Every year I manage to lose my British Legion poppy within hours of buying one so as back-up I'm also showing my support by wearing this trippy poppy print velvet maxi created by British boutique designer, John Marks, in the late 1960s.
With it being the weekend prior to Armistice Day, on Friday night we decided to watch the 2022 remake of All Quiet on the Western Front, the epic German anti-war film based on the 1929 novel by Erich Maria Remarque. I can understand why it won four Oscars, it's incredibly powerful.
Some of my favourite books are set during WW1 and its aftermath, including Sebastian Faulks' Birdsong, William Boyd's The Trench & An Ice-Cream War, The Facemaker by Lindsey Fitzharris, Pat Barker's Regeneration trilogy & Toby's Room and the astonishing In Memoriam by Alice Winn which I read earlier this year and is probably my favourite book of the year.
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Whilst watching All Quiet on the Western Front, the name of the French military commander who accepted Germany's request for an armistice, Ferdinand Foch, rang a bell. I had a rummage through my desk and looked out my great-aunt Bessie Chapman's autograph album.
Bessie (born in Stone, Staffordshire in 1892) was one of my maternal great-grandmother's six sisters. All six remained unmarried, a consequence of so many eligible young men dying in WW1. The women lived together in the grand family villa their entire adult life and it fell upon Grandpa, Grandma and Mum to clear the house when the final sister, Phyllis died in the 1970s. I came across this album when I was helping out and was fascinated with some of the WW1 era illustrations, it's been with me ever since.
Winston Churchill attributed this famous quote about the Peace Treaty of Versailles to Foch in 1918: "This is not Peace. It is an Armistice for twenty years." Indeed, the next war sprung out 20 years later.
My favourite thing in the album has always been this pen and ink drawing, signed by WB Watson, dated 18:9:19 & entitled BOSH! Boche was a derisive term used by the allies during WW1 when referring to the Germans. It's a shortened form of the French slang alboche, derived from Allemande (German) and caboche (cabbage).
I wonder what became of WB Watson? His/her talent was astonishing.
Thanks for reading, see you soon!
Over a hundred years, and yet, humanity has not learned, just relocated wars. Thanks for sharing the historical drawings and your family's legacy.
ReplyDeleteToo true, Sam. WW1 was the "War to end all wars" and yet the senseless killing continues. xxx
DeleteWhat a wonderful little book to have. I love the dress, there's not so much chance of you losing that around Remembrance Day, unlike your poppy. ;-)
ReplyDeleteTell me about it! My most recent one lasted all of 10 minutes! xxx
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ReplyDeleteThe book with the illustrations is a real treasure. Thanks for showing.
Your dress is beautiful, I love the colors.
Thanks, Andrea! You can't beat red on a gloomy Winter's day! Despite owning that book for almost 50 years it still brings me joy whenever I open it. xxx
DeleteDue to my ability to lose multiple Poppies each year, I bought an enamel Poppy Pin from the Canadian Legion.
ReplyDeleteMy youngest is in the RCN, the husband is retired RCAF, and the oldest son is in the Army. They are all out there today in various cities.
Memories are a blessing and a curse.
Blogger won't remember me when it comes to posting on accounts, lol.
The enamel pin sounds like a wise choice, not so easy to misplace and far less wasteful.
DeleteI bet Armistice Day is a huge thing in your family with your three chaps all having represented/ still representing Canada.
Blogger is very temperamental. It keeps putting my own comments on the blog in my spam folder! xxx
Such a lovely little book. I like your poppy dress too. I always lose my poppy very soon after I buy it. I did make a red felt one a few years ago but that is now also on the missing list.
ReplyDeleteI loved the In Memoriam book by Alice Winn too. Very moving . When will wars end? All those wasted lives, who knows what each may have achieved.
Thanks, Carole! What a shame you've managed to misplace your handmade poppy, you need a poppy dress, too!
DeleteIn Memoriam was wonderful, I insisted that Jon read it after me and he was equally moved.
War is so futile, All Quiet on the Western Front got that message across perfectly. Why does noone listen? xxx
I wish we had learned from the previous wars.
ReplyDeleteYour dress is sensational! I would have loved to viisit The Clothes Show.
I must read In Memoriam as I am fascinated by books of this period.
Those illustrations are superb, esp the Bosch one!x
I do, too. When will we ever learn?
DeleteThe Clothes Show was brilliant, I loved going. Lizz's Mum used to buy me a ticket for my birthday and I loved going and spending my birthday money on vintage clothes and Barry M goodie bags.
In Memoriam is such is beautiful book, highly recommended! xxx
Hay cosas que no debemos olvidar. Te mando un beso.
