At the 11th hour on the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918, the Great War ends.
At 5 a.m. that morning, Germany, bereft of manpower and supplies and faced with imminent invasion, signed an armistice agreement with the Allies in a railroad car outside Compiégne, France. The First World War left nine million soldiers dead and 21 million wounded, with Germany, Russia, Austria-Hungary, France and Great Britain each losing nearly a million or more lives. In addition, at least five million civilians died from disease, starvation or exposure.
On this Armistice Day, we take a moment “to commemorate the contribution of British and Commonwealth military and civilian servicemen and women in the two World Wars and later conflicts” – we also remember the animals who perished in the wars. For they had no choice.
This year Lulu joins me in wearing both the red and the purple poppy.
The purple poppy is a symbol of remembrance in the United Kingdom for animals that served during wartime. The symbol was created in 2006 based on the principle of the traditional red remembrance poppy.
May’s comment: Every year, we used make our way to the Animals in War memorial on Remembrance Sunday. But we didn’t make it this year – weather got in the way.
One Response
It was news to my pups and me about the Purple Poppy commemorating animals who served or now serve in the armed services. George and Lulu look so wonderful in their red and purple poppies.