💯

For the most part, yes. There are some exceptions, both individuals (soldiers who love the power, let alone actual sadists who love the suffering) as well as wars (ISIS come to mind...). But for the most part, yes, war is old men talking and young men dying. 😭

The first world war was the most unnecessary because the whole thing started on a idea of creating a new currency that he thought all of Europe might find useful they have one currency there's less likely to be a problem and bearing in mind that at the time they're still existed among Europe and it's nobles the idea of the emperor being basically the one king supposedly to rule them all at least it has been for so many centuries before. The Kaiser was bringing this up at a time in which countries like France were doing very well even if other countries were doing far less well than they and they didn't like the idea that the Kaiser was suggesting they should be all under his rule, this might have more to do with the fact that by the time the 20th century rolled around things had politically speaking had changed, but it also didn't help that there were plenty of countries that did not want to be a part of the equivalent of what today we call the European union... The problem was his ideas were way too ahead of his time and his now English cousins we're not interested in giving up any kind of power not even the idea of a centralized monetary system, do bear in mind that even when the EU became the European Union in the last what is it 40 years maybe less and they came up with the idea of making a central currency England and a few other countries were not for it but they didn't go to war over it, why you might ask, because first they made a European Union literally they made a council of Europe, a United Europe if you want to call it that and only after discussing and making pictures of what the currency might look like I mean this took years did it finally come to fruition only because they first did the joining together of the individual countries and only after the idea again was floated to make a common currency... And even after the currency was made it was still used alongside of the local currency of whatever country you happen to be in because each country wasn't sure whether it was to their benefit or not and this way they'd have a chance to see if it was also anybody coming from another wouldn't have to exchange they have one common currency that they could use while on vacation and this slowly slowly idea actually worked. And there's the difference between what caused the first world war, and why that same idea didn't cause a another identical one is the idea was a good one but the problem was that instead of getting all his friends together as it were all his communal allies together all the countries he was going to have join his monetary system he didn't do that he just announced it as a thing that everybody would just jump on the bandwagon with he was going and then instead of going okay you're right it's too soon it's not it's not good you know we'll just put table it let's talk about working mutually side by side to come up with ways that we can make our individual countries stronger by an alliance with each other... But instead of doing that he thought he could just roll over everybody else and that's where the thing became the Hindenburg of wars (or probably more appropriately the Titanic of wars) a disaster of mega size proportions.

well that's true in SOME wars

much less the entire letter. 🥲

It's called acting - really good acting, when the actor totally inhabits the part, a rare talent to take you away back to the moment of conception and to feel the common humanity, and weep 😢

And so am I

It is hard to watch the Ukrainians suffer so much, but it is also hard to watch the oppressed Russians who are trapped. We have many Russians coming here, many are settling in California.They seem content to be free of Putin's insanity.

But notice that the madman running your country would not be there if not for the western support to make Ukrainians cannonfoder Tools to weaken the Russian military. A war being fought by the west with Ukrainian blood

Peace be with you

@@FacheChanteDeux Try BIDENS INSANITY !!!!

@@FacheChanteDeux sorry , Not insanity....PURE EVIL GREED

Thanks for the info it as much as The letter brought a tear to my eye,,,,,I like to imagine he might of travelled in Europe years later and maybe came across one of the German. Soldiers

Thank you for that, I was desperate to know

Thank you for this. I honestly thought the bitter 'punchline' at the end was going to be realising that the guy who wrote this died on boxing day when the fighting resumed, so to hear he survived is nice, even though I know that plenty of others wouldn't have done.

@@MrDannyDetail many did die soon after. i heard a story of a soldier who participated in the truce dying a month later while trying to save a stranded soldier.

