First World War: Centenary

Lord Watson of Invergowrie Excerpts

Monday 4th March 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord Watson of Invergowrie]

My Lords, I, too, thank my noble friend Lord Clark of Windermere for achieving this important debate in the run-up to marking the terrible conflict of the First World War.

I was very pleased to note what the Prime Minister said in the press release that accompanied the announcement of the events that will form the commemoration. Those comments, I am pleased to say, were echoed by the Minister in his response to the Question from the noble Lord Clark of Windermere in this House two or three weeks ago when he said they would be about commemoration not celebration. There can be no room for triumphalism because there is nothing to be triumphal about.

Of course victory was important in 1918 but at such a terrible cost that I believe that all who died in that conflict—the Imperial War Museum says it was 16 million people worldwide—should not be forgotten. Although 16 million people lost their lives there was a ripple effect on the parents, wives, husbands and children who never completely got over the loss they suffered when their loved ones did not come back from war.

It is often said that death is a unifying force, and where great numbers are involved that certainly is the case. That is why I was pleased to read of the agreement recently signed by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission and the Volksbund Deutsche Kriegsgräberfürsorge, its German equivalent, to ensure that work on commemorating and maintaining the graves of those who lost their lives will be done, to some extent at least, on a joint basis. That is very much to be welcomed.

I am also pleased to see that education is at the heart of the events that are to be organised between 2014 and 2018. Education was responsible for my interest in the First World War. I am not particularly interested in military affairs; I am not even particularly interested in the rest of the First World War, but the Western Front just gripped me as a student studying the 50th anniversary of the Battle of the Somme at school. I sought out my grandfather, who had served in the Argyll and Sutherland Highlanders during the war, but he would not say a word about it. He had blanked his mind out as it was just too horrible to talk about.

I have since made many visits including—I have to say in respect of the remarks of my noble friend Lord Foulkes of Cumnock—to Contalmaison where the plaque is to the Heart of Midlothian footballers who so bravely gave their lives. I have also done much reading. I particularly recommend the first-hand accounts—many are still in print.

Finally, I want to say a bit about the question of loss. In Scotland 26% of those who marched away to war did not return. In the rest of the UK—and, as the noble Lord, Lord Lexden, reminded us, that included the whole of Ireland—it was something like 12%. I hope it will not just be in the commemorations that are going to take place in Scotland that the sacrifice made by the people of Scotland for the United Kingdom and, indeed, the Commonwealth will be remembered.