Monday, 20 June 2016

Lessons From Two World Wars - Peace in Our Time

When I was a child I remember talking to Charlie who was in his 80's about the Great War. He told me about the mud and cold most of all he told me about the mud. Guess he couldn't say anything about the death and mutilation of the other men from the village whose names are on the long list on the war memorial in porch of the village church.


I also remember talking to my uncle and asked him about the war. He told me about Dunkirk and being rescued by the little ships, most of all he told me about the little ships and how the rescued him and his colleagues from the beaches.

My dad's memories of the war including being in a convoy from East Africa to India with a regiment of Africa soldiers to fight in the Burma campaign, one of the troupe ships was torpedoed and half the regiment was lost including a group of Queens Alexander nurses.

My mum worked a Red Cross nurse working in England nursing soldiers and airman who had been injured some had lost legs or suffered terrible burns.

So why am I telling you these stories now? It's because one of the reasons we have lived in one of longest if not the longest periods of peace in Europe is due to the vision of leaders such a Winston Churchill who saw the need for a united Europe and the need for the European Community.

So if you have the slightest bit of respect for those who fought for peace in Europe learn from history and don't follow the rise of nationalism. Our place is in Europe contributing to a community which in so many ways has brought peace in our time.

My Mother, as a result of what she has seen and experienced says vote remain for the sake of our children, she for one has seen the consequences of a divided European.

On this occasions I am going to do what I am told, but I was anyway.

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