Paul LeBrasseur sent the following pics to me, they are of the British WW1 memorial in Iraq as it is today. Here are Pauls' descriptions:
In middle of the desert in Iraq, about 20 miles from any town, we came across something interesting. The British had erected a monument in Basrah, and Sadam Hussein had it moved years ago… to somewhere in the middle of the desert!
The British Government had erected this memorial to honor their deceased soldiers.
Examples of the thick slate tablets with the names by regiment.
Note the red number. Sadam had his craftsmen disassembled the memorial and pieced it back together in the middle of the desert. The work crew left the numbers.
As I wrote to Paul, these pics are really erie to me. They bring up images of Egyptian temples in the desert. Another tribute to the lost power of the British Empire. At least Sadam did not have the courage to destroy the whole structure but his choice of locations ie in the middle of no where makes its own statement. Thanks again Paul, Brian
In middle of the desert in Iraq, about 20 miles from any town, we came across something interesting. The British had erected a monument in Basrah, and Sadam Hussein had it moved years ago… to somewhere in the middle of the desert!
Note the red number. Sadam had his craftsmen disassembled the memorial and pieced it back together in the middle of the desert. The work crew left the numbers.
As I wrote to Paul, these pics are really erie to me. They bring up images of Egyptian temples in the desert. Another tribute to the lost power of the British Empire. At least Sadam did not have the courage to destroy the whole structure but his choice of locations ie in the middle of no where makes its own statement. Thanks again Paul, Brian
