Remembrance for all

SIR – November 11 2018 marks not only Remembrance Sunday but also 100 years since the end of the First World War. It comes at a time when Britain’s society can feel more fragmented and anxious than any of us would want.

There is increasing awareness that Remembrance could, should and does belong to all of us.

The armies of 1914-18 looked more like the Britain of 2018 than the rest of the country did at that time. British troops fought alongside soldiers of different colours and creeds from across the Commonwealth, including over a million Indian soldiers, 400,000 of them Muslims from present-day Pakistan. Yet few know that thousands of Muslim soldiers fought for Britain – including soldiers like Khudadad Khan, awarded the Victoria Cross for bravery in 1914.

This shared history of service is something we can all commemorate in Britain, whatever our ethnicity or faith. Remember Together, which launches this week, encourages people to remember those who fought for Britain a century ago. Imams in mosques around the country will give Remembrance-themed services at Friday prayers as the occasion is marked in churches, synagogues and temples. Young people from communities with little contact will meet, learn, give thanks to past generations and uncover what they have in common today.

We urge everyone this November, across Britain, to put differences aside and remember together.

Former Chief of the Defence Staff Lord Ashdown (Lib Dem) Sadiq Khan

Mayor of London

James Cleverly MP (Con) Nusrat Ghani MP (Con) Dan Jarvis MP (Lab)

Rt Rev Paul Butler

Bishop of Durham and 18 others; see