Minutes silence?

Agreed

sounds like a good idea to me.

100% got my vote.

i fully agree, an event as pivotal as d-day costing so many lives it would be respectful to those who sacrificed while we are merely playing at the emormous task they undertook.

I sort of agree but part of me feels it might be a little crass as well.

Personally I go to the cenotaph every year on rememberence sunday.

I think i'd personally prefer it if every player made the effort to do that instead.

I do whole heartedly agree with the sentiment but i dont know how a veteran would view it to be honest.. I somehow dont think those living or those looking down upon it would be that impressed.

If its what everyone wants to do then cool i'm happy to do so also but it doesnt feel 100 per cent right to me.

It's a week before remembrance sunday, we have a whole load of people together in one place who have a good perspective on what these guys actually went through (not to mention a whole load of ex squaddies!). I'd rather pay my respects with friends than have to find a quiet corner at work to do it on my own, surrounded by the kind of scum who have zero respect for anything. Not all of us can make it to the cenotaph.

Sorry Gadge, I don't see what's "crass" about it.

Just doesnt feel right to me.

Cant put words to it but it just doens sit to well with me.

If everybody wants to do it then i'll happily partake but i'll be doing it on rememberence sunday too.

As will I. I put my name down for the march past at the cenotaph but I didn't get drawn out of the hat, so am at work on remembrance day. I personally don't see anything wrong with it but I respect your views Gadge.

PM sent.

Dont get me wrong my reasons for not being too happy with it are largley personal.

Replied to you Gadge.

There is no intention on my part to make this a "must do" thing for anyone. Anyone who wants to observe a minutes' silence before the game begins can do so of their own free will and we can go to one side to observe it.

Each person pays his/her respects in their own way.

An impromptu or "unofficial" memorial has as much worth as any organised event.

Therefore I applaud the sentiments expressed here - As long as you are all sincere and headdress is removed, no salutes given and 60 seconds of silence is observed with heads bowed, I can see no reason why you should not pay tribute to, and remember those who fell just so that you and others can run around dressed in copies of 60'odd year old uniforms shooting each other without some secret police swooping and taking you off to a labour camp.

At the end of the day - that's the issue innit?

Those you remember are not the living - on this occasion (sensationalist comment coming up!) the opinion of the living do not count - For they gather to remember their fallen comrades too.....
Those you remember are those who fell.......

Can I add a suggestion here too? Each man or woman finds a name of a serviceman or woman - Be it a relative, a neighbour, a friend or just someone from the war memorial in the village where you live. and immediately prior to your silence - the names are spoken out to the assemblage - If you know something about them tell it.... just two lines - And if you don't at least speak their name, rank and when they fell.

Something like - "Jones, T.P. Private Dorset Regiment, Killed June 6 1944. My grandmother's brother, aged 19" will suffice.

Why? because some years ago, a friend took me around a cemetary containing the bones of men from a German Panzer Division and in the midst of them was GFM Walter Model. Buried with his men. My friend walked along the lines, reading out loud EVERY name. And when I asked him why - he said "While ever a man's name is spoken he is not dead. These men deserve to live on just as Model does."

And I found that moving and true.

See - if you want to get into the mindset of why re-enactors/Living Historians do what they do - Just before your weekend - perform this simple ceremony - a small mark of respect. I guarantee you will get more from your game (because really that's all any of us do...."play the game") and that small 10 minutes spent beforehand will REALLY add to what you are doing and how you are feeling.

Hear hear PD

I must say that is a fantastic suggestion and i'd happily follow suite.

I think my reservation is that liek PD says it's done *properly*, i know some players have trouble staying silent for the safety brief.

I think i'd be annoyed if we did it and somebody decided to fuck abut with their webbing or have a chat.

I'm coming round to the idea.

I did suggest via PM to Sgt Heide that perhaps a short readling might be appropriate before any silence just to help us focus but PDs idea seems as good as if not better to me.

Tend to agree with Gadge on this one . If the game was on the 11th then would consider it a very good idea , doing it before a game played with toy guns away from the date just does seem crass , not neccessarily inappropriate but somewhat in danger of missing the point . almost like it's adding sincerity to a insincere pastime .

yer i agree actually it does seem to be missing the point somewhat, i mean i went to Holland last week and viseted these battlefields and the graveyards near them, and i read almost every name and regiment just so i could better understand, but yer i agree that it does seem a bit off especially as the whole point of it is to remember what it was like and to get a feel of it so doing a minuits silence is fine with me but annything more would be a bit drastic seing as there is an actually day for that, as long as everyone agrees on a minuits silence im ok with it.

Don't get me wrong fellas I'm not "laying down a law" here - I'm absolutely and merely suggesting things for your consideration.
I can see both sides and agree it could be taken as a bit - i dunno - Sanctimonious? or false even..... but the important bit is IF YOU WANT TO... and that really is important.

I think that this suggestion is in danger of taking away the actual focus of what you're about - Having a good weekend away on a superb location and trying to catch a tiny "flavour" of something.... so don't worry about it -

Devonshire Trooper - Where in Holland were you? Around the Oosterbeek/Arnheim area?

Yer Oosterbeek and Arnhem stayed north of Arnhem at Eerbeek made some travels down to Nijmagen, Overloom and Grave too, went to Normandy last year aswell .

I can understand Gadges worries on this but a couple of years ago at the old Black Ops site we played on Remembrance Sunday, during the safety briefing the marshall asked for a minutes silence and it was observed by all, this was at a normal open day wth the usual gathering of 14/15/16 year olds and you could`ve heard a pin drop

Sorry guys, this is a game weekend being played for fun and makes no other statement.

If you really want to your pay your respects go to your local church or memorial on the 11th and let the few vetrans we have left see you there or atleast share with others a minutes silence on the day.

If you feel really compelled at D-Day no one will stop you but please DON'T get shirty with others trying to get ready for the game.

Thanks

Josh

As a reenactor. when we tend to reenact a specifice battle we tend to do a minutes scilence. as some people feel it is disrespectfull to enjoy a game of a event were people lost their lives.

Holding a scilence lets us all know why we do this. not to ignore the dead but to honour them we do this in remembrance of what you did for all of us and for this and the freedoms you won for us we will be ever in your debt.

I minutes scilence to remember the people thats were not just firing bb's is a great idea. I to am always in our town center for the parade and observe the minutes scilence. so i see were your coming from. but you cannot give to little respect to our fallen fathers.

PLease do this and honour the men we are imitating. as they gave us so much and 1 minutes scilence a year is not even close to paying them back.

Thanks.