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Melanie Ward (Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy) (Lab)
I beg to move,
That this House has considered the role of war memorials.
It is a pleasure to lead my first Westminster Hall debate under your chairship, Mr Stuart. I thank colleagues from across the House for joining me in this important discussion on the role that war memorials play in our communities and country. This Friday marks the centenary of Kirkcaldy’s war memorial and galleries, with commemorations running from the end of this week to a ceremony next Wednesday, with a military parade and some very special guests. I am leading the debate to pay tribute to those who have maintained Kirkcaldy’s memorial, galleries and gardens over the past century, as well as providing Members with an opportunity to raise important memorials in their own constituencies.
All of us in this House represent areas with war memorials. While our country has huge regional diversity, war memorials form a thread that runs through our national landscape, from the Cenotaph on Whitehall, just outside this place, to North Ronaldsay, the most northerly island of Orkney. Those quiet monuments to sacrifice bring us together and bind us. They remind us that no city, town or village has been spared the pain and loss that conflict has brought to the families of the fallen.
What we most admire about the more than 100,000 war memorials in Britain are, of course, their quiet beauty and the opportunity they afford for contemplation and remembrance, but it is also their inherently egalitarian nature that makes them so respected. Prior to the Boer war, our memorials celebrated great victories and leaders. Just up the road from this place, Trafalgar Square and Nelson’s Column serve as a reminder of that. Yet after the Boer war and the devastation of the first world war, it was widely accepted that we needed a new, more sombre and respectful form of remembrance, which did away with class and military rank, listing each soldier equally as an individual who had given their life for our country.
Sonia Kumar (Dudley) (Lab)
I thank my hon. Friend for securing this important debate. In my constituency, I am proud to have a number of war memorials, such as Upper Gornal on Kent street and Woodsetton on Sedgley road. Does my hon. Friend agree that memorials are not just places for quiet reflection and paying our respects, but a physical site for learning and sharing knowledge with residents, so that we never forget the sacrifices that they made?
Melanie Ward
I thank my hon. Friend for her important point. I agree completely, and I will say some more about it shortly. There are a few who argue that war memorials, and our ceremonies and rituals around them, glorify war. I stand here as a former humanitarian aid worker who has served in war zones. I strongly believe that remembering the fallen does not glorify war. In fact, the opposite is true. It serves as a reminder of the human cost of war, the sacrifice of individuals and groups, and the devastating gaps that their deaths leave in the places where they lived and within the people whose lives their presence enriched. That is why, all these years on, we choose to remember them.
Of course, I want to talk about some of the beautiful memorials in my constituency. In November, as many of us did, I attended Remembrance Sunday events. For me, they were at Cowdenbeath’s memorials, and I also laid wreaths in Burntisland, Aberdour and Inverkeithing, and I attended Kirkcaldy’s memorial. There are also memorials in Dysart, Dalgety Bay, Crossgates, Kinghorn and North Queensferry. The beautiful commemorative first world war stained-glass window in the now sadly closed Auchtertool kirk has a link to this place, as its designer, Ballantine, also designed windows in the House of Lords.
However, I give special mention to Kirkcaldy’s war memorial, galleries and gardens, which were unveiled 100 years ago this coming Friday. They were the gift of John Nairn, whose family’s linoleum-manufacturing business made Kirkcaldy the linoleum capital of the world. He paid for the construction in memory of his only son, Ian Nairn, who was killed in the Somme in 1918. The memorial in Kirkcaldy is a focal point of our town. It is one of the first things that people see as they leave the train station and head to the town centre, and its award-winning galleries have a large collection of paintings by William McTaggart and Samuel Peploe, and they have hosted exhibitions by Diane Arbus and Fife’s own Jack Vettriano, who was heavily influenced by the works on display in the galleries.
The centenary commemorations begin this Friday, when I will have the solemn honour of beginning the reading of the names of the more than 1,500 dead recorded on the memorial. Each name will be read out one by one over the weekend, from those who lost their lives in the first world war to Sergeant Sean Binnie who died in Helmand, Afghanistan in May 2009, while serving with the Black Watch.
Sean joined the Army in 2003 and served with his battalion in Iraq and the Falkland Islands. He was later deployed on Operation Herrick in Afghanistan, training Afghan troops to fight the Taliban. On 7 May 2009, Sean Binnie was killed, aged 22, during a firefight with Taliban insurgents in Helmand province, while serving as part of the battle group mentoring the Afghan national army. My thoughts, along with those of the whole House, are with his family.
On Wednesday next week, as we in Kirkcaldy hold the service to mark the centenary of the memorial, we will remember Sean and all those who died serving their country. We will think of the gaping holes that their loss has inflicted on those who love them most, and on our communities who raised them. The service would not have happened without the dedication of Kirkcaldy Royal British Legion Scotland, in particular its amazing chair, Bill Mason, and secretary, Ray Davidson, as well as our Deputy Lord Lieutenant Jim Kinloch, who have worked tirelessly to ensure that the names of the fallen featured on the memorial and Kirkcaldy’s veterans are remembered for their sacrifices.
