October
DecemberName note
I respectfully wish to draw to the attention of commentators and callers the correct pronunciation of the name of the horse Remagen Bridge. It is not pronounced "rem-a-jen" as the commentators are doing.
The name should be pronounced "ray-marg-en", with a hard "g". The site of the bridge in question is now a famous monument on the banks of the Rhine river in Germany.
In the closing stages of World War Two, a bitter battle took place for control of the bridge, as advancing Allies tried desperately to prevent the only remaining bridge over the Rhine being blown up by the Germans in their desperate attempt to slow down or prevent the Allied advance to the east.
Among the many dead Allies and Germans was an uncle of mine, and I have twice visited the site in memory.
The Allies won the struggle, only to have the bridge, weakened by numerous shell blasts during the battle, collapse 18 days later with further heavy loss of Allied and civilian lives.
The bridge was never rebuilt on that site, but the eastern arch, bedecked with the flags of the countries of the deceased servicemen, still stands.
It is now a national monument, floodlit at night.
It would be interesting for TVN or Winning Post to seek out the owners for their story on how they came to name their horse.
Brighton (Qld)