Meeting of the Parliament 08 May 2025
We must never forget the brave men and women who fell during the conflict of world war two and those who fought to secure freedoms and liberties that we all take for granted today. We will forever be indebted to our second world war veterans for the sacrifices that they made, the friends whom they lost or the stories that they have told.
This momentous occasion marks the 80th year since the end of the war in Europe. In my short contribution, I wish to focus on why we need to keep marking that occasion. In every community across the country, names are etched into stone, alongside a rank and the date on which those soldiers died. Those are the names of family members and loved ones who will never be forgotten.
Every year, we stand at those memorials and fall silent. Among the crowds that gather are veterans of past wars and more recent conflicts, armed forces personnel, community groups, members of the public and, of course, politicians. We attend those events because we understand the significance of past conflicts and how fragile our world is. That is why I intend to introduce a member’s bill to protect our war memorials. It is important to ensure that they survive for years to come because, one day, there will be no more veterans left to attend such important occasions. We must encourage our younger generations to learn what people in our communities fought and died for—the triumph over totalitarianism.
Often we are told that there is an overfocus on world wars in our education system. However, given current global conflicts, it has never been more important that we reflect on our shared history in order to ensure that our future is one of peace. The values of victory in Europe day are as relevant now as they were then.
In the time that I have left, I will share an uplifting incentive that I read about. It is a fantastic example of how schools can connect with our armed forces and veterans community while learning about the VE day commemorations. Through the Together Coalition, 1,300 schools requested a letter from a veteran setting out their wartime experience and what it means to them 80 years later. Passing that baton of memory and meaning to the next generation will not only have helped to close the generational gap, but will have left a huge impression on the young people, who now have memories of being able to speak to a veteran who lived and fought through the second world war. The Commonwealth War Graves Foundation is the proud custodian of those letters, which have captured those moments in history and which form an additional piece of the picture that members of the public will be able to reflect on in years to come.
I think that that is wonderful. It is what we should strive for in our society—connecting older generations with younger generations, in order to learn from past mistakes. Sharing those experiences can ensure that our future generations do not repeat the mistakes that were made by previous ones.
There is only one thing left for me to say, and that is that we will remember them.