‘The poppy is sign of beauty and hope in destruction, and of strength’

A MOMENT of pause to honour the impact of conflict is a recognition of loss for all in a community, says Iraq war veteran Simon Brown.

Over the course of the past decade, Mr Brown has undergone 25 operations, after he was blinded by sniper fire in Basra. He has partial sight in one eye, seeing much of the wider world as though it were underwater.

At his home in Morley, pictures cover the walls. His battalion, on tour in Iraq, in Kosovo. The Oath of Allegiance. A print, honouring a mentor who was lost to suicide.

Every day, with every cautious step, he remembers. A town such as Morley has the strength of a community, he says, and this strength has brought him through. A loss, be it of a soldier or a civilian, is not isolated in its impact, he adds. Every ripple creates a wave, and the greatest pain is felt not by those lost but by those left behind.

Tomorrow, he will stand at the Cenotaph at Whitehall, representing Blind Veterans UK. It is as important today as it has even been, he says, to mark that pause.

“After Kosovo, in 1999, I was spat at in the street, called a baby killer,” he says. “At 20 years old, that was quite painful.

“Nowadays people stop me in the street and say ‘thank you for your service’. It is humbling.

“It’s still important now that we remember. If we forget the past, we are doomed to repeat the mistakes.

“And if you’re a mother, standing at the war memorial because you lost a son in Afghanistan, it has to matter.

“If we stop remembering, the message we are giving is that her son’s life didn’t matter.

“We must remember what the poppy is.

“It is not about blood, and war. It’s a sign of beauty and hope in destruction, and of strength.

“Something fragile, recovering after something so traumatic.”