The role that the RBLS Kirkcaldy and the Kirkcaldy United Services Institute, better known as the KUSI club, play in supporting veterans in our community is outstanding. I pay special tribute to the many volunteers in Kirkcaldy who, when asked to knit 1,500 poppies for the centenary, ended up knitting more than 8,000. Those poppies have been attached to nets that now cascade down the central tower at the memorial and dress the balcony. The ceremony will match the serenity and importance of our war memorial in Kirkcaldy. I pay tribute to all involved and ask the Minister, in her remarks, to join me in commending them.
Rachel Taylor (North Warwickshire and Bedworth) (Lab)
What a pleasure it is to serve under your chairmanship for the first time, Mr Stuart. In my constituency, Bedworth is rightly called the town that never forgets. On 21 September 2021, the Bedworth Armistice Committee unveiled the Bedworth peace podium, to mark the international day of peace.
Hundreds of children submitted poems and words as part of the project, an important reminder that we must ensure that the next generation learns and understands our country’s history. Does my hon. Friend agree that we must continue to invest in war memorials, and ensure that our young people never forget the sacrifices made by our armed forces and the wars that this country has fought?
Melanie Ward
I thank my hon. Friend for her important remarks. There is also a peace part of the memorial in Kirkcaldy, which is an important way to integrate those values into the overall memorial.
I have said a lot about the importance of our memorial to our town of Kirkcaldy, but it has not been free of problems in recent years. In January, it fell victim to an arson attack, the third attack on the memorial in two years. That was not just reckless vandalism; it was an affront to those who gave their lives serving our country and our town. I am glad that an individual was charged with wilful fire-raising in the aftermath.
That raises another issue of how we protect and cherish our memorials, and how we prosecute those who seek to desecrate them. Although I understand that this is a justice issue and, therefore, devolved to the Scottish Government, I ask the Minister to outline how the UK Government plan to strengthen protections for war memorials across the country.
Mr Gregory Campbell (East Londonderry) (DUP)
I congratulate the hon. Member on securing the debate. Does she agree that the desecration of such memorials almost defies belief? It was reported to me today that a granite memorial to the men who died at the battle of Somme, which we commemorate next Tuesday on 1 July, was stolen from a small memorial garden in Coleraine in my constituency. Will she join me in condemning that? I hope that we can get across what the men at the Somme did to get freedom, and that that will have some minor impact on people whose knowledge of those contributions appears to be zero.
Melanie Ward
I thank the hon. Member for his important remarks, and I am really sorry to hear about that theft. It is completely unacceptable, and I agree completely that education has a really important part to play. There are so many organisations that play a part in that, including the British Legion and others. We have to educate the next generation so that they understand the importance of these memorials: they are not just pieces of stone; they are memorials to real people who gave their lives for something really important. They made a sacrifice for us all.
Of course, it was not just those in Britain who laid down their lives to fight for the freedoms that we enjoy today. This week we celebrate Armed Forces Day, and we also celebrate Windrush Day, when we celebrate the contribution of migrants to our country. Not only did those from across the Commonwealth fight and die for our freedoms, but they, their children and their grandchildren helped us in building the society, the economy and the public services that were created in the aftermath of the second world war. That is why Kirkcaldy’s war memorial stands alongside memorials in Delhi, Kingston and Sydney.
I have outlined the role that war memorials play in our civic life, our national identity and our national story. They remind us of those who came before us and why we are here: to enjoy the freedoms that many across the world do not currently enjoy. Every day, we walk past the memorial a few yards away that commemorates the parliamentarians, their families and their staff who lost their lives in both world wars. It is a poignant daily reminder in the centre of British democracy that we are here to maintain those freedoms and to care for those less fortunate than ourselves.
As Kirkcaldy’s war memorial marks its last 100 years, it is up to all of us to ensure that it is preserved for the next 100 years. My experience as an aid worker has proved to me that the 21st century is not immune to the bloody destruction that marked much of the 20th century, but we must always carry forward the names of those on the memorials in our constituencies and strive for a better and more peaceful world in their memory. They are, after all, the reason we are here today.
Several hon. Members rose—
Graham Stuart (in the Chair)
Order. Speakers have around four minutes—that is an informal initial steer.
Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Stuart. More importantly, I thank the hon. Member for Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy (Melanie Ward) for her passionate and completely accurate portrayal of the role of memorials in community life today. Obviously, my constituency of Strangford—well, maybe it is not obvious; Members may not do not know this, but I hope they do—
Jim Shannon
Well, they will know about it before I have finished anyway. Newtownards in my constituency of Strangford has always had a history and tradition of serving in uniform, whether it be in the Army, the Royal Navy or the Royal Air Force. I declare an interest: I served in the Ulster Defence Regiment and the Royal Artillery for 14 and a half years as a part-time soldier.
After the great war, a memorial was erected in Newtownards, acknowledging the sacrifice of so many. A cenotaph made out of plywood was erected by members of the British Legion in Conway Square in 1925 for the Somme commemoration ceremony. The first wreaths were laid at 7.30 am. The reason why the time was important is that that was the time at which the Ulster Division made its attack on 1 July 1916.
After the Somme service, in 1927 members of the Newtownards British Legion conceived the idea of erecting something of a more permanent character. The volunteers made a concrete cenotaph modelled on the same lines as the temporary structure. It was constructed in the grounds of the legion headquarters on land that had been secured from the County Down railway. It is a step down memory lane to think of the County Down railway—that has been away from before I was born, I think.
