St George’s Day

Assuming that by now the stories are all known, of St George, of St Edmund, of Alfred, of Arthur, of Ethelred … assuming all that, and if not, why not … then why use a saint like George, particularly as other countries such as Sicily also do?

The answer might be that for a start … it’s a ripping story, it can galvanise, as much as can a song by an C18th English mystic:

And brave people have fought and died for her … and here’s a tale of one of those, one of the stalwarts at site N.O., Steve, retired army, inc. special units:

Recalling St. Georges Day at my junior school: the corridors and assembly hall were festooned, the national flag of England displayed on a thousand pieces of bunting. Additionally the flagpole at the centre of the quadrangle would fly the Cross of St. George for the day - the flag of Union would take the day off - and go for a wash. 

And our Headmaster, an Oxford man, at assembly would speak to us of England:

Our England is a garden, and such gardens are not made
By singing:—“Oh, how beautiful!” and sitting in the shade,
While better men than we go out and start their working lives
At grubbing weeds from gravel-paths with broken dinner-knives...

Oh, Adam was a gardener, and God who made him sees
That half a proper gardener’s work is done upon his knees,
So when your work is finished, you can wash your hands and pray
For the Glory of the Garden that it may not pass away!
And the Glory of the Garden it shall never pass away!

That was mid to late 60s, our Headmaster had flown De Havilland Mosquitos during the war (DFC with bar). He walked with a limp, having lost an ankle bone to shrapnel. He had his dark days, as I recall, no doubt remembering fellow airmen who didn't make it home. He was always grateful:

Her sights and sounds; dreams happy as her day;
And laughter, learnt of friends; and gentleness,
In hearts at peace, under an English heaven

This has always been a warrior nation, our concept ranges from Boadicea (Boudicca) to Crécy to Henry V to Agincourt but I stop at the year 1707 for this post and look instead at images such as this:

… and anthems such as this:

The love that never falters, the love that pays the price … and might I add that one of the core reasons to gird up and be vigilant is only now unfolding to the average English person, though there’ve been centuries of enemy action to snuff out the heart of oak and now it’s from well inside the shores … a brief fightback in 2016 but largely invaded unopposed due to traitors in high places, and others with ludicrous tales of out of Ethiopia or whatever.

But you know … even in a rallying cry to this flag, there are allies from without … I was reading some Scottish and Irish reactions to the anthems … that treatment of Jerusalem at the top is vaguely Celtic and only yesterday there was a tale of an American school ma’am who asked who hated America and 30 hands shot up. 

Now don’t you see, even in our island nation insularity … there are similar tales of right and wrong, of great nations falling apart? Of great danger which must be opposed … right now … before it’s too late?

… such gardens (as ours) are not made by singing:—“Oh, how beautiful!” and sitting in the shade while better men than we go out and start …

I’d just say yes … know thine enemy, for sure, define who that is … but also know thine allies and accord them respect as well. Allies can be strange bedfellows, but nonethless allies, fighting to survive across the west.