Leader’s Column – Friday 8 November
This Sunday I will attend the annual Service of Remembrance at St Alphege Church. Every year I am humbled by this service. By the thought of the servicemen and women who have given their lives in defence of our great country, by the crowds who come out in such incredible numbers to pay their respects, and by the words of the Reverend and the playing of the last post.
This year will be no different, but perhaps there will be an added sense of poignancy. There seems, at the moment, to be so much conflict in the world and so much more on the horizon. I wish it were not the case, and that calm heads could prevail in Ukraine, in the Middle East, in Yemen and Sudan and Myanmar and parts of West Africa and everywhere else where tensions are rising. As I reflect on the glorious dead of wars past on Sunday, I shall do so in the fervent hope that present and future wars can be de-escalated or avoided by diplomacy, co-operation, and compromise.
Just as there is so much conflict, so much evil in the world, there is also good. I want to take the opportunity to direct you to the work of Troop Aid, a wonderful charity based here in our borough, in Shirley. They do an outstanding job supporting injured members of the British Armed Forces, and I ask you to read about what they do and consider supporting them in any way you can.
I’ll leave you with this passage from In Flanders Fields by John McCrae, who was a surgeon at Ypres in 1915 -
“We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.”
Let us hope that, one day soon, we may see an end to the continual creation of new Flanders fields all over the world.
Thank you for reading,
Councillor Ian Courts, Leader of Solihull Council.