On the face of the upright standard are the words, “Our Glorious Dead”. The first base is inscribed with, “In Memory of Our Fallen Comrades”, and on the next are the words, “The Great War”. The hon. Member for Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy referred to all those things when she set the scene incredibly well. There is a third step, and then an outer verge. Despite the erection of the permanent memorial in 1934, commemoration events were still being held at the plywood cenotaph as late as 1941.
I first attended the Remembrance Sunday parade when I was in the Army—a long, long time ago—and I have attended since I became a councillor on Ards borough council in 1985. It is always a very poignant occasion to go along and pay respects to those who, as the hon. Member for Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy said, gave us the liberty, the freedom and the democracy that we now have. As custodians of those things, we hope to carry them on to the next generation.
At our annual Remembrance service, the names of the fallen are often read out. There are so many names on that list that are still so popular in our town, which is so poignant and impactful. I believe that consideration of the level of sacrifice that was made for the freedom and security of our nation and this world is an essential component of community life.
Schoolchildren are brought to see the Cenotaph, but of course additional memorials have been erected since. There is a memorial to the members of the Polish air force who served, including at the airfield at Ballyhalbert, in the second world war. Of course, some of them came to Northern Ireland, met some of our young ladies, fell in love with them, married them and did not go home again. Some of those Polish guys stayed in Northern Ireland over all those years, which is important to recognise.
There is a memorial dedicated to the members of the 70th Battalion, Royal Inniskilling Fusiliers who were killed in the second world war, and in remembrance of all the civilians and service personnel who lost their lives in the first and second world wars.
There is also a small monument for the UDR Four. I knew three of those four Ulster Defence Regiment men, who were murdered by the IRA. The memorial for them down at Ballydugan in Downpatrick was damaged, but we were able to get Ards to take it on and we have it in Newtownards.
The blood of all our forefathers, in our Army, Navy, Air Force, Royal Ulster Constabulary and prison service, is worthy of honour and we must continue to honour it well in this nation of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. We always do it better than anybody else.
Samantha Niblett (South Derbyshire) (Lab)
It is an honour to serve under your chairmanship today, Mr Stuart.
It is reported that in Derbyshire we have well over 3,000 memorials, and some estimate that there are as many as 4,000. They range from crosses, obelisks, cenotaphs, columns, statues, boards, plaques and tablets to documents such as rolls of honour or books of remembrance, paintings, prints, tapestries, flags, banners and photographs. The variety is vast. Those memorials can be found in a variety of places among our towns and villages—in village halls, churches and chapels, clock towers, gates and gardens, and a whole host of other settings.
I have already spoken in support of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and the work that it does in my constituency of South Derbyshire. However, I want to mention some of the other memorials, and their variety, in the villages dotted across South Derbyshire.
There is a magnificent plaque with raised gold lettering in All Saints’ parish church in Aston on Trent, commemorating those lost in the great war. There is a grey stone tablet attached to the front of the village hall in Burnaston as a tribute to those who fell in the first world war. In Ticknall, in the grounds of the village hall, there is a magnificent plaque encased in wrought iron as a tribute to those who fell in world war one. It is decorated with 19 wrought-iron poppies extending around the case, with the flowers forming a border. The poppies represent the 19 people from Ticknall who fell in world war one.
Overseal has a delightful memorial garden that is surrounded by a fence, with wrought-iron gates at the front and an arch above. Two rectangular metal plaques are attached to a granite block, with the names of the 31 people from Overseal who died in the two world wars. It was wonderful to attend the Remembrance Sunday celebrations in Overseal in November.
In St Mary’s church in Coton in the Elms, the fallen are commemorated in a framed and glazed print roll of honour, with a red and black border containing oak sprays, shields and mottos, and names handwritten in ink in three columns. In Swarkestone parish council, the roll of honour is mounted on the wall and framed, with the names of the fallen written in red, black and blue.
Let us recognise the supreme sacrifice that was made for us so long ago in the two world wars and, at a time of renewed conflict in the world, the sacrifice of so many members of our armed forces in the conflicts since, which continue across the globe. This Armed Forces Week, it seems particularly pertinent to do so, so I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy for securing this really important debate.
Shockat Adam (Leicester South) (Ind)
It is a real pleasure to serve under your chairship for the first time, Mr Stuart. I thank the hon. Member for Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy (Melanie Ward) for securing the debate.
Like everybody else, I will speak about the importance of war memorials, not just as statues but as living symbols of remembrance that link our past to our present and help us shape the future that we want to build together in this country. Each war memorial—a cenotaph, a plaque or something practical such as a hospital wing or a bus shelter—is unique. These monuments build cohesion and serve as a method of remembrance for local communities. Sometimes the names etched on memorials are the only place where those individuals are remembered, so it is vital that we preserve them. Through them, we honour the sacrifices and courage and—a vital point in this divided and polarised world—our shared history.
Sir Julian Lewis (New Forest East) (Con)
Does the hon. Gentleman agree that something that makes the erection and maintenance of war memorials so much more poignant is that they are often paid for by the local communities themselves? They raise the money, and they continue to do so many years later. Only last weekend, I was at Marchwood village hall in my constituency, looking at a presentation about the war years with residents of that village in order to raise money to restore and refurbish their war memorial.
