Today 11 November Remembrance day many grieve for those who were lost in war. It is a day we think of all the violence which still goes on in this world. Lots of men went through a horrific war, and when they came back in heir family they often were broken and could not find their way back in normal life. Many did not have any clue of what they had to endure. Today the madness still goes on at several places on this globe.
In this world there are people who want to divide and others who want to heal. All people should try to get others to see that it has no use to fight and that wars are the worst tragedy that can come over the world, war bringing many countries in agony, because of some man their love for power.
More people should come to understand that we can only improve the world by improving the Faith and that we should not put off for tomorrow what we can do today.
In the November issue of the Christadelphian is spoken about
- 100 years ago
- Studies in Matthew’s Gospel 11 – “That it might be fulfilled …” | John Benson
- The ministry of reconciliation | Geoff Henstock
- Archaeology in focus 11 – Horses & riders | James Andrews
- Reflections on the Great War (2) | Les Shears
- Bible Companion | John Hingley
- Enhancing our worship Suggestions for November | John Botten
- The purpose of the Ecclesia 09 – The Ecclesia as the flock part 2 | Peter Anderton & Paul Tovell
- Electronic Hymn book
- “Until seventy times seven” | Stephen Whitehouse
- Faith Alive! Seeing the invisible | Paul Dredge
- Book Review Beginning at Jerusalem by John M. Hellawell | Stephen Whitehouse
- Signs of the times Russia: strong enough to act? | Roger Long
- Israel and their Land Parting the land | Roger Long
- Epilogue “Examine yourselves … test yourselves” | David Caudery
- The brotherhood near and far
and can you find this 2° article on the Great War:
Reflections on the Great War
On August 4, 1914, the British government issued an ultimatum to Germany, demanding that their troops leave neutral Belgium. Germany had declared war on France the previous day and had begun the invasion of Belgium as a precursor to the planned encirclement of Paris. Following the rejection of the ultimatum, Britain declared war on Germany at 11 pm.
The war begins
The British, Belgian and American lines of attack, during the Hundred Days Offensive (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Many greeted this action with enthusiasm, convinced that the war was a just cause and that it would soon be brought to a successful conclusion. However, as Brother John Botten pointed out in his introductory article (Reflections on the Great War #1 100 years on), while the Royal Navy was supposedly far superior to any other navy, the British army was far smaller than the vast armies of continental Europe and the British Expeditionary Force (BEF) which set off for Belgium numbered only around 120,000. If the British were to make more than a token contribution to the land war then the established principle of a volunteer army might have to be overturned. This was even more apparent by the end of August, following the battles of Mons and Le Cateau where the BEF had sustained heavy casualties and, along with the French army, been forced into a long retreat by vastly superior German forces. On September 5 (by which time the Germans had reached the River Marne and were threatening Paris), newly appointed Secretary of War, Lord Kitchener, called for 100,000 volunteers and over the next week some 175,000 enlisted. News of German atrocities committed against Belgian civilians was eagerly seized on by a jingoistic press and helped in this process. Although the German army was forced back from the Marne, much fighting lay ahead in 1914 before the front line was stabilized – roughly along a line running north from Noyon past Arras and around Ypres to the Belgian coast, and east and south to the Swiss frontier. By the end of the year the British, French and Belgians had suffered a combined total of over 1,000,000 killed, wounded or missing, the vast majority of them French. The BEF’s ability to function had been severely compromised; more and more men would be required. There was still no suggestion of any immediate need for conscription, but public opinion was becoming increasingly ‘hawkish’.
22 August 1914: “A” Company of the 4th Battalion, Royal Fusiliers, resting in the town square at Mons. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Things had not gone well at sea either and elements of the German fleet had bombarded towns along the east coast, notably Hartlepool, Scarborough and Whitby, causing over 700 casualties. One victim of those bombardments was Brother Ripley of Whitby, whose house was practically destroyed by a shell, although he escaped injury.