Thank you. I needed to hear that. I only just found out my paternal Grandfather survived the British Navy during The Great War. He survived, moved to Canada, married a woman from his home Island in Scotland and had five children. We will not see their like again. - Cathy (&, Steve), Ottawa/Bytown/Pimisi

#GeroKron Good to know there's at least Two + people who appreciate a world without greed and fighting. Me and you, and all the others that must be around somewhère. This evening I watched the 2 Cello guys playing a concert in Italy in 2017. I listened to them play Imagine by John Lennon, which was a bit spooky, as I had listened to him earlier in the day giving an interview just a few hours before his death . I love those words, "Imagine all the People living for today". The Cello guys had thousands of adoring fans smiling and singing along in such joy and it struck me that the whole audience had fulfilled the Hope's of John Lennon through music that night. It's possible, it's all possible.

I think a lot of people have been thinking about that the past two weeks.

I'll drink to that, cheers mate.

Hello from the UK. 24/3/2022

Though selfish, petty men seek to drive us apart, I remain European. Greetings from a greatly diminished England.

They really messed up with making his Doctor Who into a Leftist weirdo.

Weird that you are astonished. He is an actor and this is what he does for a living. I was incredibly moved by the letter and him reading it but he is an actor as are everyone they invite to read letters for the simple fact that this is what actors do.

Well said

He kind of 'went there' in Twice Upon Time. So he has something with this moment in time.

I'm surprised the letter made it out and that they didn't censor it or destroy it.

@@Hexen_Wulf I was just going to say that. Thank God it did.

Captain Ames papers and photos are available in the National Archives UK.

​@Hexen_Wulf from what I've studied of WW1, the British government back then seemed to respect the (European) opposition more during WW1 than later conflicts. Their behaviour towards African and West-Asian nations made up in racism for their naked respect of the white nations and negative Propaganda seemed to not be as emphasised during WW1, especially with the censoring of letters sent from the lines. I feel like they would have glorified the Honourable King's subjects as being civilised and good soldiers, showing respect to their fellow men.

I think he was getting a little choked up. I know I am.

Read it to yourself in private two or three times before performing to keep the tears at bay. You've already cried them. But the weight won't leave your voice. ❤

That serves to prove that you are indeed human ☮

LBJ, the guy who killed thousands of American troops so he wouldn't be the president who "lost Vietnam." {smh}

@@Caseytify Very true but forgetting the speaker for one moment, the words are still something that deserve thinking about.

..

Ironic

@@rayjennings3637 yeah and also as if LBJ is the only one to blame for the war, ppl for some reason avoid giving JFK any blame cuz he's so beloved (mostly cuz he died so young, even though he was a very shit president and person). A president can still question war and its ethics even if he's playing his part in it. As if Churchill isn't allowed to criticise the manner of war and death because he's part of the war. Is there anyone more qualified to ask these questions than the person held responsible for the deaths and sending young men out there to die.

That particular episode was repeated here in Australia last week (Dec 2021). Definately read with feeling...

Same

Exactly my feeling!

Exactly. I wonder if he recorded this before or after filming or even reading the script for twice upon a time

@@stephjovi I assume before because this was recorded in March 2016 and "Twice Upon A Time" was first broadcast in December 2017, so he probably got the script not after he read the letter.

It's very simple. When someone robs you, attacks your family, rapes your children; don't fight back. Then it's all very peaceful...

@@Caseytify Not a single war has been started that way. Not one.

That's why I actually hate this story. These men had no ill will to each other. They were going to go back to trying to kill each other the next day because their countries told them to.

Sadly, it's not up to the men forced to fight it...

This is all I could think too. It's heartbreaking how so many people have died in war, totally unessecarily.

truly

"Pope Benedict XV, on 7 December 1914, had begged for an official truce between the warring governments.[5] He asked "that the guns may fall silent at least upon the night the angels sang", which was refused by both sides.[6][7]" Wikipedia. Happily, the people overode the decision of the governments

@@KatherineTOwen being in the thick of it tends to change one's perspective. Not surprisingly, this war is infamous for that simple fact.

