Land of Hope and Glory is banned at war pals’ reunion
THE reunion of wartime friends was reaching its rousing finale – a full-voiced rendering of Land Of Hope And Glory and There’ll Always Be An England. What better way could there be to celebrate the comradeship and camaraderie that had bound Britons together during those valiant years?
But as more than 200 former evacuees sitting around Union Flag-bedecked tables prepared for the band to strike up the patriotic songs, the plug was pulled.
Instead of reverberating to a stirring chorus, the stage suddenly went dark at the Warners holiday camp in Corton, near Lowestoft, and the curtains closed.
And yesterday furious members of the Evacuees Reunion Association put the blame squarely on political correctness. A manager is said to have told them: ‘We have allowed things to slip a bit. Let’s get this over as soon as possible.’
One association member, Frederick Taylor, said: ‘ Can’t these people wait until our generation are dead before they take the pride out of our country? What we have in common in the association is that all the menfolk did their National Service and we are tremendously proud of our Queen and country. It was our fathers that gave us this freedom.’ The association, which has gathered at Corton for each of the past five years, brought 230 members and their spouses for a weekend of memories and entertainment.
The Sunday evening culmination of the event was dinner and cabaret in the ballroom, where a band was primed to accompany the singing. Association chief executive James Roffey said: ‘ After the cabaret, the traditional evacuees’ sing- song was announced.
‘ Everything seemed set for a great conclusion to our weekend, but then it all went wrong. Warners’ management would only let us sing four songs.’ He said permission was refused for their traditional last two songs, Land Of Hope And Glory – best-known as the finale to the Proms – and There’ll Always Be An England.
‘Warners said they had to think of the people who were not in our party, but they were only a couple of odd tables. We took up most of the camp except for a few chalets.
‘ Our reaction was, to say the least, strong. Managers were told in no uncertain terms by many members what they thought of them.’ A spokesman for Bourne Leisure, which owns Warners, denied the evacuees had been silenced. ‘ It was a country and western weekend and the association knew that,’ he said.
‘ It was agreed that they could have six songs and they chose the songs they wanted to sing. The patriotism of this company has never been in doubt.’