War Memorials

[Wilko]

...and if you attend this Sunday you can go the the Militaria Fair too.....

I may just have to find the time on Sunday after I have attended my local remembrance service.
Wilko

[HARRY THE MOLE]

I have long argued that arms fairs should NOT be held on Remembrance Sunday... I for one would not attend under ANY circumstances.

I should also add to this, that I remonstrated with the organiser of the Preston arms fair for continually holding the November fair on Remembrance Sunday. It must have paid off in the end, because this year it was held on November 4th. I am sure that in the end he would have been rewarded with higher attendance figures.

Cheers,
Steve

[Wilko]

I have long argued that arms fairs should NOT be held on Remembrance Sunday... I for one would not attend under ANY circumstances.

I fully agree with this view even though i said I'd find the time. Remembrance Sunday has always been important to me and always will.
My Grandfather was a Royal Engineer and he joined up in September 1939 and fought through to VE day. He served in France 1939 / 1940 evacuated at Dunkirk before going onto Africa, Sicilly and Italy. His eldest brother was killed in 1917 somewhere in France. It was this that spurred my Grandfather to Duty in 1939 when aged at 32.
Wilko

[Wilko]

While on a visit to Canterbury Cathedral on Sunday for the remembrance service I took the time to photograph the Cities memorial to the 8 million horses that died in the horror of World War 1 and thought I'd share with you all on the forum.

I have never seen the Cathedral as filled with people of all ages as it was on this 100th Anniversary of the end of WWI on Sunday. It restores your faith to see so many, young and old remember the sacrifice of a generation.



A small but very fitting memorial to those that served with the Royal East Kent Regiment (The Buffs) also sits towards the rear of the Cathedral precincts.
Wilko

[thecyclist64]

I visited this memorial in Koblenz in 2006

[thecyclist64]

I have long argued that arms fairs should NOT be held on Remembrance Sunday... I for one would not attend under ANY circumstances.

I should also add to this, that I remonstrated with the organiser of the Preston arms fair for continually holding the November fair on Remembrance Sunday. It must have paid off in the end, because this year it was held on November 4th. I am sure that in the end he would have been rewarded with higher attendance figures.

Cheers,
Steve

Preston is one of my favourite arms fairs, and I have never attended it on Remembrance Sunday, but I did go this year, so thank you for remonstrating with them

[HPL2008]

Visiting relatives of my wife in Kelheim yesterday, we took the opportunity to visit the Befreiungshalle on the Michelsberg hill.

One of Bavaria's best-known landmarks, the Befreiungshalle [Hall of Liberation] is a monument to the victory over Napoleon in the Befreiungskriege [Wars of Liberation] of 1813 - 1815.

For more information on the building, see:

Befreiungshalle - Wikipedia
Befreiungshalle – Wikipedia
Befreiungshalle Kelheim

(A bit of trivia on the side: RAD collectors will surely recognize the building from the traditions cap badge for Arbeitsgau XXIX.)


Outside views:








The entrance to the building. The inscription above the door says: "TO THE GERMAN FIGHTERS FOR LIBERATION / LUDWIG I KING OF BAVARIA / 1863"




Views up the dome:

[HPL2008]

The victory goddesses. The statues stand 3.30 meters tall:








A view down from the interior gallery. The inscription in the center of the floor says "MAY THE GERMANS NEVER FORGET WHAT NECESSITATED THE FIGHT FOR LIBERATION AND BY WHAT MEANS THEY TRIUMPHED":




On the upper exterior gallery:




Views of the surroundings from the upper exterior gallery. Note how the shadow of the Michelsberg and the Hall falls on the houses below:






A pillar outside the building:

[CARL]

Absolutely stunning. Thank you Andreas for sharing the images of what is a truly magnificent tribute. Just read that the façade underwent restoration work last year, so you timed your visit nicely.

Carl

[HPL2008]

We spent the Easter weekend in Berlin, so I took the opportunity to visit the Soviet War Memorial in the Tiergarten. Commemorating the war dead of the Soviet Union, particularly the 80,000 men who died in the battle for Berlin, the memorial was erected in 1945, within just a few months after the end of the war.

I took just a few pictures and none of the entire memorial as there were far too many people around it for my taste. (Of course plenty of pictures can be found on the internet.)

For a little more info, see:
Sowjetisches Ehrenmal (Tiergarten) – Wikipedia
Soviet War Memorial (Tiergarten) - Wikipedia


The central structure of the memorial:




The bronze statue of a Red Army soldier by the sculptor Lew Kerbel stands eight meters tall:




The inscription says: "Eternal glory to the heroes who fell for the liberty and independence of the Soviet Union in the fight against the Fascist German intruders. 1941 - 1945"




The two sarcophagi bearing the names of officers who fell in battle in Berlin between 14 April and 1 May 1945 and were honored as "Heroes of the Soviet Union".






The two T-34 tanks flanking the memorial: