War Memorials

Sonia Kumar Excerpts

Tuesday 24th June 2025 Westminster Hall

[Melanie Ward (Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy) (Lab)]

I beg to move,

That this House has considered the role of war memorials.

It is a pleasure to lead my first Westminster Hall debate under your chairship, Mr Stuart. I thank colleagues from across the House for joining me in this important discussion on the role that war memorials play in our communities and country. This Friday marks the centenary of Kirkcaldy’s war memorial and galleries, with commemorations running from the end of this week to a ceremony next Wednesday, with a military parade and some very special guests. I am leading the debate to pay tribute to those who have maintained Kirkcaldy’s memorial, galleries and gardens over the past century, as well as providing Members with an opportunity to raise important memorials in their own constituencies.

All of us in this House represent areas with war memorials. While our country has huge regional diversity, war memorials form a thread that runs through our national landscape, from the Cenotaph on Whitehall, just outside this place, to North Ronaldsay, the most northerly island of Orkney. Those quiet monuments to sacrifice bring us together and bind us. They remind us that no city, town or village has been spared the pain and loss that conflict has brought to the families of the fallen.

What we most admire about the more than 100,000 war memorials in Britain are, of course, their quiet beauty and the opportunity they afford for contemplation and remembrance, but it is also their inherently egalitarian nature that makes them so respected. Prior to the Boer war, our memorials celebrated great victories and leaders. Just up the road from this place, Trafalgar Square and Nelson’s Column serve as a reminder of that. Yet after the Boer war and the devastation of the first world war, it was widely accepted that we needed a new, more sombre and respectful form of remembrance, which did away with class and military rank, listing each soldier equally as an individual who had given their life for our country.

[Sonia Kumar (Dudley) (Lab)]

I thank my hon. Friend for securing this important debate. In my constituency, I am proud to have a number of war memorials, such as Upper Gornal on Kent street and Woodsetton on Sedgley road. Does my hon. Friend agree that memorials are not just places for quiet reflection and paying our respects, but a physical site for learning and sharing knowledge with residents, so that we never forget the sacrifices that they made?

[Melanie Ward]

I thank my hon. Friend for her important point. I agree completely, and I will say some more about it shortly. There are a few who argue that war memorials, and our ceremonies and rituals around them, glorify war. I stand here as a former humanitarian aid worker who has served in war zones. I strongly believe that remembering the fallen does not glorify war. In fact, the opposite is true. It serves as a reminder of the human cost of war, the sacrifice of individuals and groups, and the devastating gaps that their deaths leave in the places where they lived and within the people whose lives their presence enriched. That is why, all these years on, we choose to remember them.

Of course, I want to talk about some of the beautiful memorials in my constituency. In November, as many of us did, I attended Remembrance Sunday events. For me, they were at Cowdenbeath’s memorials, and I also laid wreaths in Burntisland, Aberdour and Inverkeithing, and I attended Kirkcaldy’s memorial. There are also memorials in Dysart, Dalgety Bay, Crossgates, Kinghorn and North Queensferry. The beautiful commemorative first world war stained-glass window in the now sadly closed Auchtertool kirk has a link to this place, as its designer, Ballantine, also designed windows in the House of Lords.

However, I give special mention to Kirkcaldy’s war memorial, galleries and gardens, which were unveiled 100 years ago this coming Friday. They were the gift of John Nairn, whose family’s linoleum-manufacturing business made Kirkcaldy the linoleum capital of the world. He paid for the construction in memory of his only son, Ian Nairn, who was killed in the Somme in 1918. The memorial in Kirkcaldy is a focal point of our town. It is one of the first things that people see as they leave the train station and head to the town centre, and its award-winning galleries have a large collection of paintings by William McTaggart and Samuel Peploe, and they have hosted exhibitions by Diane Arbus and Fife’s own Jack Vettriano, who was heavily influenced by the works on display in the galleries.