Shockat Adam
I agree: that local link with the community connects the past and the future.
As we remember, we must also reflect. It is painful to acknowledge that the stories that we tell through our war memorials have been incomplete for far too long. Animals that were sacrificed in the war efforts were rightly honoured with a national memorial in Hyde park in 2004, yet black and Asian soldiers who fought, bled and died for Britain have only recently begun to receive dedicated recognition. That is a shame that we as a nation must not shy away from.
More than 1.3 million soldiers from British India, including 400,000 Muslims and 100,000 Sikhs, served with dignity and honour in world war one. More than 53,000 lost their lives, and at least 2.5 million Muslim soldiers and labourers from across the globe supported the allied war effort. In fact, more than 9,000 soldiers from Palestine fought for Britain in world war two, and yet their stories remain largely erased from our national consciousness. As recently as 2021, a report from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission concluded that hundreds of thousands of predominantly black and Asian service personnel were not formally commemorated like their white comrades—a legacy underpinned by systemic racism at the time.
Who we remember and how we remember them matters, especially in these times of amplified fault lines. War memorials are not just stones and bronzes, but teaching tools. They are historical touchstones that allow young people to understand the past and the diverse sacrifices that were made in building this country and defending its freedoms. Excluding the contribution of black and Asian soldiers distorts our understanding of our shared history.
I am proud that in my city of Leicester, we now have a statue commemorating Sikh soldiers. It was unveiled in 2022, making it a long-overdue tribute to a community that made up more than 20% of the British Indian Army during world war one. I also welcome the plans to erect a national Muslim war memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum. That monument will finally give permanent recognition to the service and sacrifices of Muslim soldiers who fought for this country.
There is still much more to do. War memorials must do more than help us remember. They must tell the truth fully and fairly, and help us understand that British history was not built by one group alone but by people from every corner of the world. Memorials are and must always be more than stone and metal; they are symbols of our history and, when reflected accurately, our unity.
Martin Rhodes (Glasgow North) (Lab)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Stuart. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy (Melanie Ward) on securing this important debate on the role of war memorials.
Glasgow North is home to the Western Necropolis, where nearly 500 service personnel from both world wars are laid to rest in Commonwealth war graves. Among them are Canadians, Australians and even American volunteers who served in Commonwealth forces. Their graves are a solemn reminder of Glasgow’s role as a hub of military activity, from shipbuilding on the Clyde to the hospitals that cared for the wounded. The care and preservation of such sites is about not just maintenance but memory and ensuring that the stories of those who served are not lost to time and neglect.
Remembrance must not only look back; it must evolve to reflect the full breadth of our shared history. Recently, I had the opportunity to visit the Kelvingrove Museum with representatives of Colourful Heritage, which has been closely involved with a new exhibition that highlights the contribution of the more than 4 million British Indian Army soldiers who served in the two world wars. It is a striking and necessary addition to our understanding of those conflicts. Colourful Heritage has already done important work in schools across Scotland, helping young people to engage with this history. It is now taking the next step, with partners, to establish Scotland’s first permanent memorial to the British Indian Army in the grounds of Kelvingrove. Planning permission is in progress, and the design reflects the diversity of those who served: Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, Christians and those with no religious faith.
The memorial will also acknowledge the unique connection between Scotland and Force K6, the all-Muslim Punjabi regiment stationed in Scotland, via Dunkirk, during the second world war. Their story, like so many others, deserves a permanent place in our national landscape of remembrance. I hope the Minister can offer support for that initiative. As we reflect today on how we maintain and fund war memorials and support them, it is worth recognising that remembrance is not static; it evolves. It must reflect the full breadth of those who served and sacrificed. That work being done in Glasgow is a meaningful example of that evolution.
Patricia Ferguson (Glasgow West) (Lab)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Stuart. I, too, thank my hon. Friend the Member for Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy (Melanie Ward) for securing this important debate.
In preparing for this debate, it occurred to me that war memorials are significant in a variety of ways. The first and most personal is their importance to the families of those who died in war. My great-uncle Philip Ferguson served in the 75th Squadron of the RAF Volunteer Reserve. Philip was one of 13 children, but a combination of age and reserved occupations meant that he was the only one to serve in the second world war. Unfortunately, on 22 January 1943, Philip’s plane was shot down over the channel. For a time, he was officially listed as missing, but it quickly became clear that he had been killed. Clearly, his body was never recovered, so there was no funeral, and until the national memorial at Runnymede was established in 1953, there was no official record of his service and death. To the family, it is important that his name is recorded, and I very much look forward to visiting Runnymede to see the memorial for myself.
Memorials are also important to communities. In 2010, after a considerable amount of lobbying and hard work, a memorial was created and dedicated at Knightswood Cross in my Glasgow West constituency. Terence McCourt, himself a Parachute Regiment veteran and a charity fundraiser, was recently recognised with the award of an MBE, in part for his efforts to secure that memorial. It is the rallying point for all the commemorations that take place in the area, most of them also organised by Terence, but outwith those days, it is always good to see people sitting on its benches, admiring the flowers and perhaps reflecting on their own family’s service.
