As Manchester Thunder, on remembrance day, we want to remember those who fought and gave up their lives during wars.
At 11am on the 11th day of the 11th month, we will remember the day World War One ended in 1918.
As the same as we’ve always done, we will be a part of a two-minute silence held in the early morning of Wednesday 11th November 2020.
The Remembrance red poppy is a powerful symbol for hope of a peaceful future and the story behind the poppy is equally powerful.
In the spring of 1915, a catastrophic clash between soldiers in northern France and Flanders saw acres of fields and lines of trees left in a desolate state. However, peeking above the surface were the Flanders poppy budding into the ravaged remains of the War.
Lieutenant Colonel John McCrae was the first to actively notice a cluster of beaming red poppies. However, was disrupted moments later having to tend to the wounded after a brutal attack. Having witnessed the chaos and fatal events of that day, the Canadian soldier, McCrae, wrote the memorable poem “In Flanders Fields” which gave voices to the fallen soldiers tucked away under the clusters of red poppies.
Although a pandemic and another 4 weeklong down has meant we will not be able to mark this day as we did last year and the year before that. The Prime Minister’s official spokesperson said: “It’s important that the country can continue to come together to remember the sacrifice of those who have died in the service of their country and we will ensure that Remembrance Sunday is appropriately commemorated while protecting public health.”
This has meant that Remembrance services and events can still go ahead, granted that strict social distancing measures are upheld throughout the day.
As a Netball community we can still support and encourage others to donate, this year as well as wearing the symbolic red poppy, you can also support Remembrance Day by using a digital poppy or various other sites. Or, similarly as to how we demonstrated our support to the NHS, for those with a creative flare could colour in a downloadable poppy and display it in your windows.
Lest we forget.