John Douglas Hancock, my grandfather, 25th August 1918 lost his life on the Western Front, buried far from home in Achiet le Grand. My mother the youngest age 20 months of four girls all under five had no memory of her father. The Great War!
I’m from Scotland 🏴 . When I was a teenager , we used to go to the local folk nights & loved it . I learned many a war song . I would write the words for my mother & sing the songs . Willie m bride was a favourite . Thank you .. politics, religion is always at the root cause . 🏴🙏❤️
The Somme Battle Field is, for me, one of the most painful places on the Western Front. My grandmother’s First Cousin was killed during the Australian 1st Division, the men who had survived Gallipoli, involvement at Poziers on July 23, 1916. His grave was lost during the subsequent battles across this land over the next two years. His name is recorded on the Australian Monument at Villiers Brettonneux. I have been twice to pay my respects. In March 2018 at the Australian War Memorial in Canberra, ACT 30 of his descendants gathered for a Last Post Ceremony. It was a very moving evening. RIP Charles.
In common with countless others, both my grandfathers fought in WW1. One continued to hear the guns every night until his death in 1982: the other, who held both the DCM and MM ( with bar) was blinded in one eye by a sniper's bullet . I asked him about his bravery and he told me he wasn't at all brave, just scared of dying.
A song Eric that is so inspirational and I have loved all my life. My late father John Clarke loved this song and it is a song I hold so dear to my heart.
A folk song should have 3 elements. 1. And easy to play tune. 2 An element of history to pass on and 3. A message for future generations. That's what folk songs are for from days before written history. By any measure this is one of the best folk songs ever written.
I visited the Australian cemeteries on the Somme with French relatives who let me sob by myself. They understood we were on hallowed ground. There were busloads of aussie visitors who spoke in hushed tones as if we were in church. There's no way we can thank enough, the men and women who went to war for freedom.
And Today it's relived in Ukraine. I have family buried in France, so what did they die for?. Russia MUST be stopped. Their names were O'Leary and Mulligan.
I'm Irish. My grandmother's family were Welsh Quaker's, my grandfather was a Cork Man. They ended up serving together and that's how my grandparents met. My grandmother's brother's refused to bear Arms and they became Stretcher Bearer's, That's what Quaker's were expected to do. All 4 amazingly survived the great war. Of the O'Leary side of the family 3 of 4 survived but a brother passed away at Chelsea Hospital and so it was 2 of 4. That's the O'Leary's, the other side their name was Davis. My Dad's family are Mulligan's. Such is life.
I always encourage anyone who is interested in military history to make an effort to visit war cemeteries and battlefields. I live in the central US, so I've never been able to visit a WW1 battlefield but I have visited a Civil War battlefield at Fort Donelson in Tennessee. I'm from the state of Illinois, and at the Fort Donelson cemetery there is a central monument with the graves of 20 soldiers from one Illinois regiment who were all killed in the battle. You can also see where they died, an open field surrounded by trees and Confederate defenses. It was a hopeless slaughter. And I couldn't help but wonder, much like "No Man's Land/Green Fields of France" wonders about Willie McBride: what kind of lives did these people leave behind? Were they remembered by their loved ones, or forgotten in the hundreds of thousands of deaths during the war? Might I be related to any of them? And the most chilling thought of all: if I were around in the 1860s, might I have been one of them? That regiment was recruited from Chicago, and I'm not too far away. It is a very humbling experience to see a place where people actually fought and died. It made me find a new appreciation for the humanity in war, and the value of a life.
Not many songs depict an event as well as ' No Man's Land '. The Great War, as it was called, was supposed to be the last war; instead, it was the futile slaughter of millions for no other reason than to dominate a country, and opened the surety of another war more deadly than the first. " The countless white crosses in mute where they stand to mankind's indifference to his fellow man ". Wars are long endured when they happen, and quickly forgotten when they're over. Thank you for the song.
I think it is "mute witness stand" not "mute where they stand", as in witnessing the indifference...I share your sentiment though. Thank you for sharing your thoughts.
What a great song, what a remarkable man, what a moving film! Just stumbled across it, luckily. I saw Eric Bogle in concert in Germany in the late 70s / early 80s, and was immediately impressed by this gentle and thoughtful singer and songwriter.
Thank you, Eric, for the words that can move me to tears each time I hear them. Looking across the rows of headstones, one is struck by the waste of the great human potential laid under the grass there. And as I write this, in Ukraine it is happening again.
I agree but as always there is another side to the story. The politics & the reasons are obscure but the outcome is the same. Young boys (& nowadays in these egalitarian times some girls) are sent to be killed (& kill) by the young of another country for reasons that can't be explained except in the propaganda of those that send them.
I’ve visited this cemetery on many occasion, the fact that Willie Mcbride is buried there makes it a bit more special. Eric Bogle who for at least me is the greatest song writer of all time , I’ve had the pleasure of seeing him perform a few times. I even had the chance to chat with him, a true gentleman in all senses, thank you Eric for introducing me to the Great War , least we forget.
With all due respect, I think your comment and question expresses more about you than it does about Eric Bogle. Considering that Bogle has written some of the most poignant anti-war songs ever composed, I fail the see the importance of whether he has a "great" ego or not.
Vincent, did you really listen here? Did you really listen to the lyrics? I’ve met Eric quite a few time and a he is a very humble man with no ego whatsoever which is quite remarkable considerable his huge talent as a songwriter and as a performer.
As one of the producers who spent time with Eric while we did the filming I can say it was a pleasure spend time with him and his wife. A warm and genuine person who is not afraid to speak his mind. An all round good guy!
Vincent you are a nasty negative man.The beautiful words sang with such passion and feeling has nothing to do with ego and to suggest it’s just about him is so wide off the mark.
I'm sure you don't need this anymore, but for anyone on here who doesn't get a handy side-menu with it: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-T_IUhL1rUCM.html
If everyone stood up and said NO. NO you sort it out. There would be none of this. Millions of dads sons millions being ripped apart for nothing. Years later it doesn't matter. Does my head in
This is what should be taught about war. The horror, the losses, the pain, the shattered bodies, and the short peaces before it goes all over again, and again and again and again....
It all gets a bit depressing seeing war after war. All we can do is refuse to take part, refuse to support those who are war mongers and go after those who take us into wars based on lies, false information and deceit. I would support criminal charges being brought against Blair and his cabinet (under collective responsibility) who gave the go ahead for war based on misinformation. People die and their families suffer but the war mongers get given gongs and live off state backed big pensions that are larger than the average salary. We need to change things!