The third way in which memorials are important is in giving communities a sense of place. I served for some time as a Member of the Scottish Parliament, and my constituency contained part of an area now so ably served by my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow North (Martin Rhodes). The area in question was, until the 1960s, the location of a great many tenemental properties. One particularly short street was called Lyon Street, and the 1901 census tells us that there were a dozen tenement buildings housing around 1,500 people. It really does beggar belief. Sometimes, according to the census, families of eight or nine took in lodgers to help to pay the rent. From that street, 211 men volunteered to fight in world war one. They served in every Scottish regiment: the Cameronians, the Highland Light Infantry, the Black Watch, the Royal Scots Fusiliers and the Seaforth Highlanders. Forty-five never came home, 27 were wounded and two were missing in action. Immediately after the first world war, Lyon Street was recognised as the most decorated street in Britain.
Unfortunately, nothing now remains of Lyon Street—it does not exist any longer, and even the plaque commemorating the fallen has long since disappeared. When I was the local MSP, I tried hard to locate it, but it seems to have been lost forever. However, the site is now home to St Joseph’s primary school, and the pupils and staff arranged their own memorial and honour the fallen every year.
I mention Lyon Street because researching the story made me realise that this part of Glasgow has changed completely since the world war. Lyon Street has gone and the overcrowded tenements have gone, but the memory of those men, and the place that was their home, is still alive—not least thanks to the pupils of St Joseph’s, who although separated from the first world war by more than 100 years, understand the importance of remembering.
Amanda Martin (Portsmouth North) (Lab)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Stuart. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy (Melanie Ward) for securing the debate.
In Portsmouth North, we are proud of our naval heritage and deep connection to those who serve. Our war memorials are more than stone and metal; they are living markers of sacrifice, service and the values that we hold dear. In St Peter and St Paul church in Wymering, there is a wooden shrine with five panels listing 62 names from world war one and world war two; positioned in the churchyard corner, it has been carefully maintained and restored over decades. The Portsdown hill D-day window, in Christ church in Portsdown, is a beautiful stained glass window depicting St Michael, St George and the Normandy landings. The Nelson monument at the summit of Portsdown hill is a 37 metre granite memorial that was dedicated in 1808 to Admiral Lord Nelson and funded by naval subscription. Although not a war memorial in the modern sense, it is an early tribute to naval heroism.
From the Portsdown hill memorials that honour the Royal Regiment of Artillery and those lost in both world wars to the Paulsgrove war memorials, the plaques inside St Michael’s church, and the silhouettes of soldiers on the lampposts across our city, commemorating individuals who fell during the wars—these sites connect generations. They are places where our communities come together on Remembrance Sunday and beyond to reflect, remember and recommit ourselves to peace.
The sites also have an educational role. I have seen young people from local schools visit our city war memorials and begin to understand history, not as something distant but as something personal. That is why it is so important that we protect, preserve and promote such spaces. Recent attacks on war memorials are attacks on our shared history and those who gave their lives for our freedom; they are disgraceful and must be met with zero tolerance.
I thank all those volunteers, whether with charities, movements or small community groups, for the work they do on the upkeep of these memorials. I urge all MPs to work with our local authorities, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, community groups and our schools to ensure that war memorials across our country, including those in Portsmouth North, are properly maintained and understood, and that they serve as civic spaces and not just historical artefacts. In remembering the past, we strengthen our shared future.
Jen Craft (Thurrock) (Lab)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Stuart. I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy (Melanie Ward) on securing this important debate.
Knowing their history, I always find war memorials particularly poignant places to visit. Our local memorials all tend to stem from the example set by the Cenotaph as a place of remembrance. I understand that more than 1 million people passed by the Cenotaph in its first week, when it was just a temporary structure. What always strikes me is that these places were usually erected by public subscription and because of the will of local people.
We should bear in mind that war memorials were built as places where people could go to remember the fallen from their town—their brothers, fathers, uncles, nephews or sons—because the possibility of travelling to the final resting places in France or beyond would have been outside the realms of reality for most working-class people at the time. I prepared for today’s debate by listing some of the war memorials that I knew around my constituency; I realised that if I were to list them all, we would be here for quite a while. It is extraordinarily poignant to see these memorials in the place where I now live and am very proud to call home, and to imagine people more than 100 years ago having no way to go to their loves ones’ resting places; these memorials were the only places that they could go to remember.
When we passed the memorial in the town centre, my oldest daughter asked, “What is that?” and I explained, “It’s a place to remember and say thank you.” [In British Sign Language: To remember and say thank you]. She signed that back to me, and really brought home that this is what they are: places to remember with deep gratitude the sacrifice that was made.
I will touch on a few of my war memorials as others have, because I want to highlight the proud history they brings to my area. In Purfleet-on-Thames the existing war memorial, which lists the names of the men who gave their lives in the two world wars, has been joined by a memorial to the Gurkhas, of whom we have a sizeable population in my constituency. I was recently very honoured to attend the Gurkha Regiment home in Kent and to see the real proud history and bond between the Gurkha Regiment, our armed forces and our country. I felt a real sense of honour and pride to have that memorial so close to my home. I would encourage people, if they are ever around my area, to visit it; it is a beautiful remembrance of people who have given their lives in the service of our country.
