Remembrance, UK Armed Forces and Society

Jim Shannon Excerpts

Wednesday 11th November 2020 Commons Chamber

[The Minister for the Armed Forces (James Heappey)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered remembrance, UK armed forces and society.

It is a real honour for me to open the debate not only as the Minister for the Armed Forces in the Ministry of Defence but as someone who has served on four operational tours to Iraq, Afghanistan and Northern Ireland. I hope that, at the end of my remarks, the House will indulge me in giving some personal reflections on the meaning of remembrance.

Before that, I want to draw your attention, Madam Deputy Speaker, to the call list for the debate, which would make for a formidable half-company, should the nation ever call for us. The number of colleagues in the House who have served underlines the affinity between this place and our nation’s armed forces. A Defence Minister can often reflect on how the partisan hullabaloo of other areas of policy rarely encroaches on how we debate defence in this place. I know, as someone who served in at least two operational theatres that caused some political disagreement, that it really matters that this place not only robustly debates how and where we use our armed forces but does so always in a tone that makes those doing this place’s bidding in dangerous and dusty places realise that everybody in this House has the interests of our armed forces at heart, even when we disagree on how best to use them. I therefore look forward to another characteristically respectful and constructive debate.

It is an honour to take part in this debate on Armistice Day. This is a particularly significant year for remembrance. We are commemorating a century on from the installation of the Cenotaph, and we are marking 100 years since the interring of the unknown warrior in Westminster Abbey. That soldier represents the multitudes who gave their lives in the great war: a soldier buried

“among the kings because he had done good toward God and toward His house”.

Of course, this year we are also celebrating 75 years since the end of world war two.

Inevitably, due to covid, we have had to mark remembrance differently. On Sunday, instead of tens of thousands marching past the Cenotaph, just 26 veterans took part. Instead of people congregating on Whitehall in their thousands, the streets were quiet and still. The remembrance ceremony that I attended in my constituency this year was in Burnham-on-Sea. We attended in small numbers, I with the chairman of the Royal British Legion; at 9 am we laid our wreath, followed shortly afterwards by a group of councillors.

I actually thought it was quite poignant that things should be remembered in that way, but it also meant, for the first time in a long time for many of us, that we were at home at 11 o’clock and able to watch on television the coverage of the ceremony at the Cenotaph. It was the first time I had seen it for a number of years, and I congratulate all those who put together such a poignant and reflective ceremony worthy of the magnitude of that occasion, while respecting the constraints that we are under because of covid. For all that we bash the BBC, particularly from the Government side of the House, I thought that it got both its coverage and its commentary spot-on on Sunday.

It was also important, I thought, that we had a moment of remembrance this morning in the House. I know that the nation will have looked to us, as well as to the Cenotaph on Whitehall and to Westminster Abbey, for leadership at this important moment in the year. It was great to see that marked here in the Chamber.

There are three points that I want to make today: our appreciation of the support our armed forces receive from the public at large, from the service charities, and from the Royal British Legion in particular; our admiration for the service of those who continue to put their lives on the line in the defence of our great nation; and our reverence for those who have made the ultimate sacrifice so that we may enjoy our freedom.

When I was in Afghanistan and Iraq, every time that we received a delivery of mail, there would be all the mail from our family and friends but there would also be hundreds of letters and parcels from people with no connection to the armed forces beyond their admiration for what young men and women were willing to go away to do. I can tell the House that when we were in remote operating bases such as I was in Sangin, the fact that somebody had taken the time to write a letter to a soldier they did not know, or to send some biscuits or sweets, meant an enormous amount. It reminds our armed forces always just how close they are to our nation’s hearts.

We have seen that ourselves in our constituencies over the last few months, where soldiers, sailors, airmen, airwomen and marines have been delivering testing centres, delivering personal protective equipment to the local hospital or, earlier in the year, stuffing sandbags. I can tell the House how much it means to our men and women when members of the community just go up and say, “Thank you. Well done. You’re doing a great job.” People do that, unprompted, because they admire those who wear the uniform of our armed forces in the service of our nation.

