Annonymity Even in The Information Age

We have become so accustomed to having information at our fingertips.

It is sobering sometimes to come across something elusive, and one such elusive thing has come to my attention recently.

We are of course that a critical point in remembering those that have fallen in conflicts across the 20th century.

There has been much moving coverage across the BBC capturing perhaps before lost in the mists of time first-hand accounts of those that have exhibited extraordinary bravery during the second world war, a conflict which is so nearly slipping into obscurity as those with personal experience begin to reach an age that prevents them from participation in person, Leaving only recollections for future generations.

It is important to remember, and although it is quite possible for the argument to be put forward that it is wrong to glamorise that sense of sacrifice. It is equally the case that we must never forget the importance of taking a stand against what is both brutal and at times offensive.

Although my father died many years ago, the fact that he served in the Armed Forces remains with me as a memory even though only second-hand. At one remove from personal experience.

I have on the wall of my bedroom, visible from my electric bed, the recruiting poster that remains perhaps one of the most iconic images of the 20th century.

I Cannot imagine that anyone the world over will not at some point have seen this image, that of Lord Kitchener facing straight to the onlooker and exclaiming that Your Country Needs You.

There are few images which can claim to have been so successful, if that is the term to use, in capturing the spirit of a time.

The poster that I have framed was given to me by one of my carers recently, having been a special giveaway with a Sunday newspaper at some point in the recent past.

It is a striking image, and I have it framed in front of me for several reasons.

One of them is simply as a reminder of so much of what is being remembered at the moment, but there is another very personal reason why it is important to me at the moment.

This is simply that Lord Kitchener possesses a stupendous moustache, very much a reminder of the kind of facial hair that was common at the time.

I have recently grown moustache of my own, which I use moustache wax for, and of which I am particularly proud.

Perhaps it is simply that when you have a red car, you see red cars everywhere.

I have begun to notice that there is an increasing fashion for extravagant facial hair such as was more common in the early part of the 20th century.

I was recently delighted to discover that thanks to the Internet, it was quite straightforward for me to find the source of moustache wax, a product which might be considered to be of interest only to a very small minority.

One interesting consequence of having this poster regularly in my vision is that I have noted the name of the artist that creates is the original poster image.

His name is Alfred Leete, and what I was surprised to discover was the fact that it seemed impossible to discover anything meaningful about this artists work.

Beyond the fact that the first appearance of the image came about in an obscure local newspaper, I have discovered nothing about the artist whatsoever.

This is something that I find so surprising given the times in which we live that I have felt it worthwhile to raise it.

It is strangely satisfying to discover something unknowable.

We are so used to being able to access information instantly, that it is quite remarkable that something so iconic should be so shrouded in anonymity.