In Tilbury, in the civic square, there is a war memorial that stands proud, maintained by members of the Royal British Legion. Little Thurrock, with a smaller memorial, is visited every 11 November by a jogging group who pay their respects as they pass by. In Aveley village, in the corner of the war memorial gardens, sits a unique memorial to Lance Corporal Nicky Mason, who died in Afghanistan in an act of service in 2008, illustrating the ongoing nature of conflict and our gratitude for those who serve. In Ockendon, I met a woman approaching her centenary whose brother is on the war memorial. She said with great pride, “I’m going to be buried quite close to him any day now.” That is some of the spirit of the people in my patch. In Chafford Hundred, the war memorial is just on the corner of a road. On Remembrance Sunday, residents give up a portion of their front gardens so that the local brass band can unite us all in song.
I conclude by briefly touching on something that the hon. Member for Leicester South (Shockat Adam) mentioned: those who are not recorded on our war memorials. I found it quite shocking to learn that women from both world wars who died in service are not actively recorded on war memorials as a matter of routine. One woman, Grace Mary Potter, was born in Thurrock and served in the Auxiliary Territorial Service. While serving in Kent, she died as a result of a bomb blast, yet her name does not appear on any war memorial to this day. I hope the Minister will reflect on that in her closing remarks. Will she meet either me or representatives who are working to get women’s names on war memorials? I would be very grateful.
Helen Maguire (Epsom and Ewell) (LD)
It is an absolute pleasure to serve under your chairship, Mr Stuart. I thank the hon. Member for Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy (Melanie Ward) for securing this very important debate during Armed Forces Week.
Throughout the UK, more than 100,000 war memorials have been erected in towns, villages, schools, churches, parks and cemeteries. Some are grand in scale and others modest and simple—but each tells an important story and bears witness to the sacrifice and the grief of those left behind. Most of those memorials were not commissioned by Government but by communities, raised through bake sales, church appeals and private donations, by families who lost sons, daughters, friends and neighbours and needed somewhere to grieve, to remember and to say they mattered.
That spirit of local dedication must never be taken for granted. Successive Governments have taken the position that war memorials are a private matter, and the Ministry of Defence has not formally intervened in what a war memorial commemorates or how it is maintained, so as not to favour one commemoration over another. However, in practice responsibility falls to overstretched councils or passes quietly from one hand to another until someone takes up the role of ensuring these memorials are not forgotten. I want to take this opportunity to thank those who take up that charge.
The Liberal Democrats believe war memorials are an essential part of our national fabric, reminding us not only of sacrifice but of the values we are meant to uphold: peace, service, dignity and freedom. In the wake of two world wars and many later conflicts, these sites remain powerful spaces for public reflection across generations and communities.
In my constituency, we are fortunate to have powerful examples. The Epsom cemetery war memorial, unveiled in 1921, is a striking 18-foot granite cross, flanked by granite walls bearing the names of 265 local residents who lost their lives in the first world war. Epsom’s Commonwealth war graves memorial, with the names of 148 men—Canadians, Australians, Gurkhas and others from across the empire—reminds us that sacrifice did not know borders. That is why we also welcome a more inclusive national memorial. We fully support the plans for permanent memorials to Muslim service personnel and to LGBT veterans, both due to be constructed at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire.
Memorials serve as guardians of our shared memory, and remembrance must speak to all who served and reflect the full breadth of our shared history. We must continue to empower local authorities, charities and communities to care for these memorials. Every name etched in stone represents a life lived, a family changed forever and a sacrifice that should never be forgotten. Every memorial, no matter how humble, deserves our care, and as a society we have a duty to ensure that future generations not only see them but understand and pay respect to the brave people they represent.
Mr Mark Francois (Rayleigh and Wickford) (Con)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Stuart, as we debate the important topic of war memorials and the fallen whom they commemorate. I congratulate the hon. Member for Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy (Melanie Ward) on securing this debate. It seems fitting that we are debating this topic in Parliament during Armed Forces Week.
According to estimates from the War Memorials Trust, a charity that works to protect and conserve war memorials, there are more than 100,000 war memorials across the United Kingdom. They range in size and style—from the Cenotaph in Whitehall, around which we centre our national act of remembrance every November, to the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, down to the humblest war memorials in small hamlets across the country, and even the individual headstones in churchyards throughout the length and breadth of the United Kingdom.
My first official duty, when I had the privilege of becoming the Veterans Minister in the Ministry of Defence back in 2012, was to travel to the National Memorial Arboretum and to lay a wreath to commemorate the sacrifice of our armed forces personnel down the ages. There are now over 100 different types of memorial at the arboretum, and we have heard from several hon. Members of further ones to follow, which I welcome. I was there most recently last August, when a special ceremony was held to mark the presentation of a cheque for £250,000 from Mr Craig Moule, the industrious chief executive of Sanctuary housing association, to the Soldiers’, Sailors’ and Airmen’s Families Association—commonly known as SSAFA—whose tie I am honoured to be wearing this afternoon.
A crucial role in the preservation of war memorials is undertaken by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, which was founded by royal charter in 1917, before the first world war had even ended. It works on behalf of the Governments of Australia, Canada, India, New Zealand, South Africa and the United Kingdom to commemorate the 1.7 million men and women from the Commonwealth who lost their lives in now two world wars. The commission’s declared mission is
“to ensure those who died in service, or as a result of conflict, are commemorated so that they, and the human cost of war, are remembered for ever.”
