General Chat

For those who don't go on FB. GR have responded on a thread re the lack of a poppy,

"We've changed the logo here on Facebook but we won't be changing the logo on the website this year. Many of us at Genes Reunited have relatives that have been lost during war and we encourage others to pay their respects however they feel most appropriate."

I have posted this ( how long it will last is another thing lol)

"It would have been nicer if someone at GH could have posted a personal reply here rather than one that is clearly a standard ' paste' job ( I say 'clearly' because it is just a repeat of what has been said elsewhere, as are the replies addressing the issue sent out to individuals who have emailed directly). This is the centenary year of the start of WW1...how in the name of all that is decent was it possible for NO ONE at GR HQ to consider that a poppy would be the very least your customers would expect this year? It's not like there haven't been reminders on almost every news broadcast for months on end. And I am advised by one who knows that adding a poppy to the GR logo on site would be easily done....if the will was there, clearly it wasn't and isn't."

This the reply I have got from Nick after emailing him again.
Just notce that he has said """""PASTED"""" a reply just goes to show they have automatic replies depending on the circumstances.

To me
Today at 3:57 PM
Dear Sue,

I am so sorry for pasting the wrong name into my response to you - that was a careless mistake.

I have to also, again apologise for the unintended offence our omission to add a poppy emblem to our website has caused.

Rest assured that this has made us look at this differently and, although it is too late for us to make a technical release to the website in time for this year, the poppy emblem will be returning next year.

If it was a simple as just adding an existing image file to the website, we would do that but to make any change to our main Home Page requires a technical release which just can't be scheduled without sufficient notice. Believe me, we would do it if we could
With kind regards,


Nicky Doran
Head of Customer Services
Genes Reunited

===============================

Apology or not from GR makes no difference 1 single red poppy tells a million stories
from those who fought for us.......

1 Poppy was that too much to ask in this day and age ....we walk through life today because of those brave people in our history <3

GR you should be ashamed of yourselves!

I doubt that any of them is mature enough to grasp the significance of anything that actually matters

I'd love to know what made them decide not to add one this year - but they'll be putting one up next year?
Surely they are aware of the significance of 1914-2014.

It just doesn't make sense.

An absolute DISGRACE

Hang your heads in shame GR

I imagine the techies have gone home for the weekend.

Keep up the good fight this evening, I'm off to get ready.

Going to a theatre at the local service children's school to see the Episkopi Military Wives Choir and the Band of the Gurkha's for our remembrance evening similar in parts to the Albert Hall tomorrow night. Colours paraded etc

I shall be wearing this years POPPY and my POPPY brooch :-)

My son agrees.

My OH (IT since 1981) says it would only take them a few minutes.

There is still plenty of time to put a poppy on the homepage..it don't take a week to do it.

I think if they could get one up that quickly, then they would.

They have acknowledged that it was a mistake and will rectify it next year.

Result :-S I would call it adding insult to injury, for goodness sake we are talking about adding a simple red poppy to the home page, not a completely new website - someone needs to get a grip and get a poppy up :-|

How disgusting - we are complaining about THIS year - not next.

Agree with everything PatinCyprus says.

How long does it take to put the poppy on the home page - it must be weeks as we still have 4 days to rectify - sorry I forgot it's a WEEKEND. 1 day to rectify the omission.

Wonder how many of our serving boys and girls get this weekend off?

If they get rid of this lot of staff or cut down numbers will anyone bother next year?

Result!

The Head of Customer Services has apologised "for the unintended offence this omission has caused" and stated "the poppy emblem will be returning next year."

Some of the insults we have seen to those who sacrificed their lives whilst fighting for their country are, plaques being stolen from war memorials, war memorials being covered in graffiti or used as urinals, poppy collection tins being stolen.

I will now, because Genes Reunited is ignoring the requests from members to display a Poppy on the home page - add that as an insult to those who sacrificed their lives whilst fighting for their country - shame on them :-(

Anyone who feels put out by the lack of an on site poppy,,,just download and add as your avatar,,,,,at least the viewing public and any potentail new members? will see how its paying members come together,some for personal reasons or just a mark of respect as its felt its the right thing to do.

I am not on Facebook and never will be, they do not pay to this site but I do.

I am an ex WRAF and my husband served in the RAF for almost 25 years. There is only 1 year since WW2 a service life has not been lost in combat.

How dare GR decide who should see any limited commemoration they care to do.

I will now delete the automatic renewal and next year they will have to buck up their ideas as I will not be remaining with an organisation who has no respect for the wishes of their paying customers or our service personnel. They don't even appear to know that it's for more than WW1.

This year I have concentrated on my families from the 1911 census to see if the males fought in WW1, already knowing both my grandfathers went to war.

I found several had died in WW1 and was informed on another site that the Black Country Bugle had bought out a paperback book called We Will Remember Them for £4.95. It is the pictures and stories of local heroes - their tag.

My interest started from that e-mail as there is a double page spread of a soldier who died of trench fever, he was repatriated during his illness. He was given a full military funeral in his home town. Many people turned out to see the horse drawn hearse followed by family and all the local dignitaries (all photographed) - his name was Sergeant John Joe Tyler died August 1916 aged 25, he was a relative of mine.

It also has some photos and stories of many other local lads - how young some were as they went off to the front, real pull on the heart strings. This was real life as it happened and their sacrifice as well as present day sacrifices should be remembered.

The armed forces at this moment have many of their medical staff fighting to save us from the ebola virus.

BUT GR CAN'T PUT A SINGLE POPPY, THE SYMBOL OF REMEMBRANCE, ON THEIR PAGES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
:-0