Remembrance this year is going to be a bit of an odd one because of Covid 19 restrictions. Parades have been cancelled and the ability for people to attend services is going to be very limited.
It's a real shame, however some (myself included) might argue that it doesn't actually matter where you are as long as you take a few minutes out of your day to remember all of those brave souls who fought and died for our freedom.
There are also quite a few things happening virtually that you could take part in and I urge you to do this.
The Poppy Appeal is also asking for support from the public more than ever this year because a lot of people will be unable to leave their homes as they normally would to buy a poppy or to put some money in the many tins we usually see around. On top of this the people who actually sell the poppies (many of whom are veterans) may also have to stay at home and avoid face to face contact if they are shielding.
To help overcome this, the Poppy Appeal has come up with a few different ways that you can still help them and you can find more information here.
I was racking my brain trying to think of something I could do to encourage people to remember and donate, so I went for a walk to have a think... I walked past my local memorial situated in the churchyard of Claines Church and on there are the names of all of the men who left Claines to fight in WW1 and WW2, that didn't return home to their families.
There are 48 names in total, I will list them below.
I thought the least I could do was run one mile for every man on there and take the time (whilst out of breath) to reflect and remember them.
I would also love to help the Poppy Appeal out during these hard times so I'm asking to you donate to my cause. I'll do the running and you do the giving.
I've set up a justgiving page and you can see it by clicking here... Please give what you can!
If you're feeling up to it, go to your local memorial and note down the names of those lost locally to you too. I would love to see you all out running for them too, but even if you can't, the important thing is that we remember them.
These are the 48 names of those men from Claines who never returned home after the war...
Arthur Banner
Hubert Earle Barnard
William I. T. Bradley
Harry William Brown
Francis Bullen
Walter Bullock
Arthur George Burrow
George Trevor Cartland
Charles Henry Conn
Frederick Gwatkin Oldham Curtler
Percy John Gore Divers
Thomas Dowdeswell
Walter Richard Garland
Cecil Haines
Gerald Haines
Gilbert John Harding
Harold Houghton
Harvey W Jones
Robert Wallace Knott
Harry Newton Loynes
Samuel Munn
James Munn
Ernest Randle
Samuel Skillern
George Stone
Geoffrey Robert
John Watkins
James Watkins
Howard Alfred Cecil Barnes
Philip Harold Bullock
William E Donovan
Robert James Drinkwater
Douglas Victor Gwillam
John Henry George
George Arthur Hextall
Gordon Matthews
Robert George Macdonald
Graham Warren Macdonald
George Joseph Pitt
James Henry Pitt
David Merlin Purser
Hugh Edmund Vaughan Purser
Thomas W Pye
Frank Rhodes
Frederick Severnoaks
Douglas Frederick Slocombe
Eric Fielder Thomas
A.E Williams
We will remember them!
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