Remembering Those Who Died to Make the Lives of Others Better

Finally, there has been an acceptance from the MoD that the more than 15,500 members of the armed forces killed since the second world war should be commemorated. We have all recognised the fact that British troops have died in Iraq and Afghanistan. But it is really not understood that there has been just one year since the Second World War – 1968 – when British troops were not fighting and dying for their country.

The National Memorial Arboretum at Alrewas in Staffordshire is the site of the new memorial to be unveiled by the Queen this week. The 150ft-wide stone structure consists of a circle of walls, an obelisk and statues on top of an earth mound. On the walls are carved the names of those killed in a series of wars, counter-insurgencies and peacekeeping operations in which our troops have taken part since World War Two including Palestine; Korea; Malaya; Kenya; Aden; Cyprus; Dhofar; Northern Ireland; the Falklands; Bosnia; Sierra Leone; Afghanistan and Iraq. Anyone who died in service is included.

There is apparently room for another 10,000 names. Even if no other British soldier dies in Iraq – and we can only hope – there is no doubt that many more will die in Afghanistan. Let us pray that none die in the fruitless and unjustified war against Iran that the neo-cons appear to want, despite the mess they made of Iraq. But we also need to accept that there may be a need for more to die for better causes. It would for example be sad if British troops died to help those who are currently suffering in Darfur, but it would at least be a cause worth dying for.

Suzie Roberts, whose husband Major Lex Roberts of 1st Bn, the Royal Gurkha Rifles, died last Thursday in Afghanistan, says that in his last letter to her, he wrote of “how much good he felt he was doing for the people of Afghanistan”. His commanding officer Lt-Col Jonny Bourne echoed those sentiments, saying: “Lex’s loss has made us that much more determined to make a genuine impact while we are here in Afghanistan.  That is Lex’s legacy and we will honour it.”

It is the honourable intention of both the British soldiers who are in Afghanistan, and I sincerely believe, much as I often criticize them, the government that has sent them there, that they turn Afghanistan into a better place for the people of that country. Sadly, the current Nato commander, the US General Dan McNeil, appears to believe that you can do that by fighting a full-scale war. The British know better. They know that the only way forward is to make the life of ordinary Afghans better and that it is impossible to do so by bombing them and killing them. It is time that our senior military commanders stood up and told him so.

Comments

[Tom Bettley]

A brilliant article, echoing the thoughts of what hopefully every person in this country with a conscience is thinking.

[Jan Milllig]

Woe, Woe and thrice times woe how great divide shines foremost.
Over a Battalion of men have died in Barracks of Non Combatant deaths since 1991, will I see their names displayed....I doubt it.

Why is that I ask...Tsk, Tsk, unfair question for I already know the answer.
They didn't die on the Battlefield, nor on exercise learning the daring art of being warriors. No the young soldiers who signed for Queen and country died in training, and in the eyes of some not worthy of the duty of care that should have been a right to aid the passage from boy to manhood and warrior.
The average age of the young dead 19.
Some may have died by their own hand, we shall never know, they were not given the right of an investigation into their deaths by a civilian law enforcement...they were granted a cursory glance by the Military then put in a box and sent home. Only their loved ones will remember their names, only they will remember how their child signed for Queen and Country....And they will Remember...How Queen and Country Forgot them.

Mick says: Good news Jan. They are all commemorated on this monument. My apologies to anyone who read an earlier version of this article and was misled into thinking otherwise.

[M walker]

Funny that michael moores documentary put it the other away around; I.o.W

"that we we're not chasing bin laden
but holding our ground"

If this film was inaccurate, why hasn't it been challenged in the courts ?

[Rod Polisher]

Any right minded person would support our troops as they do a difficult job which a lot of people can't even begin to comprehend i.e. the fact that when they go on duty, they may not be coming back.

However, politicians who put the troops in harm's way without a second thought and for spurious reasons are to be condemned and revilled. Asking for the troops to come home in these circumstances is not disloyal but showing some concern for their well being.

