Jim Radford's performance at the Festival of Remembrance was immense.

Note to another thread - Jim Radford, 85 years old, delivery perfect, no crib sheet (I know he wrote the song and it told his own story - But I have encountered many singer/songwriters who cannot remember the lyrics of their own songs) and he could have performed that song just as effectively and as movingly if there had not been one note of accompaniment - Absolutely brilliant and wonderfully rare.

1: Having listened to Joss Stone/Jeff Beck rendition I fully agree with MartinRyan - "DO have a listen! It's the most wonderful example of appalling musical taste that I've heard for a long time."

2: "The British Legion is a publicity machine for militarism, and its primary function for 100 years has been to turn warfare into a state religion." - Jack Campin

Complete and utter codswallop. I take it that you didn't watch the Festival of Remembrance? You would therefore would not have heard this opening address given by a D-Day Veteran, Dennis Boardman of the Parachute Regiment:

"At this festival we honour the memory of those who have fallen and we commit to build a better future for our world. United we all who serve will care for those who suffer, comfort the lonely and support all those in need. Holding high this torch of remembrance we live on to strive for justice for all people."

Can't get much more militaristic than that, can you Jack??

3: "some of the military got a decided liking for doing that wholesale, pushing other people around for any reason and none, "because there's a war on", and cannot let it go. It's part of what's called militarism." - GUEST, Rahere

I'd love some examples of the military in this country ever getting to the stage you mention. As a former soldier? If there is a war on then things are, understandably, done differently than they would in peacetime.

4: "Much like claiming what they {Royal British Legion} are about isn't militaristic. I don't see any other group parading with flags and military bands - not even the BNP get away with that lot." - GUEST,Rahere

Flags/Banners/Bands? Never seen them? Unions have, or used to have them. The Salvation Army has them. The "Royal" in the Royal British Legion should have given you a clue - their Standards are presented to them and they represent locally those who have served in all arms of our forces - they have earned their right to march under colours - Again to any who saw the nearly 90 year old ex-paratrooper Dennis Boardman march out to deliver that opening address at the Festival of Remembrance I would say that he was proud of the honour and of doing justice to it on behalf of those who are not here - he marched assisted by a serving major in the Parachute Regiment and he was rightly proud of his service and so he should be - he earned that right and our respect.

Oh by the way Rahere - "recognise that military power being a continuation of government policy by other means" - If you are going to quote get it right. The quotation comes from Carl von Clausewitz and runs:

"War is not merely a political act but a real political instrument, a continuation of political intercourse, a carrying out of the same by other means."

Note "WAR" not "military power".

5: "Just an observation about Eric Bogle's claim that NML would have been too long for a single. He's obviously forgotten the Animals' version of House of The Rising Sun, which went on for around 6 minutes, and proved an enormous hit. Not being a pop fan I couldn't put a name to any other epic blockbusters, but I'd have thought there were plenty 55which broke the three minute sounds barrier by a similar margin." - GUEST,Fred McCormick

Oh yes there were Fred, one of the most notable IIRC was Don McLean's American Pie - which got airtime on radio stations because if they played it the DJ could nip out and take a cr*p, while it was played.

6: " "Britain was treaty bound to defend Belgium."
So Britain was treaty bound to defend a murderous imperial power capable of slaughtering 15 million of its subjects" - Jim Carroll

Keith was perfectly correct in stating that by treaty Great Britain was honour bound to defend the neutrality of Belgium - that is a simple matter of record {Treaty of London 1839}. But that treaty had more to do with what was perceived as being in the best national interests of Great Britain than in any consideration for Belgium - so defence of a murderous imperial power never entered into the equation.

7: Keith A of Hertford - 10th Nov 14 - 03:46 PM cut-n-pasted the following from wiki:

"After his son's death, Kipling wrote, "If any question why we died/ Tell them, because our fathers lied." It is speculated that these words may reveal his feelings of guilt at his role in getting John a commission in the Irish Guards.[67] Others such as the English professor Tracey Bilsing contend that the line is referring to Kipling's disgust that British leaders failed to learn the lessons of the Boer War, and were not prepared for the struggle with Germany in 1914 with the "lie" of the "fathers" being that the British Army was prepared for any war before 1914 when it was not.[68]"

I would side on the "self-guilt" explanation, as Bilsing was wrong in his statement that "British leaders failed to learn the lessons of the Boer War". The fact was that the British Army had learned well from the Boer War only too well, a war of fire and manouevre - the British Infantry and field artillery were the best trained troops in Europe - only trouble was that there was never enough of them (The British Army was never large by continental standards) and the war they were about to fight was of a type that no military power at the time had predicted or planned for. The British Army was prepared for war - it simply was not prepared for the war that unfolded in 1914.

8: "No, GUEST,AC - coercive conscription to near certain squalid suffering and death is a bloody outrage !!!" - GUEST,punkfolkrocker

Hate to burst your bubble PFR but conscription came in 1916, and when introduced it was not universal nor was it coercive. Of those who joined the British Army during the First World War 2.67 were Volunteers and 2.77 were Conscripts. As for the certain squalid suffering and death? On joining the forces, after basic training and receiving for many for the first time in their lives a balanced diet, exposure to fresh air and exercise, most put on around 14 kilos in weight and gained between 2.5 to 5 centimetres in height. They did not spend their entire time while deployed in France suffering in trenches (7 days in the front line: 56 days in the rear was the usual rotation) As for the certain death part of it ~1 in 10 got killed.