We must never forget

Today is Remembrance Sunday when the nation remembers its war dead and mourns their selfless sacrifice in the name of our freedom.

In 1929, the then Secretary of State for War was once asked, 'when the last of the Great War veterans die, will people still commemorate Armistice Day?' his reply 'when the last of the Great War veterans die, people will not know the horrors of war'. The irony of this statement is so potent in the year the last of the Great War veterans died yet now, more than ever in recent years, we do seem to be aware of the great dangers our Armed Forces are facing.

With the death of two more soldiers in Afghanistan today, the total number killed in that conflict comes to 232. The rights and wrongs of that conflict are for another day. Today is about honouring those who have fought and died for this country. And in a year when so many of our brave servicemen have died, it is even more important that we do honour them and never forget their sacrifice.