Patriotism is good but blind, chest-beating patriotism is not. George Orwell said "All the war-propoganda, all the screaming and lies and hatred, comes invariably from people who are not fighting"!

[William 29]

There is nothing that saddens and confuses me more than reading about recruits dying/ taking their own lives whilst in training. Has the army changed so much ? The Guards depot of the early 70s was not a "cake walk" and the discipline at first seemed archaic. My own superintending sergeant (platoon sergeant) was an old hand who probably had children at home the same age as those in his charge. Yes he was bloody ruthless when it came to making us into the finished article. I honestly cannot recall him or his instructors overstepping the mark. He could soon suss out a problem and encourage those who began to doubt if they would pass out. Some years later in a non regular role I was chatting to two young regular sergeants from a training depot. Their ideas of punishment seemed more about humiliation. Perhaps it is that old woodentop in me that still believes in the rule book - happy days!

[Nick Hodgkins]

Let us hope no Iranians die, too.

[Neil]

It is time the British politicians remembered the British Empire disappeared several decades ago. It is that which was responsible for most of the troubles in the Middle East, and parts of Africa.

[William 29]

If it is a hankering for the days of empire it is very selective - Zimbabwe has not received the attention the people of that forlorn country might expect. More about oil ? As for
politicians - on at least two occasions Bernard Montgomery made his feelings known - Dublin early 20s (As garrison commander) "We are achieving nothing and should get the bloody hell out of it"! (we are still there) Palestine as Brigade commander he also had the same view - his belief was that you could defeat an enemy and control an area but you could not defeat or control a nation. Most of the general staff of those days had seen the slaughter of the first world war and were less inclined to commit to war.

[Barrie Machin]

The threats increase and the probability of a nuclear strike against Iran is growing; most worrying is Bush's legislation to make himself immune from past and future crimes and his sacking of General Pace, who opposes nuclear first strikes and immoral orders. Such a war will guarantee the death of most US soldiers in Iraq and plunge the world into a dark age of war and nuclear madness. Can the International Criminal Court Porosecutot be asked to bring charges?
See links and details on http://peacesource.net/

[John]

"Let us pray no British soldiers die in a fruitless war against Iran"

I don't call stopping extremists from getting Nuclear weapons fruitless. It seems strange how the left ignore the fact that Iran has already threatened to wipe Israel off the map twice

[Steve]

Hear hear. Just don't forget us Commonwealth types eh.

[Harry Von Maskers]

Regarding the comment posted by Tom Bettley (7 Oct 2007 13:59:54) - it is incredible you think Military Commanders care little for their men’s' welfare - on the battlefield or barracks. Give us some credit. Military Investigations, although not conducted by Civilian Police, have the one aim: to find out what happened (the same as civilian police)....there is no agenda. As for a cursory glance!! Commanders have the welfare of their men at the forefront of their mind. I know I am one - and there simply is nothing (and I am being truly honest) I would not do to ensure the safety of my men. As a saying goes in my Corps: wind you neck in.

[William 29]

Dear "Harry":

With neck in retracted mode - I for one do not doubt that as a commander you have the personnel in your command at the forefront of your thinking. The issue with me is that when these people have served they are effectively dumped. Of course in a much reduced land force with ever more commitments the "eye is on the ball". However, in those study periods on commanders of the past I learned that even during the height of the second world war great commanders ,Alan Brooke,Montgomery and Dempsey point blankly refused to commit to futile adventures. An extreme view ? - maybe - I say this in reaction to what I and maybe others perceived as a distinct lack of backbone at the top! The present CGS excepted.

[William 29]

Further to my last:

I stated that it was my belief that it is acceptable for a commander to refuse to carry out futile adventures - I would ask this - is it now accepted tactical doctrine to carry out a fighting advance, clear an area of enemy and then withdraw only to carry out the same advance later with more casualties - it is a bloody nonsense !

