The eleventh hour of the eleventh day of the eleventh month marks the moment when hostilities ceased on the Western Front in 1918. Armistice (or Remembrance) Day marks commemoration of the end of the Great War, and when many vowed that such an event would never happen again in their lifetimes.
The fact that we now call the War from 1914 to 1918 the First World War, means that the hopes of those men and women were in vain. And today hostilities still occur around the world, although thankfully not on the same scale.
I am a huge believer in history teaching us very important lessons and one of those is that we should learn from our mistakes. For whatever reason, some of us are poor learners. So it is vital that we all actually take a moment on days like these to remember the events and losses suffered in our past and make a new pledge for peace.
There are many ways that this can be done. Include a trip to your local Rodney Library where you can not ony find literature, pictures and DVD's that will bring the history to life, but in the case of the Warkworth Library can also view the Memorial Boards of the local men who made the ultimate sacrifice.
Here are some Rodney Library catalogue links to help you. Just click on the different terms:
World War One (a list of subject headings including both adult and children)
Anzac Day (our own special Remembrance Day)
And here are links through to the RSA website and the NZ History website giving information about Armistice Day.
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