A lasting lesson about facing challenges together
ANNWYL ddarllenwyr
It is now 102 years since the guns fell silent in 1918, and 101 years since the first Remembrance Day. On the eleventh day of the eleventh month we, alongside the nations of the Commonwealth, join to remember the members of our Armed Forces who have given their lives in the defence of our country.
On Remembrance Day we stop to say thank you. We honour those who are no longer with us but whose sacrifice and courage will be remembered long after we are gone. On Sunday, in communities across our island we joined – physically or virtually – to remember our local heroes who made the ultimate sacrifice in the defence of our freedom. We will do so again today at 11am when we observe the two-minute silence.
This year, however, our thoughts should be particularly poignant. This is the first year since 1945 that we have faced a national enemy on the scale seen in 2020.
The generation that went through our last major national conflict is drawing to a close, and for anyone under the age of 80, World War II is barely even a memory. It is easy for us to lose touch with the reality of conflict and to forget what those on the front line sacrificed for us.
This year COVID-19 has swept the country and many of us have lost friends and family – or seen them suffer at the hands of the virus: whether directly through infection or as a result of distress caused by isolation, fear, distance and all the other challenges that have marked this year.
We have also seen the cour
age and determination of our key workers – NHS services, care workers, shop workers, volunteers and more. Clap for Carers may be a memory, but our appreciation of the work that they have done – and continue to do – is still very present.
We should take heart that
what characterised the approach to World War also characterised our on COVID-19 this year:
When faced with fear we joined together to defend our most vulnerable against the enemy.
When faced with uncertainty
British II, has assault
we found moral courage to do the right thing for our friends and neighbours.
When faced with adversity we showed resilience and understanding.
As we have learned the lessons from previous wars, so we will learn the lessons from this year: we learn how to fight, we learn how to adapt and we learn how to win. We bond with our neighbours – whether on a local, national or global scale – and we find solutions together.
As a country the challenge we have faced this year should encourage us to identify more with the Second World War generation than ever before, and to truly appreciate the sacrifices that they made for our freedom.
We are fortunate to have dedicated and professional people serving our country – in both paid and voluntary capacities. At this time of remembrance however, as your Member of Parliament, I want to pay particular tribute to the Royal Air Force personnel serving here on our island at RAF Valley, along with all those who work at the station in their support. I send my profound best wishes to all of our military community, both serving and veterans, along with those who have lost loved ones to conflict across Ynys Môn.
Please remember, always, that I am here to serve you, the people of Ynys Môn. If you need my help or support, or if you wish to share an idea to make our island an even better place to live, please contact me and I, along with my dedicated team, will do all that we can to help. You can email Virginia.crosbie. mp@parliament.uk, call my office on 01407 644 645 or book a telephone appointment – all details are on my website www. virginiacrosbie.co.uk.
Gyda’n gilydd byddwn yn ymladd y firws hwn a gyda’n gilydd byddwn yn dod trwy hyn. Mae fy meddyliau gyda chi ar yr adeg eithriadol hon.