I’m an RAF veteran – today we must do more than remember our fallen | UK | News
This morning, much of the nation that proudly wears its poppies will gather quietly to celebrate the Armistice. But today there are many more who died in wars long past. When I wear my poppy next to my medals this morning and watch the silence, I will remember the sacrifices made in conflicts old and new. So is this poppy and memory still relevant in today’s modern world?
“Popies fly in the fields of Flanders”. So began the poem written by army doctor John McCrea while surveying the battlefields of Northern France in 1915. After some of the bloodiest fighting of the war, the region around Flanders was devastated, all signs of life extinguished. But amidst the sea of dead and mud, a single red poppy bloomed, bringing life, color and hope to the battlefield. That weasel image of McCrea would become a symbol of national remembrance.
But as we remember the dead, we must also remember the living who need our help and care. And not just those in the two World Wars; Since 1945, our military has been involved in countless conflicts around the world.
From the jungles of Borneo to the deserts of Iraq, the back alleys of Afghanistan and many other – sometimes more secret – places, our armed forces are constantly on operations around the world. So today our young men and women continue to risk their lives.
When I joined the RAF as a naive 17-year-old in 1981 I never actually expected to go to war, but as a Tornado sailor I saw active service in the Falklands, Bosnia and Iraq in 1991; There I was shot, captured and paraded on television.
My experience was brutal, but I survived long enough to return to my friends and family. Some of my friends and colleagues did not return home, and many are still suffering the effects of that war and many others since.
That’s why it’s so important that we continue to mark this sacrifice. On Saturday, I was honored to take part in the Annual War Widows Memorial Service held at the Cenotaph; Here I stood with wives, young and old, whose husbands made the ultimate sacrifice. I flew alongside some of them.
These brave women are an ever-present reminder of the reality of war, and it goes without saying that their personal sacrifice will never end. I returned on Sunday for the annual Remembrance protest, where I walked with the Royal Air Force Ex-Prisoners of War Association.
When I first joined in the mid-90s, there were hundreds of WWII POWs in our group. Unfortunately, there is only one surviving couple who are over 100 years old and will not be able to join us. So these were just a few of my fellow POWs from the 1991 Gulf War.
Surveys show fewer people are interested in military service or the concept of sacrifice. I’m not sure I agree – the official attendance at the Remembrance Parade on Sunday is quite large, and I suspect the crowds gathering along the short route grow larger each year, cheering and clapping as they pass.
Why do we keep doing this? When the Cenotaph was opened 105 years ago in 1920 by King George V, an estimated 1.5 million people paid their respects in the first few days and the base of the monument was soon buried under floral tributes. A little boy left in trance, causing even the police officers on duty at the memorial to hold back tears. “Oh look, mommy,” he shouted with joy. “What a beautiful garden my father has!”
This year, a new group of young people from Scotty’s Little Soldiers wearing black and yellow scarves were marching past the Mausoleum. Founded by Nikki Scott after her beloved husband Lee was killed in Afghanistan, the charity provides care and support for children when a parent dies in service.
We live in an increasingly uncertain world. Conflicts continue unabated on the other side of the sea in Europe, where an emboldened Russia has shown that it has little respect for international borders or the lives of citizens of the countries it wishes to occupy.
Recent conflicts in Syria and currently in Sudan show that unimaginable violence can break out anywhere, at any time. So who knows where our forces might be deployed next?
The harsh truth, as history shows, is that – in this increasingly uncertain world – there will always be newly dead children, new veterans, and new widows from wars from places yet unheard of, who will wear poppies on their chests both in honor of the dead and to remember the living – as I will today.
John Nichol is a former RAF Tornado navigator and his latest book, The Unknown Warrior, is out now.
