This week is 'Armed Forces Week', culminating in 'Armed Forces Day' on Saturday. I am immensely proud of the work service men and women have done and continue to do to protect our freedoms both at home and abroad.
Growing up with a history teacher as a father I was frequently told stories; including that of the Allied troops in Wipers (Ypres, Belgium) preparing for the First Battle of the Somme during what was known then as The Great War. These boys, some only 14 and 15 years old, had yet to have a grown-up & experienced anything of life and here they were willing to lay down their own lives in a battle which would eventually see over 1 million lost. This year it is particularly poignant as we remember the centenary of the outbreak of the First World War.
After 4 bloody years when eventually the Armistice was signed on the 11 November 1918 a rather haunting cartoon was published (titled 'Peace and Future Cannon Fodder') which predicted that when the children of 1918 reached fighting age there would be another war, in 1940. Although a year out, we then saw the outbreak of the Second World War. The decisive action that led to the ending of that conflict, D Day, we commemorated the 70th anniversary just a couple of weeks ago. D Day is the largest and most audacious seaborne invasion in history which took many months of planning, but began the turnaround in the Allies favour.
The tales of these wars are now largely confined to the history books and although the NATO combat operations are ending in Afghanistan later this year, in an unstable world we cannot be certain that we have seen an end to UK armed services intervening around the world, including humanitarian efforts.
I am very proud that we have put the Military Covenant into law and it is the first step in ensuring that properly care and look after our past, present and future armed service personnel. It goes a small way in expressing our utmost gratitude for their selfless commitment in protecting & preserving core British values; of which include upholding the rule of law, establishing democracy, preserving human rights and individual liberty.
It is right that properly acknowledge the work of these brave men and women, so tomorrow in Swindon and across the country we celebrate Armed Forces Day. Charities including the Royal British Legion, Help for Heroes, SSAFA, Combat Stress and many others already do so much to look after armed forces personnel and their families. I urge you to take a moment out of your day tomorrow to think about all that is done in our name.
