What is this band of brothers referred to by Shakespeare almost 500 years ago? It defies an easy definition. Where does it reside? Does this brotherhood still live on in today's world? BandofBrothers.com is for those both in and out of uniform, for men, for women. Our focus is brotherhood in the universal sense, but also in the particular sense, that bond between warriors. This site is a collection of articles, links and photos that help us learn and then share thoughts of the universal "band of brotherhood". In this time of war, we are also here for those at home trying to understand the men and women in their lives, the men and women of this and other countries now in battle. What is it, and what is the history of the "band" of brothers?

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The Band of Brothers...some history....

Shakespeare started it all.

PBS Link
	"We Happy Few..." by Gerald Jonas

	William Shakespeare died in 1616. Seven years later, two of his fellow actors paid him a rare tribute. They collected 36 of his plays -- composed during a busy quarter-century in which he wrote over a million words -- into a book known to posterity as the First Folio.



	King Henry V


	It is doubtful that Shakespeare ever expected his plays to be preserved in this way. The great majority of Elizabethan plays were never published. Copyright laws at the time did not cover public performances, and each acting company jealously guarded its scripts to prevent rival companies from stealing them. While preparing a new play, not even the performers were trusted with a complete playbook; each actor received just the pages with his own lines. Only the prompter had a fair copy of the entire script.Pbs link

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More History.....Shakespeare's phrase helps capture the emotions, the bond of the modern warrior. ......

The Battle of the Nile
Admiral Nelson to Admiral Earl Howe

Palermo, 8 January 1799

I had the happiness to command a Band of Brothers; therefore night was to my advantage. Each knew his duty, and I was sure that each would feel for a French ship. By attacking the enemy's van and centre, the wind blowing directly along their Line, I was enabled to throw what force I pleased on a few ships, and we always kept a superior force to the enemy. At 28 minutes pas six, the sun in the horizon, the firing commenced. At 5 minutes past ten, when L'Orient blew up, having burnt 70 minutes, the six Van ships had surrendered. I then pressed further towards the Rear; and had it pleased God that I had not been wounded and stone blind, there cannot be a doubt but that every ship would have been in our possession....

E. Moorhouse. Letters of English Seamen. (1910), p. 210.

As many students of Naval and British history well know, Admiral Nelson developed, nurtured, and led one of the most famous "band of brothers" the world has known. Below are links associated with this legacy. Enjoy. And if you have other links, please go to comments (go to "comments" or send link to Shipmate@bandofbrothers.com) and tell us about them. Thanks.

From the 1805 Club...www.admiralnelson.org Created by The 1805 Club's Webmaster on 16 January 2000
Photographs �Royal Naval Museum, Portsmouth, England, UK
Plates by kind permission of Sim Comfort Associates
Last modified on 29 October 2000

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20th Century History of the 'Band'

If not the words, then the idea of Shakespeare's "band" lives on in the 20th century.

The setting and the stage: WWI, the trenches, a letter, and a father's broken heart.

From the BBC series on WWI....

Monday, November 2, 1998 Published at 11:01 GMT

Letters home: Becoming a man

EJ 'Ted' Poole was the younger brother of a soldier who was killed at the third battle of Ypres in 1917.

The young Ted was conscripted in May 1918 and trained at Aldershot, from where the letter below was posted. It is clear he was replying to the concerned enquiries of his father, who, having already lost one son, wanted Ted to become a good soldier in the hope that it would improve his chances of survival.

Ted, who was sent to France in August 1918, wrote that he sure that the training would "either make a man of me or kill me". Scarcely two months later, on 13 October, he was killed in action. He was 18.

28th May, 1918,

Dear Father,

Just a few lines in answer to your letter which I received today.

Yes I have got used to the puttees, as they have shaped to my legs by now. And I am getting used to my other things now, as I have been dished out with a rifle and bayonet, and now when I go on parade I have got to wear my belt, bayonet and cartridge pouch and also take the rifle.

They have been teaching us bayonet fighting today and I can tell you it makes your arms ache, when you make a point that is, when you lunge out at imaginary enemy, with the rifle at arms length. I think with this hard training they will either make a man of me or kill me. You ought to see me in my Shrapnel Helmet and Gas Mask, it would make you laugh, especially as the helmet wobbles from side to side, every time I walk.

Yes I got my food alright and you can have supper if you like to go for it, and you can bet I always go for supper. I am taking your advice and eating all I can.

