , it’s certainly an eye opening experience ! I thought I knew what to expect , but the grim reality of what happened there , hits you hard when you actually visit the 2 camps . The tour guides do a good job of portraying what happened and the numbers of people who went through those camps is staggering . I went with the mrs to Krakow for a Christmas market weekend but we had planned on visiting the camps while we were there , what a contrast that weekend was !
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Dunkirk
Dec 30, 2020 10:39:04 GMT 1
Post by cbm on Dec 30, 2020 10:39:04 GMT 1
An ex work colleague/very good friend based in Siewierz in Poland took me to visit many significant WWI & II related places in his country over the years. As Dusty’s said the history is part of their school curriculum which along with tragic family ties to Auschwitz-Birkenau created a special interest for my friend Piotr. This meant I was privileged to have my own personal historical guide on these trips. The day we went to Auschwitz-Birkenau was without doubt the most poignant due mainly to the images we’ve grown up with, actually being there left me with a feeling beyond description.
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Dunkirk
Dec 30, 2020 20:14:59 GMT 1
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Post by st66 on Dec 30, 2020 20:14:59 GMT 1
It is totally mind bending wot man is capable of and I can see why wars are fought greed, religion ect but to fight against pure evil to end such atrocities, I can sit and see why men and women do fight in such wars, but the cost in lives is unreal, but as dusty said it will go on and on, hopefully we will never see such things again I knew when I joined up I wanted to be a soldier, not for queen and country but it was just inside me to do, my father said that his father was once a pow with the Japanese, and he hated them till the day he past, my mother's father never spoke about it to anyone, I thought I understood, about war,,I was wrong. , three years in Northern Ireland showed me a percentage of war, but nothing and I mean nothing prepared me for the horrors of the next two in Bosnia, it showed me how far men can go, I was sick to my stomach for ages in that place, constantly, do you learn to deal with it, to a point, I guess so but it never leaves you, it makes you stronger in a way to stop such things,. After then I knew why people fight wars in such cases not for glory I've medals up the ying yang, do I look back and see the shiny medals, no I look back and say I saved wot I could and that makes me whole, to save lives period, you could debate about the subject of wars for years,, but genocide that's different that's wrong unforgivable, and I hope it never see it again,, but it is going on in places around the world now,, will man ever learn,,,,
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Dunkirk
Dec 30, 2020 20:38:08 GMT 1
Post by dusty350 on Dec 30, 2020 20:38:08 GMT 1
Today, in China, there are over 400 internment camps holding as many as 1 million Uigher muslims. Satellite imagery shows most camps have factories on site, and large groups of people are seen entering at the beginning of the day. Sound familiar ?
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Post by copper99 on Jan 7, 2021 15:01:33 GMT 1
Bit late to the party but a couple of years back, outside a local classic bike shop was this old Ariel, chap working on it told me it was left behind at Dunkirk and the German army had subsequently commandeered it for their own use, hence the German VIN plate! Id love to own something with a history like this...
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Dunkirk
Jan 7, 2021 18:47:39 GMT 1
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Post by veg on Jan 7, 2021 18:47:39 GMT 1
That is so cool, 20 odd years ago I was over in Normandy for d day celebration and met a guy called ian Wright (ark motorcycles) he was on an ex wd m20 ( from memory) could have been a g3, anyway he specialised in ex wd bikes clothing etc and was dressed as a don r back then a bike with provenance was about £12-1500 I’m guessing they are considerably more now, always fancied one.
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Post by copper99 on Jan 7, 2021 20:49:31 GMT 1
That is so cool, 20 odd years ago I was over in Normandy for d day celebration and met a guy called ian Wright (ark motorcycles) he was on an ex wd m20 ( from memory) could have been a g3, anyway he specialised in ex wd bikes clothing etc and was dressed as a don r back then a bike with provenance was about £12-1500 I’m guessing they are considerably more now, always fancied one. Fab, its even better when they all get themed up with the gear as well. Mike (mr motomovers) and myself did the 75th Anniversary event last year, well 2019, and the whole region was buzzing with cool military kit and aircraft of all eras flying over. From there, I left to visit some WW1 sites. Was supposed to go over again last year but Covid put paid to that. So the owners told us, these where worth around 30K Euro a piece, a few had ridden them to Normandy from Belgium and such like. Should have done a thread on the event when we returned .. These may have been a bit easier on the wallet but just as cool. Think us lads are a proper & last product of the war generation really, action man, air fix kits, Warlord and Commando comic books, the falklands war and a whole host of (realistic looking) toy guns and plastic knives modern parents would frown upon. Heard a fact on a podcast the other day that will make some us feel our age, we are now at a point where the Falklands War is just about further in the past now , than WW2 was to the Falklands war back in 1982...
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Post by veg on Jan 7, 2021 21:04:47 GMT 1
Brilliant, cafe gondree and the area has changed massively in the last few years I started going 25 years ago it was relatively quiet I like you try to go most years and it’s increased in popularity hugely which I think is only right so we don’t forget. It is scary to realise that about the falklands, I still as you know listen to the pod casts buy audio books for the car and I still read commando and make airfix kits (proper nerd). 👍
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Post by donkeychomp on Jan 7, 2021 23:12:43 GMT 1
The other day I reluctantly decided to join Amazon prime again just to watch the 2 new episodes of the Grand Tour. Amazingly I got a free 30 day trial, so that made me smile. After watching the GT I wondered if the film 1917 is on Amazon...well, it is. Sat through it in 3 stints (I do get called out a bit) and I was just gob smacked. I'm trying to think of a better film that shows the true realities of WW1 but I can't. It was that moving. From the lack of food, the trenches, the shell holes with bodies still in them...I can sort of begin to understand what life must have been like for them back there, but that's easy for me to say in my comfy home and sitting on a sofa. One thing I do think about a lot is 'going over the top'. Surely those men realised this was it, they were going to die and for no real reason. They must have had nerves of titanium to do that. People often say who they think was the greatest generation. It surely isn't ours, and I always thought it was the 1940's. Perhaps I'm wrong about that...
Alex
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