[Paul Carlin]

Good one, Mick.

[Viv from London]

I just wonder if you care as much about British soldiers dying as you do about your own biases. This is not about them, it's about you and your idealistic fantasies. Sadly many get sucked in by the dishonesty of those such as yourself who are more about making a name for themselves and getting that scoop than the lives of ordinary people who journalists destroy on a daily basis.

Mick says: Yes of course I care about the soldiers dying Viv. I spent 15 years in the British Army. I don't get paid for writing this blog and I don't get told what to write. I decide for myself. So if I didn't care about it, I wouldn't write it. I'm not sure what you mean by idealistic fantasies but frankly this blog deals in realities. Nor am I sure I understand what you mean in this regard by journalists destroying people's lives. I realise that can be the end effect of the work of journalists who intrude on people's personal lives but I never have done that and I have never to my knowledge deliberately done anything when writing to make someone's life worse. Has something happened to you Viv that you blame on journalists?

[George]

Before I am accused of it I am not anti-semetic and indeed have many Jewish friend but although Iran are wrong to talk about wiping Israel off the map - why does Israel exist as it is the only nation belonging to a religion? When we criticise the Palestinians I wonder how we would feel if the Jewish nation had been given England after the war?

[edradour]

"Military Investigations, although not conducted by Civilian Police, have the one aim: to find out what happened (the same as civilian police)....there is no agenda".

I'm sorry, but I must disagree. My experience of Boards of Inquiry tells me that there most certainly IS an agenda, especially when the preliminary investigation flags up that the accident was avoidable. Even more so when the cause was predicted and advised to senior officers, who then ignored the problem. And I find particularly unpalatable the tendency to lie to the BOI (or be "economical with the truth"). Also, the tendency to deny the existence of key documentation.

At least two BOI and subsequent Coroners' inquests from Iraq/2003 would have come to completely different conclusions had they (a) asked the right questions and (b) been told the truth. If they don't ask (a) they'll never know about (b). In these two accidents (Tornado/Patriot and Sea King AEW) the questions were so blindingly obvious that one can only wonder WHY they weren't asked. Of course, one doesn't get to see the transcript of the Coroner's inquest, but the BOI reports, despite being heavily edited, are a frightening indictment of MoD practices and policy. Which leaves you wondering what was edited out!

[William 29]

Dear Viv,

Within your blog - a spirited attack on Mr Smith, you made many claims in what I assume you believe was free of bias. I am now an old "fireside fusilier" and through the indulgence of Mr Smith I make my thoughts known and I know how much shouting from the sidelines can annoy those still serving. I have not seen anything that Mr Smith has written that does not fully support the service men and women. You also claim that Mr Smith is dishonest and prone to "idealistic fantasies" your evidence to back these claims is where ? Please tell me that you have never served on a court jury !

[The 3rd Column]

"They know that the only way forward is to make the life of ordinary Afghans better and that it is impossible to do so by bombing them and killing them. It is time that our senior military commanders stood up and told him (Gen Dan McNeil) so."

This is called nation building. Our troops in Afghanistan are taking part in it. Sadly, with the arrival of General McNeill, all that is being waylaid. Our American friends have very little notion that war can also be won by winning hearts and minds. It's the 'wild wild west' all over again.

There was an American general who could have made a difference -- General Jones.

Jones was of a different breed -- maybe it's because he received a European education and understood that military solution alone isn't always the best solution.

[W29]

Nation building - this is of course part of the problem. The belief that we can assist in rebuilding a nation - even where one did not exist until relatively recently. Irag was of course Mosul, Basra and Baghdad, joined by British mandate awarded by the league of nations in the 20s, as was Afghanistan in a similar way, without regard to hundreds if not thousands of years of tribal hostility. The present Afghan conflict is Britains third attempt - 1839 - 1842 and 1879. The second war was described as a "lapse of good sense and restraint" - how will this attempt be described in future ?