Yes I did remember Dolly's birthday and I have sent her a little badge of my Regiment which she asked for and which I expect you have received by now. You will have to tell Miss Farmer that I think she will have to wait another two months before she sees me on leave.

I will see the officer about the allowance in a day or so, as I have heard today that two or three boys mothers are receiving an allowance, but I don't know how much.

Well, I think I will have to close now. As I haven't anything more to say just at present. Hoping you are quite well.

From your loving son,

Ted.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
PS. Love to Dolly and Frank

After the war Ted Poole's family erected a headstone which bore the inscription, "Out of the stress of the doing, into the peace of the done". He is buried at Naves Communal Extension Cemetery, near Cambrai in France.

EJ Poole's letters are held in the documents library at the Imperial War Museum. Extracts are also published in Malcolm Brown's book 1918 Year of Victory.

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The Second World War.....less literary, but no less of sacrifice by a generation....

The Sullivan Brothers

The five Sullivan Brothers were lost when the ship to which all five were assigned, USS Juneau (CL-52) was sunk on 13 November 1942. Many memorial efforts have honored the five brothers. Since their loss much confusion has resulted from the many myths surrounding both the Sullivan brothers and the Navy's policy regarding family members serving together at sea.

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The Band of Brothers today...

As the fighting continues in Afghanistan, as storm clouds of war continue to gather on the horizon, the reader may wonder: who are the Band of Brothers today? We trust the links and information below may help you understand, and allow you to rest assured, that the warrior brotherhood that has carried us through shadows of war in earlier generations, that this brotherhood is strong and alive in todays' generation.

Modern "Band of Brothers:

JCS Army Air Force Navy US Coast Guard FBI

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Famous War Quotes From History....

You can have peace. Or you can have freedom. Don't ever count on having both at once.
Robert Heinlein

Who desires peace should prepare for war.
Vegetius

It is fatal to enter any war without the will to win it.

Douglas MacArthur

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War Prayers and Poetry

In response to reader feedback, we are introducing a new feature: War Poetry. From time to time we will provide links to the poets and their poetry which captured perhaps more emotionally than any other device, the deeper bonds of the Band of Brothers. Below are two poems, one a recent submission from one of our readers, and the other from a war almost a hundred years removed.

To read on, and for more poetry, click here.

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Welcome to Band of Brothers, the cyber-port dedicated to America’s warriors past, present, and future. We also welcome you who support us through your work, whether the sweat of your brow or the power of your knowledge. Finally, we welcome all of you who keep us in your thoughts and
prayers as we go in harms way.

ABOUT US

HISTORY OF

DEDICATION

To contact us, write to: Shipmate@BandofBrothers.com

Note 1: If our introductory paragraphs and links to the sites of other BofB authors is not desired, please write to us and, upon our return, will be glad to delete the offending passage. But please understand, this site is not a commercial site, and seeks to generate no revenue.

Note2 : We have received inquiries regarding the upcoming film, Band of Brothers. This site is not affiliated

with the film. However, feel free to use this site to find others/post your messages and use the chat room.

Items of Interest: building a new 'Band' . See the 'quad model'

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James' email link

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Navy Hymn

Lord, guard and guide the men who fly
And those who on the ocean ply;
Be with our troops upon the land,
And all who for their country stand:
Be with these guardians day and night
And may their trust be in they might.
-- author unknown, about 1955

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Sports Corner:

The Army-Navy Game

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Reader Poetry

Gratitude

...to the timeless Band of Brothers

In one simple word
Can all life be known
All problems solved
And no secret hid

Love binds us
Fear stalks us
But only in battle can we be known

Rejoice
At the existence
Of Brotherhood

Thankyou dear Band
For this temple wrought
In the bloodstreams of men
Who from time old even
Before our grandfathers were born
Have given honour to that lofty Truth
Whose dear name we spell

We gather here as if by campfires
To tell
Of deeds great and small
Of comrades
Who fell
And thus made real
The oaths we pledge
Were not empty words or flowery phrase
But bittersweet beauty
In God's terrain
Chiselled on Eternity's own dark granite

Thankyou dear Band
For every offering
Free or forced
Great, small
Mean or generous

But greater still is my reverence felt
For those who know not
Their duty
Their orders
Themselves
But give
And know not
To what merry band they belong

Jeremy Traylen

New Zealand