MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency
Falklands vessels with flags at half-mast in remembrance of World War I
The Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife were shot dead in Sarajevo by Serb terrorists Falklands' Master Malcolm Jamieson has requested that vessels in Falklands harbours and Falklands registered vessels at sea, lower flags or ensigns to half-mast on Saturday 28 June to indicate mourning in remembrance of World War I.
Additionally vessels in harbours of the Falklands should sound a signal at the designated time of 14:00 Stanley time / 1700 GMT being the hour that the first shot was fired to mark the centenary.
Both ships of the British Antarctic Survey have advised that they will comply with the request, so Falklands' registered ships will mark the outbreak of the war in the North Atlantic and the UK as well as here in the Islands.
The event follows the Secretary General of the International Maritime Organisation (IMO) receiving a request from the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) to assist and cooperate in implementing an initiative to commemorate the event that triggered the First World War.
This request has been distributed by a variety of agencies and organisations to amongst others, ship owners, port authorities and Masters of ships.
On 28 June 1914, Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir presumptive to the Austro Hungarian, to the throne, and his wife, Sophie Duchess of Hohenberg, were shot dead in Sarajevo by Gavrilo Princip, one of a group of six assassins (five Serbs and one Bosnian Muslim) coordinated by Danilo Ilic.
The political objective of the assassination was to break off Austria-Hungary's south-Slav provinces so they could be combined into a Yugoslavia. The assassins' motives were consistent with the movement that later became known as Young Bosnia.
The assassination led directly to the First World War when Austria-Hungary subsequently issued an ultimatum against Serbia, which was partially rejected. Austria-Hungary then declared war, marking the outbreak of the war.
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Read all commentsThere is a famous spook headline:
Jun 28th, 2014 - 02:50 am 0“Archduke Francis Ferdinand and wife Sophie found in a geriatric home in Greece. First World War fought by mistake”
Commemorating the outbreak of a war is pointless and in very poor taste.
We should remember the countless young lives that were sacrificed during the conflict.
Four of my relatives contributed to the butchers bill, three on the Somme and one at Jutland. Let's not forget the men of the then Dominion of Newfoundland regiment.
They went over the top 780 strong and less than 80 answered the roll next day.
What a squandering of lives.
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Jun 28th, 2014 - 07:03 am 0“ Commemorating the outbreak of a war is pointless and in very poor taste”
I agree, but I think you are missing the point, they are respecting the loss of many young lives lost in th War. At our golf club and many around the country flags are flown at half mast to respect the passing of a collegue. So I think ” Commemorating the outbreak etc is out of context.
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Jun 28th, 2014 - 10:59 am 0I always thought and was taught at school that the events began the beginning of the fun up to war. The great war as it was known at the time began weeks later. Europe was literally a house of cards, when Austria-Hungary eventually declared war, Serbia allied to Russia, Allied to France allied to GBR were dragged in with Germany on the Austrian side. Yes the day was terrible in European politics but it was simply the beginning of the end.
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