ReplyDeleteEs muy importante recordar a quienes dieron su vida por las libertades que disfrutamos hoy. Te envío mucho amor.
DeleteI hope you got my other comment. Just love this dress!!
ReplyDeleteAllie of
www.allienyc.com
Thanks, Allie! Xxx
DeleteWow Vix, that's really interesting. What else did you see in the house from the 70s? X
ReplyDeleteHi Jess! It was a Victorian house but we cleared it in the 1970s. I've still got lots of the things including my great grandma's wedding dress and lots of jewellery. Xx
DeleteHi Vix. It's very poignant to think of all six sisters remaining unmarried, and how a whole generation of women lived very different lives to the ones they'd imagined for themselves. Some good book recommendations there. I'll have to look them up. Val x
ReplyDeleteHi Val. It is very poignant about the generation of young women who were denied the chance to find love, isn't it? I highly recommend all the books I've mentioned. One of my friends has recommended I read Caroline Scott's WW1 novels The Photographer of the Lost and When I Come Home Again, she's a British historian turned author so well researched as well as beautifully written. xxx
DeleteWow Vix! A visit to the Imperial War Museum is in order. They will may be able to help with identifying the artist and give you more information. I'm sure they would be interested in the drawings from a historical perspective also. It's Shelagh btw still lovin' your posts!
ReplyDeleteHello Shelagh! Lovely to hear from you. That's a great idea. I expect Watson was probably a talented amatuer but you never know, do you? xxx
DeleteIt’s really special for us as 80 percent of my dad’s family were wiped out when the bomb was dropped on Hiroshima. My grandparents survived but suffered horrible burns . My dad was born a year and bit after the bomb. But it always amazes me how they managed to rebuild the city. I always get emotional when I go. People say it was necessary but was it ?
ReplyDeleteMy dad changed his nationality and served the British army until he retired out of it. But he wants to move back to Japan and to revoke his citizenship. He misses us so much. He said he was glad to be of service . And yes he did wear his medals on Sunday and went to the local centopah to mark his respects.
Have you seen Oppenheimer, Allie? It was sublimely powerful how he was appalled at how his creation was used against humanity. It's dreadful what happened to your family and its very important that you visit and pay your respects. Sending much love to you and your dad. xxx
DeleteHello Vix, first time commenting on your blog though I have been reading it for many years . My favourite posts are the ones related to history so I am always rewarded !!! Thank you so much for another great post ! Caboche is a slang word for head in French and quite common. Regards, Catherine (from Toulouse).
ReplyDeleteHello Catherine, what a pleasure it is to meet you, thanks so much for leaving a comment. I think I might introduce "caboche" into my conversations this week! xxx
DeleteWhat a fascinating souvenir from your Great Aunt Bessie and what a talented artist WB Watson was!
ReplyDeleteLove the dress! xxx
Hello Claire! Isn't that album a wonderful little keepsake? WB Watson was an incredible artist, I just love that Bosh! sketch.
DeleteThat dress was the most expensive thing I'd ever bought for many years - I still love it! xxx
I gave up on the British Legion poppies and have bought an enamelled poppy brooch a couple of years ago, as well as a felted one from a National Trust shop ... both of which I somehow forgot to wear this year!
ReplyDeleteYour poppy dress is a stunner, and that album is an absolute treasure! That "Bosh!" sketch is just incredible! xxx
I ought to follow suit and do the same, although nobody knows I've got one on under my hair anyway! xxx
DeleteOops! Not sure if I lost my comment or not but here's a 2nd attempt. The poppy dress was absolutely gorgeous and how very appropriate for this time of year. The 'Bosh' sketch was brilliant; how talented was that artist? I had no idea of the origins of 'Boche' so I learned something new today, thank you!
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Hello Vronni! You're the second commenter to have lost a comment, thanks for persevering! I knew that poppy dress had to be mine from the moment I saw it, it's certainly earned its keep in its 15 years of living with me.
DeleteWhen I had an autograph album as a teenager it was full of silly limericks and rude rhymes, they had a lot more class (and talent!) back then. xxx
Lest we forget, indeed! Seems like we can never actually LEARN from the past, sigh. I wore poppies every day last week, but did not photograph them on my outfits (I kept my pin at work).
ReplyDeleteLove your poppy dress and those illustrations are incredible! Thank you for sharing them!
Thank you, Vix, for sharing your family's story of the six spinster sisters. You've held up a human scale to a vast scene of human suffering that didn't end with Armistice. * Working on a project for our local museum, it's been helpful to remind young colleagues that 2025 marks 80 years passed from the end of WWII, just as 1945 marked 80 years from the end of the American Civil War. The distance time imparts makes people appear as dots on a far horizon, and so we do forget...until, like you, we hold their notebooks and letters in our hands.
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