I, like many, attended a Remembrance Sunday Service today. Every year, I attend the Flackwell Heath ceremony in Buckinghamshire. I do this because my grandfather lays a wreath in memory of his brother, a great uncle I have consequently never known. He fell in 1944 fighting with the Grenadier Guards near Anzio in Italy. My grandfather (pictured)completed thirty missions as a tail gunner in a Halifax bomber.
Attendance of this event has steadily been increasing over the last few years. That statistic in itself is worthy of comment; however, I rather sadly want to talk about something else – what happened to my car during the service. Unfortunately, someone chose to ‘key’ one of the body panels.
I have immense pride about my grandfather’s wartime service. He, like many men of his generation, stood up and was counted when it mattered. Some of his comrades lost their lives, some lost their minds. Some were mentally scarred, some were left with permanent physical disability. During the service, I had contemplated what had driven these men and women to make that sacrifice. In past years, I have asked former servicemen at the local British Legion the same question. Many answers have been proferred: ‘patriotic duty’, ‘to stop the Nazis’, to defend ‘our way of life’. This final answer is often difficult to fully explain. I had a sense ‘our way of life’ involved a mix of a sense of tolerance, of fair play, and of respect for other people and property. And hence, you see, we arrive back at the vandal(s) who chose to damage my car this morning.
I suspect the mindless individual(s) who ‘keyed’ my car today was not aware of the ceremony I was attending. I am suspicious he probably was not even aware of the ceremony taking place around the corner. Maybe he was not even aware that it was Remembrance Sunday? How am I (and indeed we) supposed to feel about this? What should our response be to vandalism? In the past, I suspect mine will have been to have had a passing feeling of anger then move on. What practical thing could I have done to stop this type of ‘low level’ crime? This low level crime that blights all communities in this country. The difference now is that I have ambitions to be a politician.
I am aware that there are limits to what politicians can achieve in this realm. Individual politicians, in particular, cannot be so naive as to think that any one piece of legislation can bring about a dramatic change in low level crime statistics. However, it is our responsibility to try. And when I try, I will remember how I felt on returning to my car this morning. More importantly, I will remember the sacrifices others have made and continue to make to protect the way of life we all so dearly cherish.
