SUNDAY 10 NOVEMBER 2013
1330 HRS
TRAFALGAR SQUARE
Follow Veterans For Peace UK as we walk to The Cenotaph with a message of peace.
This year in opposition to the pro-war tone of the state parade. Veterans For Peace UK will walk to the Cenotaph under a banner which reflects the original sentiment of the Armistice
“NEVER AGAIN”.
Once there D-Day veteran Jim Radford will sing ‘1916’ and Afghanistan veteran John Boulton will read ‘Suicide in the Trenches’ by Siegfried Sassoon. A wreath of white & red poppies will then be laid by Northern Ireland veteran John Bourton. After The Last Post has been played
there will be a period of silence in which to remember all victims of war.
Veterans For Peace UK have been active since 2011. We have a wide range of members from all three services ranging in experience from D-Day to Afghanistan. We work toward increasing public awareness of the true costs of war for the larger purpose of world peace.
ALL ARE WELCOME TO FOLLOW US TO THE CENOTAPH
Dress – Smart
No banners or placards except for “NEVER AGAIN” to be carried by Veterans For Peace.
Info – veteransforpeaceuk@gmail.com
07866 559 312
“1916”
16 years old when I went to the war,
To fight for a land fit for heroes,
God on my side, and a gun in my hand,
Chasing my days down to zero,
And I marched and I fought and I bled and I died,
And I never did get any older,
But I knew at the time that a year in the line,
Is a long enough life for a soldier,
We all volunteered, and we wrote down our names,
And we added two years to our ages,
Eager for life and ahead of the game,
Ready for history’s pages,
And we brawled and we fought and we whored ’til we stood,
Ten thousand shoulder to shoulder,
A thirst for the Hun, we were food for the gun,
And that’s what you are when you’re soldiers,
I heard my friend cry, and he sank to his knees,
Coughing blood as he screamed for his mother,
And I fell by his side, and that’s how we died,
Clinging like kids to each other,
And I lay in the mud and the guts and the blood,
And I wept as his body grew colder,
And I called for my mother and she never came,
Though it wasn’t my fault and I wasn’t to blame,
The day not half over and ten thousand slain,
And now there’s nobody remembers our names,
And that’s how it is for a soldier.
Written in 1990 by Lemmy Kilmister
Suicide in the Trenches
I knew a simple soldier boy
Who grinned at life in empty joy,
Slept soundly through the lonesome dark,
And whistled early with the lark.
In winter trenches, cowed and glum,
With crumps and lice and lack of rum,
He put a bullet through his brain.
No one spoke of him again.
You smug-faced crowds with kindling eye
Who cheer when soldier lads march by,
Sneak home and pray you’ll never know
The hell where youth and laughter go.
Written in 1918 by Siegfried Sassoon (1886-1967)
Veterans For Peace UK 
Lemmy will be very proud his lyrics will be sung. I once told him it was the best song he ever wrote. I stand by that statement!
Wars are psychopaths playgrounds. Psychos thrive on creating suffering and tension. They can’t live without it hence reason we go from one artificial crisis to another.
At this time of Remembrance my film, “The War Justification Industry” may be of interest on: http://www.dailymotion.com/video/xuu5ol_the-war-justification-industry_news
Readers may not know where to get white poppies from – http://www.ppu.org.uk/whitepoppy/index.html
With each year that passes, the events around Armistice Day seem less about remembering the futility of war and more about promoting the military whilst dignifying wars of aggression. I’ve seen the senseless, brutal nature of war at first hand and I won’t be involved in anything which glamorises that. We will remember all victims of war and express the sentiment, Never Again.
Your plan is well conceived and should be very moving. Thank you.
Here in Oregon, USA, we will walk in what organizers claim is the largest parade on the west coast for Veterans Day, or what we still call, Armistice Day, its original name. The parade theme this year is “Veterans – Protecting Our Freedom.” Our banner will include that but follow with…”but at what cost.” It will also have a large white field containing the logos of the big defense contractors and oil companies.
Good luck with your event and I’d love to see some pics or video after.
Best regards and in solidarity,
VFP Linus Pauling Chapter 132, Corvallis, Oregon