day 306: ANZAC printables

lest we forget

day 306 and we are only two weeks from commemorating our fallen soldiers on ANZAC day (25 April), a day that resonates with me and my family.  i wanted to put some decor around the house in honor of those lost, the sacrifice for all including those left at home by war ... i am hoping it will ignite my peeps to seek more information and never become complacent about the impact war has had on our nation and why freedom has often been hard fought for.

i have chosen a range, because lets face it, war covered it all and then some.  below are the ones i have printed and framed and the reasons why each was chosen.  instead of printing them on card or paper i went with printing them on canvas and then took the glass out of the frames as i wanted them to be visually closer and more tactile so the peeps could touch the printables and feel more connected to their contents ... deep kirsty, i wonder if the reality will be this vision ;)

the frames and canvas and the cute crocheted poppy, a gift from dee :)

keep calm and carry on has become an iconic saying over the last couple of years with all sorts of merchandise appearing with this catch cry on it ... i love it because of the meaning behind it.  it was one of the british pre-war posters to encourage their citizens to carry on life "normally" but it was never made public and lost to history until it was rediscovered in 2000.

in flanders fields, written by john mccrae is a must, it provides such a haunting memory of what sacrifice those that have fallen have paid.

simpson and his donkey is a truly ANZAC story of incredibly courage. john "jack" simpson was stationed at gallipoli and used a donkey he found roaming to carry wounded soldiers from the front line back to the beach where they could be evacuated for medical care.  he did this in horrific conditions including being under fire, for three and a half weeks he carried countless wounded to the beach that otherwise would not have survived.  unfortunately his bravery paid the ultimate price when he was killed on one of his trips to the frontline by enemy fire.

victory, v-j day kiss this photo is used over and over again and i never get sick of it ... it is so wonderful to remember the overwhelming happiness that resulted in the end of the war and, for me, this photo sums it up without the need for words.  i love the way his hand grips her middle so tightly like he never wants to let go! victory aside, the chance for families and friends to be reunited after sometimes years apart must have been such a welcome relief.

for the fallen by laurence binyon, this part of his poem is recited the world over at remembrance services including here in new zealand. we will remember them and hopefully in doing so we will remember the sacrifices that war brings and work harder at preserving our freedoms while understanding others differences making peaceful compromises the priority as opposed to war where no one wins really (off my soap box now  .. but thanks for indulging me)

finally, this photo of life at home i love ... both my grans served in the woman's corps and they literally took up the jobs left by the men who were overseas fighting.  these gals are the 'new' postal girls that took up the slack  and became part of the corp known as WASP (women airforce service pilots in wwii).  the mail will still get through ... even if there is a war ... i don't know that i could be that brave!~

all of these and many more photos and images with wonderful stories are pinned to my lest we forget board at pinterest.




my sincerest thanks goes to sparkle box, wikipedia, wings across america, wikimedia, and turfing as the sources for the images and inspiration of the above ANZAC printables.