My grandfather was on the Somme for nearly 3 years. He never talked about WW1. When my mother passed away, I found his medals, still in the original box, the ribbons never put onto the medals. I can’t begin to imagine what he went through.

Such a fantastic actor to be able to do it

The words of Cornel Armes have a distance of a semi-formal report. This man was an officer. He was proficient at summarizing the horrors of the day in a matter-of-fact perfunctory way. He's telling his wife the story in a way that will help him to somehow keep an emotional distance when the bullets start to fly at midnight. The emotional cue points that the performance picks up on... goosebumps. - Cathy (&, accidently, Steve), Ottawa/Bytown/Pimisi

(They could have given it to Bill Shatner.....)

I have always enjoyed watching Capaldi weave his web. He has a way of speaking to you that makes you believe you are listening to a real person, not an actor pretending to be a person. He doesn't need to lay it on thick, but lets it fall from his lips in an almost casual and sometimes off-hand way, just as anyone in our everyday lives would. I believe that's the mark of a good actor, not just an ability to speak the lines, but to inhabit a character enough that he's no longer just a character.

Reminded me of the saying about jazz - it's not just about the notes you play but also the ones you _don't_ He's a master at pausing in the right places, and the suggestion of words potentially felt but left unsaid (/unwritten in this instance)

that's a lovely quote, one I haven't heard before. thanks for sharing.

Perfect!👍🏻

This is quite beautiful aye

High sounding pretty empty words considering Europe during his days was busy warring with each other at the drop of a hat and spreading imperialism and colonialism all over the world pillaging, plundering, murdering along the way.

Many drops of water make the sea, and many people make the sea of humanity.

Yeah, no remorse - but resignation. Heavy, heavy resignation. (That's how I interpreted it, anyway.)

I bet he practiced that word 50 times beforehand as well, volksleed, volksleed, volksleed. Then a tiny bit of adrenalin and nerves and the reflex kicks in...volklide...doh

@@msms7434 Still happens to me despite my German GF's best intentions. I'll be happily 'ee'-ing along and then eventually I'll read something aloud and my brain & mouth will cruelly betray me spouting 'ei', or vice versa, before you know it. It's such a simple mistake yet it still catches me out. It's really quite annoying.

Such a poignant mispronunciation in this context: turning a "folk song" into the "people's sorrow/regret"

it's the first account I've read where someone English tried to speak German. So that was nice to hear. It's always the Germans managing to speak English which is rather embarrassing. We haven't improved on languages now!

@Katherine T Owen And you haven't improved on your accent recognition. Capaldi is clearly Scottish, not English. Which is an embarrassment for you, seeing as you're lecturing.

Thank you.

I was unaware of the location. There's a song which I presume is from the period titled "Madamoiselle from Armentieres" which my grandfather used to sing (badly) to himself.

@@englishsteve1465 My dad (served in WW2) used to sing that - rather rude words if I recall correctly!

@@englishsteve1465 I learnt this song at junior school (NOT the rude version! 😬) 🎶Mademoiselle from Armentieres, parlez-vous?🎶 I'll be humming it all day now 🌞 Beautiful read by Peter Capaldi.

@@annehunter9732 lol yeah, I expect there's two versions of it, one being "written" by the troops in the field.

If the powers that be called the whole thing off from there, that would’ve be been perfect. Why can’t we manage to do this.

@@benbunyip Well, you probably live in a country that if your ancestors had not fought to preserve themselves then you may live in a very different country or maybe not exist at all? The egg is well and truly scrambled my friend and you can't unscramble an egg.

There was nothing those soldiers could have done short of convincing the entire military to go on strike and this was a world war, that would have been a death sentence for their country.

Plus, the brass was aware of the possibility by then, and made sure to shell the living crap out of the opposing trenches on Christmas Eve, to counteract any thoughts of good cheer or brotherly love. No matter how noble and pure one's objectives, war is an ignoble and filthy means.

