Never forget

THE remastered film of the western Front, They Shall Not Grow Old, was moving and brought home the horror of the trenches.

The men used humour to keep themselves going, but the horrendous sights they witnessed were etched on their faces.

They were not just photographs or names carved on memorials, but living, breathing men with hopes and futures, which were lost by so many.

This film should be compulsory viewing, particularly for those sensitive souls demanding safe spaces at university in case someone or something upsets them.

J. AMOS, Bexleyheath, Kent.

HOPEFULLY Peter Jackson’s colourised footage of world war One, They Shall Not Grow Old, will make people re-evaluate the myths that still surround the conflict.

The troops weren’t all conscripts, as conscription was not introduced until 1916. Britain’s small professional pre-war army was transformed by a massive influx of volunteers responding to the ‘Your country needs you’ recruitment drive.

and they knew what they were getting into. Contemporary newspapers are full of casualty lists and by 1915, every family would have suffered a casualty or known one who had. They knew it was no picnic.

was it all futile and only a British imperial project? ask the French and Belgians who had been invaded.

DON MILLIGAN, Glasgow.

THE weekend saw the Festival of Remembrance Service at the Royal albert hall and politicians commemorating the fallen at the Cenotaph. This week, Britain continues to flog weapons to kill innocent civilians in Yemen.

GERRARD JONAS, Standlake, Oxon.

THE BBC is rightly criticised for its political bias. however, it should be congratulated on its respectful and moving coverage of the Remembrance service at the Cenotaph. when it comes to a big occasion, no one does it better than the BBC.

ALAN SHARPE, Melton Mowbray, Leics.