The story behind the picture #3 - Travesty.

With my 13th post I wanted to recount the story behind this picture that I took of the sea of poppies outside of the Tower of London last year. I was using my digital camera which was new at the time so I wanted to test the zoom. As you can see I managed to get quite far in. This is a memorial for the soldier that died in WWI and these poppies are among 888,246 that are situated outside of the Tower of London. In my opinion, war is a man made atrocity that causes the loss of significant life and although it might be argued that it is natural because it is rooted into us, as humans, to be the most powerful and survive (Survival of the fittest). There is no need for so much violence if both sides are more understanding with each other.

One of the main reasons why this poppy field has a reason to exist is because of the trench warfare that was used in the first World War. One phrase which was first used during that war which is most likely to have caused such a great loss of life is "over the top". This is the command which was usually given after the artillery fire had stopped and soldiers were ordered to leave their trenches and charge the enemy through "no man's land" (the space in between two trenches). This was obviously a command that was dreaded by soldiers because it was basically a death sentence on most parts. 

A few years ago I went on a trip with my school to go to some of the places where battles took place and we saw a war graveyard. I think it was one of the most hallowing experiences I have had, just to see how many graves there were and knowing that each one was a life. It just doesn't bare thinking about for me.

The largest loss of life in WWI was the Hundred Days Offensive, lasting from 8th August until November, 1918. During this period the Germans suffered 785,733 casualties however the allies sustained greater, losing 1,069,636 casualties including 127,000 Americans. 

I don't believe that there is ever a reason for that many people to die pre maturely in such a small period of time. War is a travesty and the effects go far beyond the time span of the war itself. Take Hiroshima in WWII as an example. If you look into the area of Psychology, there are reasons behind war given but I don't believe that there is any excuse.

War is a travesty and nothing short of it. 

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