Cornwall At War Museum

Next year we will have a new range of items in the gift shop. Our very talented Les has been working hard on producing coasters, and hopefully soon, clocks. The coasters have got pictures of various items around the museum, or planes that would have flown there. They are all water resistant and have the felt surface protectors on the base. Les and I have been working on the design of the clocks and have a few ideas buzzing around our heads. Each one will be unique, that's all that's sure for the moment. Hope that you can see the coasters clearly.

One of the most poignant symbols of remembering WWI last weekend were the ghostly "there but not there" perspex outlines of a soldier. Many were placed on pews and chairs in churches. So simple but so dignified.

Despite being closed to the public the museum still recognises the memory of those that served in wars and those that have since passed on. A poppy is placed by the R.A.F standard for everyone. The boys became men almost overnight, their faces show how much they changed in just a couple of years of warfare. Excuse my personal indulgence with the photos of my father who changed so much in 2 years. Top left in training and top right 2 years later. He served at R.A.F Davidstow Moor briefly and his medals are there where he wanted them to be. Aged 90 he stood beneath the frame at the museum where his photo is in his training uniform, top row, second from left. He passed away 6 weeks later. The people who served in WWII are becoming fewer with each passing year. It's so important to talk with them and record their memories for future generations to learn from. We must never forget them.

This year is the 100th anniversary of the First World War, the Great War that people said would never happen again. On the 11th of November at 11 o'clock a minutes silence will be held over much of the world as we remember the people who gave their lives for our freedom.  Not only those who were in the armed services,but the women who worked in factories for ammunition and building the planes. Those that worked in the volunteer services that manned the anti aircraft guns, the fire wardens, the women of the VAD, the Voluntary Aid Detachment who gave first aid on the streets, the Home Guard and so many more. Remember too the animals that were sacrificed during both wars. They had no choice but to serve, but they were heroes too. Without the horses and mules for the transportation of ammunition and supplies, the dogs who had so many varied tasks from keeping the trenches clear of rats, to laying communication cables, taking messages and assisting in first aid, and the pigeons th