Down the years I have visited a number of the commission’s memorials, particularly those on the western front, such as the one at Thiepval, which commemorates the fallen at the battle of the Somme, and Tyne Cot for those who fell at Passchendaele.
Dr Al Pinkerton (Surrey Heath) (LD)
As the Member for Surrey Heath, I am proud to have Brookwood military cemetery, one of the largest Commonwealth War Graves Commission sites in the UK, in my constituency. Will the right hon. Gentleman join me in paying tribute to the work of the commission in not only preserving our history and heritage, but advancing the education of young people so that they remember the sacrifices of those who have gone before us?
Mr Francois
The hon. Gentleman pre-empts me, but for the avoidance of doubt, most certainly—I am a great fan of the commission.
In total, the commission cares for large memorials down to individual graves in some 23,000 locations, encompassing more than 150 countries and territories around the world. I recently visited Rayleigh cemetery in the heart of my constituency. It has a number of individual wartime graves, which are beautifully tended by the commission.
In this context, I highlight a book published earlier this year by the acknowledged author Dr Tessa Dunlop, entitled simply, “Lest We Forget” with the subtitle “War and Peace in 100 British Monuments”. This excellent book summarises a whole variety of war memorials, commemorating events dating back to Roman times, right up to the present day. For the avoidance of doubt. I am not on commission from Dr Dunlop’s publishers, but I did meet her during the production of the book, not least because the 99th in her century of war memorials is located in my constituency at a place called Aaron Lewis Close in Hawkwell. Lieutenant Aaron Lewis was a commando gunner from 29 Commando Regiment, who was tragically killed during a mission in Afghanistan back in 2008. Working with the local authority, Rochford district council and the then-developer David Wilson Homes, we managed to arrange for a small square on that new development to be named in Aaron’s honour. At its centre is a memorial garden with a carved bench which commemorates Aaron’s service. For her book, Tessa Dunlop interviewed Helen Lewis, Aaron’s mother, who along with her husband Barry, have channelled their understandable grief at the loss of their son to create a wonderful charity called the Aaron Lewis Foundation, which has helped to raise hundreds of thousands of pounds, including to provide rehabilitation equipment for wounded service personnel.
Similarly, we now also have Samuel Bailey Drive in Hockley, named after Squadron Leader Sam Bailey, an RAF navigator who died in a tragic mid-air collision between two RAF tornadoes flying out of RAF Lossiemouth over a decade ago. There are 2,000 or more military charities in this country, ranging from the Royal British Legion, Help for Heroes and SSAFA, down to individual charities often founded by family members following the death of a loved one in combat. Clearly, it would be impossible, to name all of those charities this afternoon, but nevertheless, I should like to pay tribute to the work of all of them collectively. To paraphrase that famous wartime medley, when talking about the plethora of military charities we have in this country, perhaps I could just say, “Bless them all, the long and the short and the tall”. Dr Tessa Dunlop has written an exceptional book, and I can thoroughly commend it to anyone who is interested in the whole subject of war memorials and everything they represent.
I think we have 13 minutes left, Mr Stuart, so I will just take two more.
Mr Francois
Although I have already mentioned the National Memorial Arboretum, I would be failing in my duty as an Essex MP were I not to highlight Essex’s own version, which is known as the Living Memorial, at White House Farm in Rettendon. It was founded by enlightened landowners, Peter and Fran Theobald, a former RAF servicewoman, in 2009. I have visited a number of times down the years, including at the dedication of a memorial organised by the Rayleigh branch of the Royal Naval Association, of which I have the honour of being a member.
The Minister for Defence Procurement and Industry (Maria Eagle)
It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Stuart. It is quite clear from the debate today that many Members here, and probably many who have not made it to the debate, could speak at length about the memorials in their own constituencies. I congratulate and thank my hon. Friend for Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy (Melanie Ward) on securing the debate and highlighting the importance of war memorials in Britain, particularly in this armed forces week, when many of our minds turn to remembering the service of people in our armed forces. That includes, of course, remembering those who have sacrificed for our futures, their own.
The first duty of every Government is to protect its people, but it can only do so by asking men and women of our armed forces to do extraordinary things. They step forward, as is clear in today’s debate, from every corner of our United Kingdom—every hamlet, every village, every town, and every city, to serve with courage, commitment and resilience, separated from their loved ones and often in difficult and dangerous situations. It is no surprise, therefore, that communities left behind, and who have lost loved ones to conflicts that we have been involved in over the years, seek thereafter to commemorate and to do so in perpetuity to the extent that they can.
The story that my hon. Friend the Member for Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy told about her war memorial reaching its 100th anniversary today could be replicated around the country, but it is unique in that it has not only an art gallery and community space, but a library attached. It is clearly at the very heart of her community. It is therefore quite understandable that the events to commemorate the anniversary are so extensive and involve so many people—perhaps 8,000. I do not know if it is 8,000 people who have done a poppy each, or 4,000 who have done two each, but clearly quite a lot of people have knitted the poppies that will set a striking backdrop to the commemorations. Perhaps it is not surprising the extent to which her local community cares about that memorial, because of the way in which it came to be in the first place, arising at the end of the first world war, out of the grief of a rich member of society who lost his only son and therefore dedicated time and money thereafter to providing the memorial, the art galleries and, later on, the library.