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

The Minister refers to what happened in Afghanistan—the letters and things that went there. Seven years ago, I had the opportunity to represent my party in Afghanistan in meeting the Royal Irish Regiment. I knew their love of Tayto potato crisps, so I took lots of them with me and gave them out to the soldiers, both male and female, who were there. That brought them close to home, and that is really important whenever they are in Afghanistan serving their Queen and country.

--- Later in debate ---

[Jim Shannon (Strangford) (DUP)]

It is a pleasure to follow the hon. Member for South Dorset (Richard Drax). May I say how much I have enjoyed the contributions from all right hon. and hon. Members today? It has been one of those debates: I honestly believe—I know this will be your opinion as well, Madam Deputy Speaker —that this House shines when we speak about the things that bring us all together. It is always good to have an opportunity to do that.

I declare an interest as a former Ulster Defence Regiment soldier who served in the Province under Operation Banner when I was 18—I had a full head of hair then as well. I have fond memories of that, but that is another story for another day. It was my honour to put on the uniform and serve Queen and country in that way.

What a different Remembrance Sunday we had this year. I have never in my life encouraged people to stay home during the service, yet time and again in the run-up to Remembrance Sunday the girls in the office were saying, “I am sorry, but the British Legion is very clear this year: we can have only 15 people laying wreaths at the memorial and we cannot have big crowds.” It is hard to do that, because usually when we speak to people we tell them to get up, wrap up and stand up, and they always do in great numbers. But this year it was very different.

I was privileged, as the MP for Strangford, to be able to attend staggered services throughout the constituency. At each, the council and the Royal British Legion had ensured that no more than 15 invited guests were in attendance. We were well distanced, as elderly veterans stood in the vicinity with their backs as straight as age would allow and tears in their eyes as they cast their minds back to those they had loved and lost. It moves us greatly—we have all spoken of it and others will speak of it as well—when we look back on those veterans who gave their all and remember them.

Northern Ireland is a place of service, with so many having served in the armed forces—as many gallant and hon. Members have mentioned; in particular I mark out the hon. Member for Beckenham (Bob Stewart) as a dear, gallant friend and someone in the House whom I hold in high regard for his courage—the Royal Ulster Constabulary, the Police Service of Northern Ireland and the Prison Service. There is no governmental estimate of the veteran population, but the Royal British Legion has estimated that it is roughly 115,000 people in Northern Ireland, in a population of 1.8 million—and we should take into account the fact that a fifth of the population is under 16. That means that 12.5% of our population has served our nation. I, my party—the Democratic Unionist party—and many Members from both sides of the Chamber wish to make sure that the veterans of Northern Ireland get equal recognition and help from the Government. We look forward to that happening.

I am very pleased to have had the opportunity, over the past few years since I became an MP, to run a coffee morning for the Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen and Families Association. We do it every year, but this year we could not do it because—let us be honest—we could not bring the people together. They are a vulnerable group of people, including the mothers of those who have served and some of those who served in the past. Ever mindful that we could not butter a scone, pour a cup of coffee or tea, or give out the Irish stew that we always give out as well, we wrote to all the groups and companies across the Strangford constituency, and this year we raised some £5,000—without even buttering a scone. It is tremendous. The people of Strangford have been continuously generous; I thank them and I thank in particular the organiser of SSAFA, Georgie Carlisle, and all those who have the good old-fashioned British values of service and duty. Their passion and dedication are truly an inspiration to me.

I am pleased to see that support that has been given to the Overseas Operations (Service Personnel and Veterans) Bill for here on the mainland. I thank the Minister for his work and say that I supported the Bill when it came forward. I make a plea to him tonight. I have spoken to the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland and I understand that there is a willingness to ensure that Northern Ireland follows suit, and that would be good news for me and good news for all of our veterans.

We cannot have a speech such as this and leave out the 36th Ulster Division and the Battle of the Somme. Their devotion to duty won admirers from across the whole world. We also fought alongside two Irish divisions at that time, which shows that, before partition, we were altogether. Were it that we were altogether now.

In conclusion, we will remember them. That is our promise to them. We will, as the nation of Northern Ireland, continue to serve our Queen and country with distinguished honour, and all the veterans deserve honour in response. I know the path that must be trod, but I am asking this Government to tread it with us and with those deserving veterans. The veterans of Northern Ireland deserve the same as the veterans here on the mainland. Let us make that happen and let us honour them.