Before The Network, there was my very first blog, The Eagles Nest. I have had a pleasant trawl through some of the stuff there. This one seems applicable for re-posting because it references the first world war the centenary of which we are currently commemorating.
Saturday, October 08, 2005
Rifles of remembrance
I was at Queen's College at the University of Melbourne
to-day. In a glass case, I came across a trophy shield and beside it a
photograph of five handsome young men in suits with their rifles. The
caption below the photograph said:Queen's College Rifle team winners of the Intercollegiate Trophy in 1913. All 5 men shown in the photo enlisted, and between them were awarded two MCs (Military Crosses), a DSO (Distinguished Service Order), and a MM (Military Medal). The Intercollegiate Rifle Competition was not revived after the war and Queen's still retains the trophy shield.
It makes one wonder. Did these nameless young men return from World War I? If they came back, were they and the people associated with Queen's and its competitors too war weary and tired of shouldering rifles to carry on a competition in the shadow of a costly, horrifying and saddening war? I wonder....
 |
No comments:
Post a Comment
This blog does not take Anonymous comments. Experience shows that comments cluttered with "Anonymous" are boring and people don't know whether "Anonymous" is one person or many. This is not a decision about freedom of speech. It is a decision about boring or unwillingness to be known by even a pseudonym.