Objection to military service
How did the brotherhood respond to the outbreak of war and its progress over the first six months? It would be good to be able to report that there was unanimity, but alas, that was not the case. Indeed, there was not even agreement as to whether we should petition government to register our conscientious objection to military service. There are lessons here for us all.
The cabinet had first discussed the necessity of conscription for all males aged 18-40 back in 1875, prompting Brother Robert Roberts to suggest that “a petition to Parliament might not be without advantage”. No lesser figure than William Gladstone agreed to present the petition, only for disagreements within the brotherhood about the timing of the petition to surface and it was abandoned. In 1903, perhaps prompted by the South African War, a petition signed by about forty ecclesias was prepared but not presented. Almost immediately after the declaration of war in 1914 the issue again raised its head within the community. On August 13, 1914, a meeting attended by almost 1,000 persons was held at the Temperance Hall in Birmingham. The following resolutions were passed with “practical unanimity”:
“‘That this meeting records its unshaken conviction that the commandments of Christ forbid the bearing of arms and bloodshedding.’
‘That in the present state of the nation it is not desirable to present a petition praying exemption from the bearing of arms.’
‘That we agree to the form of petition that has been presented and place it on record for possible use hereafter.’”
At the same time it was noted that there was some objection to clause 7, “for reasons which need not now be stated”.
The reasons for delay in registering our position with the government are difficult to fathom. There was obviously a concern that any petition should not appear to be prompted merely by any current conflict, but there does appear to have been a degree of complacency when there was no immediate threat.
Facing a time of trial
If there seemed to be agreement about our objection to military service, there was considerable disagreement about what brothers and sisters could or should do in the event of war. The original wording of clause 7 was:
“That the conscientious objection of your petitioners does not extend to strictly non-combatant branches of National Service, but only to those which involve the bearing of arms or resort to force.”
Apparently, the author of this clause intended it to mean that brothers would have no objection to work of national value in a civil capacity not involving an oath of allegiance, but it is easy to see how the wording could be misconstrued and lead to future problems. The clause was omitted from the petition that was finally presented. Nonetheless, this remained a difficult area. An article entitled, “Our Plain Duty” appeared in the September edition of The Christadelphian. The author was clear that “we may neither bear arms nor use violence”, but he went on to write:
“In free civil life brethren may be found employed about munitions of war, for in this century nearly everything can be, and is, put to military use; therefore to work in a non-combatant capacity under conscription cannot rightly be called an outrage on our faith and practice. There are already some of us who, from good Samaritan motives, are now volunteering medical, and nursing, and other kindred service …”
It may well be that almost anything could be used in the war effort, but it is concerning to read of one meeting welcoming a brother whose work “at Vickers’ gun factory” had brought him to the area. How could such employment be considered appropriate?
It is easy to sit back and criticise those who were volunteering for medical work, as service in the Royal Army Medical Corps did involve taking the oath of allegiance and working under military direction. However, we should try take into account the atmosphere in which this was taking place. The government had been quick to claim that we were fighting in a just cause and pressures came on every side – the press, public opinion and even employers. We can get an idea of the sort of pressures that existed by looking at an extract from an article entitled, “Our Attitude Towards War” published in The Fraternal Visitor in October 1914:
“If ever any war were justifiable, this is one, which, from our point of view, is just … But even so, we, as Brethren in Christ, can take no hand even in this war. Not that we wish others to fight our battles; we do not. Many of us younger brethren feel so convinced of the soundness of our cause that, apart from religious scruples, we desire to take up arms on behalf of our country and in defence of all that we hold dear.”
Even with a clear understanding of our duty towards God, it is evident that this was indeed a most difficult situation and not all were able to resist the instinct alluded to in the article. Thus, Sheffield (Suffolk Street) Ecclesia reported that a brother and two senior members of Sunday School had joined the RAMC, while others went further and enlisted for the duration in fighting units. There are reports of this happening at Newport, Northampton, Kidderminster and York. At York the brother was withdrawn from and this led to three further withdrawals, but, it appears that he had a change of heart and was able to extricate himself from the army and all were eventually restored to fellowship. In other instances there was an expression of sadness and a wish that in the not too distant future they could be welcomed home again. It is difficult to be certain of the fate of all who joined up, but it seems that at least one of those brothers did not survive the conflict.
