Poetry in the Snow

As had been forecast we woke this morning to find the world outside our window under a blanket of snow.

We weren't going to let the weather conditions get the better of us though as we had something very important to do.

The 3 of us bundled up in coats, scarves and wellies and set off into town.

Buses were running as the main roads were clear but we wanted to walk and besides you can't have a snowball fight if you're sat on the bus.

Once in town we stopped for brunch, picked up the few odds and ends we needed and then headed to carry out the main purpose for our trek.

The Cenotaph in Southampton is situated in Watts Park on the opposite side of the road to the memorial to the engineers who lost their lives in the sinking of the Titanic.

Edward Lutyens designed the Cenotaph and it was to heavily influence the final design of the Cenotaph in Whitehall.

18th March is the birthday of WW1 poet Wilfred Owen and when I was putting this year worth of activities together my idea was to visit the Cenotaph in remembrance of all those lost during the war.
Since then though things have become more personal as I have begun to research my family tree and one of things I have found were some details concerning a war record for my paternal grandad's uncle Percy. 

Percy Murrey joined the army in 1911 and at the outbreak of the war he was sent to France. He took part in the Battle of Mons and did valuable work in the Battles of La Bessee, Ypres, Loos and the Somme. I believe he was an ambulance driver.
He survived the war but it does make you wonder what he would have seen when he took the wounded soldiers away to be cared for.

G's brother has been doing some research into their family tree too. Their mum's maiden name is Dimmer and by clicking on this link you can read about the extraordinary bravery of one of their distant relatives John Dimmer. He was awarded the VC and the MC for his astoundingly courageous acts.
Sadly John Dimmer did not come home. He was killed in action on 21st March 1918.

This morning I wrote Percy and John names onto two plain luggage label style tags and we tied them to these red roses.
At the Cenotaph G read a poem by Wilfred Owen and we laid the flowers down in the snow.