The centenary commemorations begin this Friday, when I will have the solemn honour of beginning the reading of the names of the more than 1,500 dead recorded on the memorial. Each name will be read out one by one over the weekend, from those who lost their lives in the first world war to Sergeant Sean Binnie who died in Helmand, Afghanistan in May 2009, while serving with the Black Watch.

Sean joined the Army in 2003 and served with his battalion in Iraq and the Falkland Islands. He was later deployed on Operation Herrick in Afghanistan, training Afghan troops to fight the Taliban. On 7 May 2009, Sean Binnie was killed, aged 22, during a firefight with Taliban insurgents in Helmand province, while serving as part of the battle group mentoring the Afghan national army. My thoughts, along with those of the whole House, are with his family.

On Wednesday next week, as we in Kirkcaldy hold the service to mark the centenary of the memorial, we will remember Sean and all those who died serving their country. We will think of the gaping holes that their loss has inflicted on those who love them most, and on our communities who raised them. The service would not have happened without the dedication of Kirkcaldy Royal British Legion Scotland, in particular its amazing chair, Bill Mason, and secretary, Ray Davidson, as well as our Deputy Lord Lieutenant Jim Kinloch, who have worked tirelessly to ensure that the names of the fallen featured on the memorial and Kirkcaldy’s veterans are remembered for their sacrifices.

The role that the RBLS Kirkcaldy and the Kirkcaldy United Services Institute, better known as the KUSI club, play in supporting veterans in our community is outstanding. I pay special tribute to the many volunteers in Kirkcaldy who, when asked to knit 1,500 poppies for the centenary, ended up knitting more than 8,000. Those poppies have been attached to nets that now cascade down the central tower at the memorial and dress the balcony. The ceremony will match the serenity and importance of our war memorial in Kirkcaldy. I pay tribute to all involved and ask the Minister, in her remarks, to join me in commending them.

Armed Forces Commissioner Bill

Sonia Kumar Excerpts

2nd reading
Monday 18th November 2024 Commons Chamber

[Sonia Kumar (Dudley) (Lab)]

With Armistice Day just one week behind us, and with respect and admiration for veterans, service personnel and their families still fresh in the public consciousness, it is only fitting that we speak about a Bill that will improve the quality of life in service and ensure that our military personnel receive the respect and support that they deserve.

It is widely known that our armed forces face record levels of low morale and a crisis in recruitment and retention, with only four in 10 service members satisfied with a life in service—and who can blame them? In 2022, 163 service family accommodation homes were left without heating for over five days during the Christmas period, and only 27% of personnel were satisfied with maintenance responses. While most service family accommodation is officially rated as “decent”, independent reviews highlight serious issues, with many families enduring poor repairs. Our armed forces deserve better.

Addressing those issues is not a luxury but a necessity. It is simply unacceptable that in 2021 nearly 62% of female service personnel and veterans reported experiences of bullying, harassment, discrimination and, in rare cases, even worse. Those numbers speak for themselves, and our structures are not working. What measures will the Government use to evaluate the success of the armed forces commissioner in addressing welfare issues, and how will they ensure that personnel see tangible improvements in their day-to-day lives as a result? Will the commissioner have a role in overseeing the support provided to those who have served during their transition to civilian life to ensure that their welfare is not neglected? Our service personnel and their families continue to sacrifice in the name of our freedom, so it is only right that we provide them with the support and respect that they deserve.

The weekend before last, I attended a memorial service in my constituency of Dudley. I was proud to see how many people turned out to pay their respects and thank the servicemen and women, past and present, who have given so much to our country. In particular, I thank the people of the Lower Gornal Royal British Legion and the many dedicated veterans and volunteers who dutifully maintain our heritage, including those of All Saints church in Sedgley. As the people of Dudley pay their respects to our veterans and service personnel of the past, it is only right that we ensure that the right quality of service is given to the armed forces of the present.

The Bill, by creating the role of armed forces commissioner, provides us with a crucial opportunity to address those deep-seated issues. It is not just about improving conditions; it is also about fundamentally changing the culture within our armed forces. Our servicemen and women deserve nothing less than our respect, support and gratitude for all the support they have given us and the service they provide.