The weapons of our warfare
French soldiers waiting assault behind a ditch (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
It was appropriate that the Editorial section of The Christadelphian in November 1914 commenced with a short piece entitled, “The Weapons of our Warfare”. It began by citing 2 Corinthians 10:3-5:
“Though we walk in the flesh, we do not war after the flesh: (for the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty through God to the pulling down of strongholds;) casting down imaginations, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ.”
It concluded, “If we have faith in Christ we shall eschew carnal weapons and confine ourselves to ‘the sword of the Spirit’ and ‘the whole armour of God.’ If we have not faith we may ‘take the sword and perish with the sword’, as Christ has said”.
Les Shears
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The Christadelphian, 1878, page 85.
As Brother John pointed out in his article, Lincoln Ecclesia had already had correspondence with some MPs on the subject.
The Christadelphian, 1914, page 422.
The Christadelphian, 1915, pages 85,86.
The Fraternal Visitor, 1914, page 286. The article itself runs from pages 285-289.
The Fraternal Visitor, 1914, page 346.
The Fraternal Visitor, 1914, page 376; The Christadelphian, 1914, pages 525,565,566.
The Christadelphian, 1915, page 189.
It appears that he died of wounds at a field hospital in Merville, France on July 9, 1917.
The Christadelphian, 1914, page 505.
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Preceding article: Reflections on the Great War #1
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Come to get to know more about the Christadelphians.Do find an overview of what Christadelphian people think, live and want to follow up.
Read more about them in :
- Who are the Christadelphians
- What are Brothers in Christ
- Two new encyclopaedic articles
- Review of the Christadelphians from some older articles
- Loving the Word
- Agape, a love to share with others from the Fruit of the Spirit
- Servant of his Father
- Disciple of Christ counting lives and friends dear to them
- Christadelphians or Messianic Christians or Messianic Jews
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Please find additional reading:
- All the war-propaganda, all the screaming and lies and hatred, comes invariably from people who are not fighting… George Orwell
- August 4, 1914 to be remembered
- 11 November, a day to remember #1 Until Industrialisation
- 11 November, a day to remember #2 From the Industrialisation
- 100° birthday of war and war tourism
- 1914 – 2014 preparations
- Liège 2014 remembering the Great War
- Mons 2014 remembering the Great War
- Friendship and Offer for the cause of democracy
- Juncker warns for possible new war
- Balfour Declaration of 1917 remembered
- Maker of most popular weapon asks for repentance
- Kingdom of God, a journey
- Which man is mentioned most often in the Bible? Jesus, Moses, Abraham or David?
- More Mexicans start questioning Catholic doctrine and the concept of the Trinity
- Improving the world by improving the Faith
- Don’t put off for tomorrow what you can do today
- The world Having to face a collective failure
- Anti-church movements and Humanism
- Are you religious, spiritual, or do you belong to a religion, having a faith or interfaith
- Do you believe in One god
- Looking for something or for the Truth and what it might be and self-awareness
- People Seeking for God 5 Bread of life
- How long to wait before bringing religiousness and spirituality in practice
- Looking for True Spirituality 8 Measuring Up
- Built on or Belonging to Jewish tradition #4 Mozaic and Noachide laws
- Tapping into God’s Strength by Waiting on Him
- Come ye yourselves apart … and rest awhile (Mark 6:31)
- Faith because of the questions
- A rebellious movement founded on a fake?
- Flowing out from a genuine spiritual “heart”
- Believing what Jesus says
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You may find on WordPress additional literature:
- 100 years on – we remember
- Armistice Day, 100 years after
- A Century On – Remember The Fallen
- A WW1 Centenary Image
- Blood Swept Lands and Seas of Red…
- In Flander’s Fields…
- In Flanders’ Fields
- In Flanders Fields, by Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae (1915)
- In Flanders Field, Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae
- Sable – The Green Fields of France
- 11-11-11
- Armistice Day
- Veterans / Remembrance Day 2014
- Spotlight on Remembrance Sunday
- Poppy Day vs Pocky Day?
- Poppy Day
- Poppy Day by Paul Hunter
- Poppy Day: 11/11
- The Poppy’s Bonfire.
- In Rememberance….Postcards from the Past
- Remembrance Day 1
- Remembrance Day 2
- Remembrance 3
- remembrance 4
- Rememberence day 5
- Remembrance day 6
- Remembrance Day 2014 1
- Remembrance Day 2014 2
- Remembering
- Remembrance Day (With a insight to my family and the Great Wars)
- Remembering my father on November 11
- Remembrance Hill
- November 11, Remembrance Day in Ypres (Belgium)
- 11.11.14 Lest we Forget
- Lest we forget 1
- Lest We Forget 2
- Lest We Forget 3
- Lest we forget: Harper’s war on Canadian rights and freedoms
- Lest we forget, message from the Minister of Veterans Affairs; City of Edmonton to hold Remembrance Day Services
- Lest We Forget – A Peace Remembered
- Europe remembers Armistice Day with ceremonies
- Peace
- A day of remembrance, a day of celebration too
- The price of freedom
- Freedom and the Importance of Remembrance
- Will we take responsiblity for our freedom and democracy?
- Poem for Armistice Day 11 11 2014
- This Tranquil Fields of Slumber
- The Parade
- Like the generations of leaves…
- Red Poppies
- One Of Many – Remembrance Day
- Remembrance Day Poppies at the Tower of London
- Remembrance Day: A Tribute To Our Brave Soldiers…
- Poppy ‘s up, November the 11th today, Montana Hotel for our Heros
- Poppy Day 2014
- Thoughts of poppies and absent friends
- The Remembrance Sunday Parade Setting Off, Bethlehem Street, Grimsby, 09/11/14.
- Remembering the Fallen on Veteran’s Day
- Hamilton honours fallen hometown soldier Nathan Cirillo
- Two Minutes
- Poppies
- Pixel Prose Challenge: Poppy Pride
- Remembrance Sunday: The Poppy Factory
- Remembrance Sunday poppies…
- Poppy, Poppies, and Others
- Please don’t remove the Tower poppies
- A Lily Warne poppy and other Dartmoor connections
- Prince Harry Rides Double Decker Bus for Poppy Day
- LaSalle honours and remembers veterans on Remembrance Day
- Video Southwold Memorial Service
- 100 Years Ago
- This year, I will wear a poppy for the last time
- Full Pundit: How Canada remembers
- Photos: Canada remembers
- In Photos: Winnipeg remembers
- Maple Leaf Journal – 11/11 Remembrance Day
- A Poppy for Armistice Day from a ‘Small’ Cat…
- November 11, 2014
- Twa Corbies for Poppy Day
- …remembrance day, patriotism for the profits of war…
- Happy Veterans/Remembrance Day everyone
- We will remember them – British Legion service
- Satire in the saddest of times
- Appreciation on Remembrance Day
- Watercolor: Remembrance Poppies
- My first post– about the Last Post
- To remember you have to know
- For the Fallen ~ Robert Laurence Binyon
- Remembrance Sunday
- Poppy politics
- World War I Memorial, Part Two
- Warriors Day
- The Tale of Two Poppies
- CyPix: Ames Ambulance Unit
- Wilfred Owen (1893-1918), stiched portrait, finished
- Veterans Day: An Origin Story
- The Teenage Soldiers of WWI
- Four Places to Discover World War I History
- Was fashion responsible for the outbreak of the First World War?
- What Soldiers Read
- Veterans Day And Remembrance Day Are Marked Across The Globe
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- The Eight Birmingham brothers who served in World War One – and all came home (birminghammail.co.uk)
Birmingham has a proud tradition of answering the call from King and Country in both World Wars. Huge sacrificeswere made. Justine Halifax tells the heart-warming – and heart-breaking tale of Corporal James Fair, his eight sons, grandsons, and great grandsons, who all served in the forces.“The last of the fighting Fairs is dead” – is how the passing of the eighth son of Birmingham’s Corporal James Fair was reported in the Birmingham Mail’s predecessor newspaper 60 years ago.
