First World War: Commemorations

Lord Chartres Excerpts

Thursday 20th June 2013 Grand Committee

[The Lord Bishop of London]

My Lords, I, too, am very grateful for this initiative on the part of the noble Baroness, Lady Young of Hornsey, because she has drawn attention to a really vital theme of the commemorations next year. It is particularly good that in the plans already announced by the Government, the Commonwealth element is very pronounced. The commemorations will begin just after the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, and there is a firm emphasis there. I was with the Gurkha association just over a week ago and I was forcefully reminded of the fact, which has already been stated, that there was a huge contribution of people from the Indian subcontinent both at the top and right the way through the war effort. It was very large indeed.

The theme plays in very different ways in different places. The First World War was a vital element of nation-building in some parts of what is now the Commonwealth. In other places, it was an episode of colonial oppression; we had some very helpful lines from the noble Baroness, Lady Young, on that. I have had the privilege of conducting a service at the Memorial Gates, which she has already mentioned, every year for the past 10 years. The establishment of those gates is, as the noble Baroness said, down to the initiative of my noble friend Lord Bilimoria and, especially, the noble Baroness, Lady Flather. I am very sorry that she is not here to make a contribution because it has been an extraordinary experience, year after year, to be reminded of the huge contribution made by people from the Caribbean, especially, and from Africa as well as India. The annual observances at the Memorial Gates are on Commonwealth Day itself, somewhat before the August celebrations or commemorations. Can the Minister say whether there are any plans to use that location in August for acts of remembrance?

It is absolutely clear that, in contemporary Britain, we are now in the process of developing a truthful narrative that weaves in the contribution of many different communities to the history and flourishing of this country. This is a huge opportunity because, of course, so often we try to involve the young in the values and ethos of our society by mentioning the great universals such as tolerance, courage and respect, and all those things that we absolutely believe in. But unless they are embedded in convincing narratives and in communities, they do not have the power to transform lives. It is in that context that the remembrances and commemorations of next year will be very important as we develop the narratives and identify and celebrate the communities that play such an important part in the evolving story.

Churchill’s Britain no longer exists. There is an evolving story of these islands, and that will be an important part of developing that narrative. I declare an interest as a patron of Remember WWI, a consortium of community organisations seeking ways of stimulating grass-roots participation in the centenary. We cannot change the past, but it is a serious responsibility how we choose to remember it, because that remembering is itself extraordinarily creative and has an impact on the present. The theme of World War I is so large and the suffering involved so great that, as well as the proper emphasis of the noble Lord, Lord Desai, on life at the top, it is important to balance the great events with getting behind the columns of what Siegfried Sassoon memorably called “these intolerably nameless names” on thousands of war memorials. All sorts of resources are being developed to rescue those names from anonymity. We ought to look at that in relation to Commonwealth memorials as well. The faith communities internationally—because these are all international connections—are well placed to contribute to such an initiative.

In conclusion—I imagine that there is total unanimity among your Lordships on this—I hope that at no point in the commemorations will we seek to obscure the present urgent need to strengthen our links in a very new world with those who were fighting on the other side. It would be appalling if this was an occasion of ramping up any kind of animosity against, for example, Germany. In London, we have a special link with Berlin, and I have accepted an invitation to be there for some of the days in August 2014, as one tiny way to try to ensure that the commemoration does not turn in that adverse direction.