Thimble 72 -The A, B, Cs of Peace

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Thimble 71 - the Tiger Tragedy

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Do you recognise this war memorial? It commemorates the deaths of over 700 servicemen, during WWII - including 441 United States Army and 197 United States Navy personnel.

I'll give you a few hints:

This monument was only made possible by the passionate dedication of a former British policeman who literally stumbled onto the story on a sea shore.
The submerged tank was finally raised from the sea in 1984 and made into a monument, with a plaque, provided by local residents and local authorities.

Here's that plaque...

Both photos courtesy of Wikipedia

Slapton Beach was part of an area of Devon completely evacuated (farms and villages) so that Allied troups could use the area to prepare for D-Day. The code names for this extremely secret battle rehearsal were Exercise Tiger or Operation Tiger.

On April 28 April a flotilla of eight LSTs (landing ship, tank) was busy transporting troops and equipment to Slapton Sands when disaster happened. Being a covert operation led to a breakdown in communications - no-one warned them of the German Torpedo boats in the area. The BBC history archive says:

In the early hours of 28 April 1944, a convoy of eight American landing ship tanks (LSTs) were carrying out a D-Day dress rehearsal off the South Devon coast when they were ambushed by German E-boats.

Two of the LSTs were sunk in the attack off Slapton Sands, killing 749 US servicemen - a higher death toll than at the initial D-Day landings which were to take place on Utah Beach, Normandy, two months later.

Orders of strictest secrecy were imposed. They covered everyone, even the doctors and nurses who treated the survivors. D-Day became a real event, the war ended and the tragedy of Slapton Sands became just one of many.

Then, one day in 1968, a former policeman who had moved to the area was walking on the beach when he started to find fragments of war; buttons and bullets. He started asking questions and was horrified at the story. And even more horrified that while the Americans had raised a monument to honour the people of Slapton, who had given up their homes for the war effort, there was no memorial to the soldiers who had died here.

His name was Kenneth Small and you can read the whole story of his struggles to get a memorial for the Operation Tiger Tragedy, plus photos on the secondworldwar.org.uk website.
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Thimble 70 - In Silence

O' Great Spirit
help me always
to speak the truth quietly,
to listen with an open mind
when others speak,
and to remember the peace
that may be found in silence.

Cherokee Prayer


glitter-graphics.com

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Thimble 69 - for Gandhi's Birthday

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When I despair,
I remember that all through history
the ways of truth and love have always won.
There have been tyrants, and murderers,
and for a time they can seem invincible,
but in the end they always fall.

Think of it - always.



Mahatma Gandhi

Thimble 68 - Rabbit Rabbit!

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It's considered good luck to wish "Rabbit Rabbit" on the first day of the month. This graphic is my rabbitty Peace wish, for this Chinese Year of the White Rabbit. :-)

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Thimble 67 - The Soldier's Kiss

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The Soldier's Kiss

by War Poet Henry Chappell (1874 -1937)

Only a dying horse! Pull off the gear,
And slip the needless bit from frothing jaws,
Drag it aside there, leave the roadway clear
The battery thunders on with scarce a pause.

Prone by the shell-swept highway there it lies
With quivering limbs as fast the life tide fails,
Dark films are closing o'er the faithful eyes
That mutely plead for aid where none avails.

Onward the battery roll, but one there speeds
Heedless of comrade's voice or bursting shell,
Back to the wounded friend who lonely bleeds
Beside the stony highway where it fell.

Only a dying horse! He swiftly kneels,
Lifts the limp head and hears the shivering sigh
Kisses his friend. While down his cheek there steals
Sweet pity's tear; ‘Goodbye Old Man, Goodbye'

No honours wait him, Medal, Badge or Star,
Though scarce could war a kindlier deed unfold;
He bears within his breast, more precious far
Beyond the gift of Kings, a heart of gold.

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Thimble 66 - Dove of Peace

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The Dove of Peace is a Christian symbol, but the olive branch it carries belongs to the Greek /Roman goddess of Peace - Eirene. In earliest Christian art the dove was used to symbolise spiritual peace. It was only later, when the dove was depicted carrying an olive branch, that it became a symbol for Peace in a more literal sense of non-violence. as a symbol for a more literal kind of Peace.

glitter-graphics.com

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Thimble 65 - for Rosh Hashanah

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Today is the Jewish New Year - Rosh Hashanah. It is as much a time to reflect as to celebrate. A personal time to look at your own Spiritual journey - where you have been and where you want to go in the New Year.

A tradition I really like the idea of is "Tashlich".

'On Rosh Hashanah, many Jews may follow a custom called tashlich ("casting off") in which they walk to a naturally flowing body of water such as a river or stream, recite several prayers, reflect upon their sins over the past year and symbolically cast them off by throwing their sins into the water (usually by throwing pieces of bread into the stream).'

Wouldn't it be nice to wash away all the world's anger and hate and start each new year completely fresh and clean?

glitter-graphics.com

Shalom! Peace!
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Thimble 64 - Pipes of Peace

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Based on a true story, this song will always be one of my favourites.

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Thimble 63 - Peace and War

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There is one Peace Symbol that has, most tragically, taken on a symbolism of an entirely different kind. In fact, it has even been banned in several countries around the world.

Originally it was a symbol for harmony, Peace and good luck. In China it was sometimes used as a symbol for the sun. The ancient Greeks used it to decorate their pottery and the Hindus linked it, in various forms, to their gods. It has been used in funeral rites as a blessing and as a good luck symbol all across Asia. This bottom photo shows it used on a Temple in South Korea.

The ancient Sansksrit name for this symbol, translating as "all is well" is... svastika.

all is well

How terribly tragic that such a beautiful blessing, worked into a pleasing geometric symbol, could now be something we draw back from in disgust when we see it in connection with Hitler and the Nazis. For millenia it wished us all well until one century of war and violence changed all that.

Maybe one day, when all is well, we'll set it free to be the simple symbol of Peace it was first created to be.

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