- Armistice Day 2014: We remember them – 100 years on (dorsetecho.co.uk)
The 1st Battalion would have a long andeventfulwar – all of it on the Western Front. From the start, they were present when the BEFfirstencountered the German Army at Mons and through the long and exhausting retreat that followed, via another clash at LeCateau.In the following year, they experienced one of the first poison gas attacks at Hill 60, on the Ypres Salient.They then suffered appalling casualties at Authuille Wood on July 1, 1916 – the notorious first day of the Battle of the Somme.
- The Road to Ypres (oup.com)
We have celebrated the fumbling British skirmishes at Mons and Le Cateau in late August, but largely forgotten the French triumph at the Battle of the Marne which first stemmed and threw back the German wheeling attack through Belgium into Northern France under the Schlieffen Plan. We have already bypassed the spirited Franco-British attempts at the Battle of the Aisne in September to take the Chemin des Dames. The Race to the Sea was under way: the British and German Armies desperately trying to turn their enemy’s northern flank.
Throughout, the performance of the British Expeditionary Force has often been exaggerated. Imaginative accounts of Germans advancing in massed columns and being blown away by rapid rifle fire are common. A rather more realistic assessment is that the British infantry were steadfast enough in defence, but unable to function properly in coordination with their artillery or machine guns. The Germans seemed to have a far better grip of the manifold disciplines of modern warfare.
- Still bearing the scars of war, the beautiful landscapes which were once the scene of some of World War One’s bloodiest fighting (dailymail.co.uk)
The collection, called Fields of Battle-Lands of Peace 14-18, form an open-air exhibition featuring 60 freestanding photographs, each measuring 1.2 metres (4ft) by 1.8 metres (5ft 10in).
- Liveblogging World War I: October 20, 1914 The First Battle of Ypres (delong.typepad.com)
Strategically located along the roads leading to the Channel ports in Belgian Flanders, the Belgian city of Ypres had been the scene of numerous battles since the sixteenth century. With the German failure at the Battle of the Marne in September 1914 and the subsequent Allied counter attacks, the ‘Race to the Sea’ began.
This so called race ended at the North Sea coast after each army attempted to outflank the other by moving north and west. This area of Flanders, described by one historian as having the dreariest landscape in Western Europe, contained the last gap through which either side could launch a decisive thrust.
By October 1914, the Allies had reached Nieuport on the North Sea coast. The Germans, as a prelude to General Erich von Falkenhayn’s Flanders Offensive, captured Antwerp and forced its Belgian defenders back to Nieuport, near Ypres.
- World War One Cardiff council fallen remembered on roll of honour (walesonline.co.uk)
Those who worked for Cardiff City Council and lost their lives in World War One were remembered in the council’s roll of honour. Jessica Flynn looks at the formal roll held at Glamorgan Archives
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With hundreds of names on the list, each have their own personal story. Many were normal working class people going about their lives in the city before the war changed their futures.
- The History of Remembrance Poppies (serenataflowers.com)
Published in 1915, the poem “In Flanders Fields” by John McCrae uses thisimage as a symbol of the way that the poet’s comrades fought and gave their lives in battle.Its hugely powerful sentiment inspired two women who went onto be responsible for our wearing of the poppy today.In the USA after having read the poem, Moina Bell Michael started to sell poppies to raise funds for ex- servicemen. Later in 1921 the idea was taken up by Madam Guerin who sold countless poppies to raise money to regenerate areas of France that had been most severely destroyed during World War One.
Previously people left their houses to socialise, but now they make contact with the PC, iPad, tablet or smartphone and have forgotten the quality time of real-life gatherings. Meeting new people or making advantages was an adventure. Paper for letters or cards where the connection tools.
As-Salaam Aliakum. So often I think we hear these words today and the hairs on the back of our necks rise as images from Paris, Syria, and Iraq flash in our minds. Is this not a Muslim greeting?!
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