Zimbabwe’s Cenotaph

SIR – In November we will mark the centenary of the end of the First World War, and I think it right and proper that the German president, in the spirit of reconciliation, will be invited to attend the ceremonies at the Cenotaph (Letters, September 26).

However, Zimbabwe (Rhodesia as it was) will again be excluded from the wreath-laying ceremony. This wrong should be redressed.

It is important first to note that profound changes have recently taken place in the country, and it will not be too long before Zimbabwe will be readmitted into the Commonwealth.

The wreath-laying by High Commissioners is to honour those from their countries who died in action. Rhodesia had only been a colony for 20 years before the war began in 1914, and the ratio of those killed or injured in action to the total population was the highest in the Empire. The overwhelming majority of casualties in both wars had family roots in Britain. Rhodesian armed forces saw action in the desert, in Europe and in the air.

The inscription on the Cenotaph reads: “To The Glorious Dead.” Are Zimbabwe’s dead any less glorious than yours? Joseph Franco

Cape Town, South Africa

SIR – I will be marching with other veterans on November 11 this year, and I have no objection to German officials being there.

However, I would draw the line at inviting the former Sinn Féin leader Gerry Adams. His followers still deface the wreaths placed at Warrenpoint in memory of those murdered there in 1979. David Ellis

Ellon, Aberdeenshire