It is Saturday 19th December 1981. The weather in Cornwall on the south coast of England is horrific – winds are gusting at up to 100mph (hurricane force 12 on the Beaufort scale) and waves are up to 60 feet (18 meters) high.
Category: Everything Else
The Poppy Appeal was launched in central London yesterday by David Cameron. The theme for this year is “To the memory of the fallen and the future of the living.”
Most people think that the Poppy Appeal is remembering solely British or Commonwealth soldiers. The fact is that it isn’t. World War I resulted in the 36th (Ulster) Division having over 32,000 soldiers declared dead, missing or wounded. The 36th (Ulster) Division was formed through the merging of the Ulster Volunteer Force (who were formed to fight against Home Rule), the Royal Irish Fusiliers, the Royal Irish Rifles and the Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers. Of the nine Victoria Crosses awarded on the first day of the Battle of the Somme, four of them were awarded to 36th Division soldiers.
From 1914-1918, over 200,000 Irish people served in the British Army. Of these, over 49,000 Irish people paid the “ultimate sacrifice.”
It isn’t hard to have realised that the PSNI have started a new recruitment drive in the past week. Those on the outside will look at the job, will see the starting salary, will think that officers are overpaid and probably not think any more about it.