@@MrFelblood all true.

it does seem like that one commercial

It was more that the letter is dated December 1914. That seems a little early for WW2.

Perhaps that's why the video is titled "Peter Capaldi reads a letter from WW1 Captain Reginald John Armes to his wife".

@@XantiaD perhaps they edited the title after I commented more than a year ago? Lots of things are possible.

Throes.?

war is insane

If they didn’t continue , they themselves would have been courts martial and executed ....

Yeah, this is why commanding armies from a distance is so absurd.

Some officers threatened to shoot their men if they didn’t fire their guns

@@PolGara0139 or they in turn would have been shot ...,

Yes, the Germans marching through Belgium and halfway into France were really our friends. It was all a big misunderstanding.

@@Caseytify You should watch some interview footage.

My father fought in the Somme and Paschendaele. When I was a child I asked him what he thought of the German soldiers,expecting him to say they were brutes,and to my surprise he replied "They were just like us".

Was that the 2005 movie ("Joyeux Noel") or something else? :)

@@Wolf-ln1ml Yes that's the one! I loved that movie.

Perhaps it was this movie about the event: en.wikipedia.org/wiki/A_Midnight_Clear

@@Genesh12 No, it was Joyeux Noel. BUT thanks... Now I have to watch this other movie! 😁

Violets, April 1915 Violets from Plug Street Wood, Sweet, I send you oversea. (It is strange they should be blue, Blue, when his soaked blood was red; For they grew around his head. It is strange they should be blue.) Violets from Plug Street Wood - Think what they have meant to me! Life and Hope and Love and You. (And you did not see them grow Where his mangled body lay, Hiding horror from the day. Sweetest it was better so.) Violets from oversea, To your dear, far, forgetting land; These I send in memory, Knowing You will understand. Roland Leighton, 1895-1915

That's why war isn't a democracy. If it was, it would never be fought.

@@Hexen_Wulf I am aware of this, hence my comment. It's a collusion.

They would have been ordered to be shot by the men in the rear

@@lingeriedeparis7274 You think?

​@@floradiamonds There is a book called "The Thin Yellow Line" by William Moore about the hundreds of British soldiers who were shot by their own comrades for cowardice and desertion during the first World War. Shell-shocked and confused men, ordered to be executed by superiors who did not understand how much warfare has suddenly changed and just how traumatising the mass-destruction the Great War has wrought for these poor men. It's a heartbreaking read.

Agreed! I’ve shared this on ALL my social media platforms, in hopes it can ease the burden of fear, we all currently share.

@@shawnblackhawk6718 doing the same.

Oh, he has, even in a long monologue about war as The Doctor in Doctor Who.

He has what is known as a "Morningside burr". Morningside being a rather upper middle class area of Edinburgh, Scotland.

@@englishsteve1465 I actually first got interested in him from some youtube clip video of some British show he was on where he constantly swore like a drunken sailor. Hilarious stuff. I've never even seen an episode of the show. I just love the clip video of him constantly swearing. He turns profanity into an art form.

@@wickedpissa25 Yeah that would be "in the thick of it" or else the spin off film from that series "in the loop" - you didn't wanna be whoever it was he was ragin' at, right ? lol - he was Dr Who aswell but that aint my thing so I never saw it.

You should watch Local Hero. That was his first film, and what actually turned him on to acting - he says he had no clue what he was doing and he's already brilliant in it. :-)

@@beth12svist I'll look for it. Thank you!

It's why he's my favourite incarnation of The Doctor even though his episodes were either hit or miss. Really hit or miss

@@jasonotto9126 Tenant was great eye candy (for me) but Capaldi will be forever my favorite doctor. He was magnificent in The Devil’s Hour.

@FireHorseWoman I'll have to check that out thanks!

Agreed 100%

It should be criminal that KZfaq thinks it's appropriate to interrupt this with not 1, but 3 sets of adverts. Apparently everyone should have a Quooker tap.