First World War: Commemorations

Lord Gardiner of Kimble Excerpts

Thursday 20th June 2013 Grand Committee

[Lord Gardiner of Kimble]

My Lords, first, I add my own thanks to the noble Baroness, Lady Young of Hornsey, for securing this debate and for giving us the opportunity again to discuss these important commemorations.

The First World War is integral to our history. The Government are committed to commemorating its centenary appropriately. The scale is overwhelming: over 16.5 million deaths, military and civilian, with 1.25 million from Britain and its then empire, colonies and dominions alone. Let us not forget, either, the many more who returned home physically and mentally wounded. More countries were involved in the war than not, from the vast Indian subcontinent to the small island of Nevis. All should be remembered for the part they played, and I assure your Lordships that they will.

Those contributions were as diverse as the countries involved. Many countries provided not only troops but porters, engineers and medics, among others. The noble Baroness, Lady Howells, particularly mentioned the Caribbean. I found out that men travelled from there at their own expense to enlist. In Africa, Asia and the Caribbean there were significant financial contributions both centrally and from citizens who raised large amounts, at a time when they were already feeling economic hardships at home. I think it was the noble Lord, Lord Desai, who referred to the Indian Army being paid by Indian taxpayers. He also mentioned the donations in kind, as did a number of other noble Lords, with each country giving what it could. Whether wood, fruit, sugar, rum, aeroplanes or whatever it was, those were great contributions.

Remembering these contributions is not new for us. I am particularly sad that the noble Baroness, Lady Flather, is not with us today and I wish her a speedy recovery. As the noble Lord, Lord Bilimoria, said, she had so much to do with the Memorial Gates, as did he. That inscription on the Memorial Gates on Constitution Hill is in memory of the 5 million volunteers from the Indian subcontinent, Africa and the Caribbean. It is as meaningful today as it ever was, while the nearby pavilion includes the names of 23 gallant men from those regions who were awarded the Victoria Cross in World War One, alongside those from the Second World War. I am sure that the gates will be used over the four years of commemorations. I rarely part company with the noble Lord, Lord Parekh, but these memorial places are not necessarily there for their stone but because they are a focal point for people to gather in a meaningful way.

The centenary gives us a new opportunity to mark these important contributions. Commonwealth representatives will be invited to stay after the closing ceremony of the Commonwealth Games to attend a service of commemoration at Glasgow Cathedral on 4 August next year. It was right that the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of London referred to this, because it will be followed by a wreath-laying service at the city’s cenotaph.

The nearly 230,000 deaths among military personnel from countries now within the Commonwealth are well documented. However, the speed with which some of them entered the battlefield was extraordinary, as the noble Baroness, Lady Young of Hornsey, mentioned, for the British Indian Army arrived in France on 26 September 1914 and was engaged in fierce fighting at Ypres the following month. Their heroic exploits are rightly commemorated at Neuve Chapelle, where a memorial stands as an enduring testament to the men from the modern-day sub-continent who also served with distinction at places like Gallipoli and Mesopotamia. Indeed, we heard from the noble Lords, Lord Bilimoria and Lord Taylor of Warwick, of their own families’ service. Men from across the African continent contributed, whether it was the Egyptians helping to guard the Suez Canal, then British Nigeria contributing to the German surrender at Duala, or the South Africans seizing Delville Wood with great loss. There were many more occasions such as this across the Commonwealth.

Turning to the Caribbean military contribution, the British West Indies Regiment’s actions in Palestine caused General Allenby to note that:

“All ranks behaved with great gallantry under heavy rifle and shell fire and contributed in no small measure to the success of the operations”.

The names of those from all parts of the Commonwealth who died at the Western Front and beyond are recorded in those immaculately tended cemeteries and memorials of the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, one of our invaluable partners in this programme of commemoration. Funded proportionately in relation to war casualties by its member nations, our Government provide some 78% of the commission’s funding. Many of its cemeteries will provide a poignant backdrop to centenary events around the world, and they are also providing wise counsel to us.

What the noble Lord, Lord Parekh, said about Commonwealth partners was important. It is essential that the entire Commonwealth plays a full part in the centenary commemorations. The Prime Minister’s special representative, Dr Andrew Murrison, has held a number of meetings with the Commonwealth high commissions in London to share our plans and invite their involvement. There are plans for a plenary session involving all high commissions in the autumn, and there have also been discussions with groups including the Commonwealth Secretariat.

It was absolutely right that the noble Lord, Lord Stevenson, referred to my noble friend Lady Warsi. As part of her energetic efforts to highlight the contributions of the Commonwealth, she visited the Grootebeek military cemetery and the First World War graves of soldiers from her parents’ home village in Pakistan. Similarly, we can all be inspired by the First World War centenary to gain a greater understanding of our roots. Indeed, one of the key aims of the battlefield visits project in England, and now in Scotland, is that pupils are given the opportunity to learn about the role of the Commonwealth and former empire countries which fought in the war.

The noble Baroness, Lady Young of Hornsey, made some particularly poignant comments about history and its teaching. It has also been said that education and youth are absolutely key to our efforts. What the noble Lord, Lord Bilimoria, said about that was equally moving. Even before the recent launch of the small community grants scheme, the Heritage Lottery Fund is playing a key role in connecting communities with their First World War past; the noble Lord, Lord Stevenson of Balmacara, mentioned this particularly. They have given early support towards a number of projects which highlight the role played by the African, Asian and Caribbean Commonwealth soldiers in this critical phase of British history. The right reverend Prelate mentioned nation building. This was important for that reason as well.

Through measures like the battlefields visits programme and the HLF-supported projects, not only will we gain a better understanding of our past but, collectively, a strengthened feeling of national identity in today’s Britain, whatever our cultural or ethnic background. There is no doubt that this country could not have prevailed in the First World War without the support and sacrifice of the Commonwealth countries. As we came together then, so the centenary will give us an opportunity to come together again to reaffirm our shared values. The noble Baroness, Lady Howells of St Davids, spoke movingly about them. Those values have been forged through experiences that will not be forgotten and they should bind us together inseparably. Recognition of the important role that men and women from Africa, Asia and the Caribbean played is an integral part of the Government’s plans for an inclusive commemoration.

The commemoration will not gloss over the horror of the First World War or, indeed, who won. I think I would need an hour to digest and satisfy the noble Lord, Lord Parekh, in his questions around what, why and how, but they are particularly important as many people discover things about that war through listening to different historians—I have yet to meet historians who take the same line, and no doubt we will hear a lot from them. We will also want to come to our own judgments, and that is why the Government are not planning anything along one theme. It is for people to discover for themselves and it is why the battlefield visits are going to be so important. Over the next four or five years, two pupils and a teacher from every secondary school will go and see the Western Front for themselves. I would also like to reassure the right reverend Prelate the Bishop of London and all other noble Lords that the Government approach the commemoration in a spirit of reconciliation, acknowledging that loss and suffering recognise no national boundaries and that those who were once our adversaries are now our partners in building a better world.

Committee adjourned at 4.56 pm.