COLONEL CJ Newbould held members of Sarum U3A spellbound at their June meeting as he talked about the work of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission.
The talk, though often very moving, offered new insights into battle and its casualties.
He explained the effect of the famous Kitchener poster - Your Country Needs You - on young men who had little prospect of excitement in their lives.
They believed the war would be over swiftly and wanted to enlist before it was too late. Sadly, many never came home.
At the start of the war, they did not even have tin helmets – these were not invented till 1915.
When war was declared, the army numbered only 100,000 men and the need to expand it rapidly meant both officers and men were often inexperienced.
Before The First World War no effort had been made to provide an individual memorial for each soldier. The Imperial - later Commonwealth - War Graves Commission was set up to rectify this.
It established three principles: there would be no distinctions of rank; the men would be buried close to where they fell - to honour the bond with their comrades; and every soldier would be honoured even if they could not be identified.
Even the flowers try to reflect the countries of the fallen.
Others are honoured by name on war memorials across Europe.
The Colonel finished his talk with an eloquent reading of Siegfried Sassoon’s poem, Aftermath.In addition we were pleased to welcome three guests from Salisbury Manor and their carers, Jade and Nikki.
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