Last Friday and Sunday, a silence fell across the United Kingdom and Commonwealth at 1100 in remembrance of those men and women who have paid the ultimate sacrifice for our freedom.
Since the shelling stopped on Western Front, on a cold November morning little over 100 years ago, Britons of all ages and backgrounds have come together at this time each year around war memorials from village greens to the Cenotaph in London.
As the proud representative of three towns: Grantham, Stamford and Bourne - this year joined the residents of Bourne, together with local leaders to lay a wreath of poppies in Memorial Gardens.
As the first sign of recovery after the end of hostilities in Belgium and France in 1918, resilient poppies grew amongst the rubble where British and Commonwealth forces fought for four years in the most awful conditions imaginable. Since the start of the Royal British Legion (RBL) in 1921, we have worn poppies on our chests as a personal display of recognition of the sacrifice paid by our soldiers, sailors and airmen who have served our country with valour in conflicts throughout the world.
Today, 40,000 RBL volunteers distribute some 40,000,000 poppies across the UK. Funds raised through these sales go directly towards helping those within the Armed Forces community, including helping 2,500 people with financial difficulties after leaving service and the Battle Back Centre which supports wounded, injured and sick servicemen and women as they start their recovery.
Parliament opened a Constituency Garden of Remembrance to provide the opportunity for MPs and representatives from the British Overseas Territories and the Commonwealth to place a tribute on behalf of their communities. As part of this, the Speaker encouraged MPs to dedicate their poppy to an individual from their constituency who has served our country in uniform.
Earlier this month I visited some of our own community RBL poppy sellers and had the pleasure of meeting Philip Collins, whose father, Frederick, served during the Second World War as part of 45 Commando Royal Marines. Mr Collins saw action on Sword Beach on D-Day, going on to fight through France, the Netherlands and into Germany during the liberation of Western Europe. Inspired by his story and in gratitude to Philip for his voluntary service, I chose to dedicate this year’s poppy cross on behalf of Grantham and Stamford to Frederick Collins.
Each year, I am deeply struck by the importance we rightly place on this event, and I am proud to live in a community which demonstrates its thanks and support to our Armed Forces so well. It is clear that so many of us feel we owe an eternal debt to those who have fallen or been injured in war - one that we can never repay.
