Yes, the Germans should be present at the Cenotaph – but not yet
SIR – An uncle and three cousins of mine were killed in the First World War, which was a light loss compared to many families’.
The Cenotaph is an emotive and solemn place. I was brought up to respect it and take my hat off every time I passed it.
After 100 years it might have been the time for reconciliation had not the Germans been at our throats again 21 years later, depriving my mother of a husband and my children of a grandfather. Perhaps 2045, after I have disappeared, might be a more appropriate time. I hope so.
Challock, Kent
SIR – No, Germans shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near our Cenotaph. Most of us haven’t forgotten what they did, quite apart from battlefield action.
London NW1
SIR – Giles Fraser (Comment, September 25) is right and I am greatly disappointed by Colonel Richard Kemp’s view that the President of Germany should not be invited to the Cenotaph ceremony to commemorate the end of the First World War.
From 1961 until 1996 here in Pembrokeshire, the German army sent tank battalions to train on our ranges at Castlemartin. They always joined the British Legion Remembrance services in Pembroke as honoured participants, first to mark the reconciliation and now-shared values of our two nations, secondly out of respect that any civilised military person will have for the dead, not only his comrades but also his enemies
On a hill overlooking the ranges at Castlemartin stands the beautiful small Norman church of St Mary’s, Warren, which was a ruin for much of the time the Germans trained here.
However, in 1986 the St Mary’s Trust was formed by the British and German commandants (one of them being myself) and the church was restored, not only as a military chapel, but also for the benefit of local parishioners who so greatly regretted its demise.
Funding came from the German ministry of defence, supported by our MOD, the Welsh Historic Environment Office and local charities.
We will soon hold a Remembrance service in the church and, probably uniquely, at the end of the service, we shall sing the German national anthem along with the Welsh and United Kingdom anthems in honour of the fallen on all sides.
Lt Col PGF Lort-phillips
Kilgetty, Pembrokeshire
SIR – My father led B Squadron of the 13/18th Royal Hussars ashore on Gold Beach and I am absolutely sure that he would have welcomed the German President at the Centotaph.
As children in the late Forties, we were with him at postings to Wolfenbüttel and Neumünster. He spent much time helping the local people, efforts much appreciated by the burgermeisters of both towns. Jeremy Rugge-price
Orford, Suffolk