Armistice Day

On Sunday 11 November, my friend Fruity and I went to the Cenotaph.  I tried to take some pictures of the veterans and servicemen and women but there were a lot of people and I couldn't get a good view.  The most moving group of veterans I saw in the parade down Whitehall were the Bevin Boys. 

There were only a handful there, maybe a dozen or so.  The Bevin Boys are men who were sent down the mines during the second world war to serve as coal miners.  They weren't recognized properly as veterans or allowed to take part in the parade until very recently because a lot of stupid people in charge didn't think they were entitled to, since they didn't fight.  Which is absolute rot, because you can't run a war without fuel.  Their vital war work was finally recognized in 2008. 

Here is a picture of the parade, with the women's war memorial in the background.  I couldn't get a shot of the Bevin Boys unfortunately.