It is unbelievable to me that memorials can be vandalised as my hon. Friend’s has been. I can only say that I am glad that the damage has been repaired. Although memorials are very rarely paid for by the Ministry of Defence or by the state, there is a scheme run by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport that provides for some contribution towards repairs if a memorial is vandalised, which would equate to the VAT. It would enable some contribution from Government, with all the proper forms being filled in. I think the deadline for this year is 30 June, so if that has not been applied for already, and it is helpful, then my hon. Friend needs to get her skates on and move fast.
It is quite clear across parties and from all Members who have spoken today the extent to which local Members of Parliament involve themselves in making sure that their memorials are known about and raised in the House. It is perhaps not surprising that there is amity across the Chamber. There has been no disagreement about how important these memorials are to local communities and the families of those commemorated upon them—not just the immediate family, but through generations. There is also educational value in making sure that the stories of those commemorated on them are told to subsequent generations. The example that my hon. Friend the Member for Glasgow West (Patricia Ferguson) gave about a local school making sure that a lost memorial is remembered, even though it is 100 years since it was erected, is quite telling about the powerful nature of these stories, which are intergenerational and should go forward in time.
Sir Julian Lewis
Does the Minister agree that there is a particular importance of memorials to people who have no known grave but the sea? I believe I am right in saying that the three great Royal Naval memorials at Chatham, Portsmouth and Plymouth commemorate more than 66,000 Royal Naval personnel who lost their lives in the two world wars. Of course, the one at Tower Hill commemorates about 36,000 merchant seamen and fishing fleet personnel who were similarly lost with no known grave.
Maria Eagle
The right hon. Gentleman makes an excellent point. For families left behind—increasingly as time passes, it seems to me—the lack of a grave or something to mark an individual’s sacrifice is felt more deeply. It is therefore extremely understandable that there have been memorials erected latterly. It is completely correct and, I think, one of the values of the National Memorial Arboretum. The right hon. Member for Rayleigh and Wickford (Mr Francois) referenced his visits there, and I am sure that other colleagues have attended various events there. It is important to have a place in the middle of the country, which is where the Arboretum is, that can be attended and where there are a number of memorials to make sure that there is somewhere for everyone who has lost someone to go and contemplate that loss.
The right hon. Member for Rayleigh and Wickford also referenced the work of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, which is unsung but extremely valuable and very much appreciated. On the point made by my hon. Friend the Member for Thurrock (Jen Craft), my understanding is that the Commonwealth War Graves Commission does include women. I am not saying that every war memorial around the country includes women—that clearly is not the case—but the Commonwealth War Graves Commission does, as I understand it. However, her point that there are many forgotten people who lost their lives and are not on the memorials is an important one.
I have some numbers on those who have been commemorated who were lost at sea—the merchant sailors as well as the naval personnel—but the right hon. Member for New Forest East (Sir Julian Lewis) has just mentioned them, so I will not repeat them. The general point is that, apart from the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, the funding of memorials has overwhelmingly come from public individuals and organisations. That is why they survive—they are part of our communities, they are loved by our communities and they are supported by our communities. That is an important part of their power—they are seen as something that is done by local people, for local people, to commemorate local people.
Once again, I congratulate my hon. Friend the Member for Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy. I wish her very well with the commemorations. It will be hard to read the names out, so I particularly wish her well with that. If there are 1,500 names on her memorial, she will not do all of them, but it will none the less be a powerful reading. Reading out each name individually will take a lot of time, and it is a powerful indication of quite how many people were lost. It will be one of the most powerful parts of the commemorations. She highlighted what will happen in her constituency and I congratulate her.
Melanie Ward
I thank all the Members who contributed to this debate. The unified tone feels entirely in keeping with the fact that this is Armed Forces Week and with the message that we want to send out from this place this week in particular. It has been invaluable to hear the contributions of so many colleagues, and it is difficult to sum them up in such a short time. I will mention a few of the themes that people raised.
My hon. Friend the Member for North Warwickshire and Bedworth (Rachel Taylor) and a number of other colleagues raised the importance of peace and the fact that war memorials can give space for reflection on peace. The hon. Member for Strangford (Jim Shannon) was absolutely right when he said that the British in particular do remembrance so well. It is so important to take great care over something that matters so much. A number of colleagues talked about the importance of diversity and of remembering our diverse communities at our war memorials, including the hon. Member for Leicester South (Shockat Adam), my hon. Friends the Members for Glasgow North (Martin Rhodes) and for Thurrock (Jen Craft) and the Liberal Democrat spokesperson, the hon. Member for Epsom and Ewell (Helen Maguire).
The Opposition spokesperson spoke powerfully about memorials to fallen British soldiers in the north of France. I have also had the experience of visiting some of those, and they are deeply moving in their scale when one actually sees them and sees the loss that took place. A number of colleagues, including my hon. Friend the Member for South Derbyshire (Samantha Niblett), spoke about the place of war memorials in remembering our shared history and the variety of memorials across the country. Others spoke about the importance of education in war memorials, including the hon. Member for East Londonderry (Mr Campbell) and many others. I thank everyone and hope that it has been a rich debate for everyone to take part in.