Remembering all who serve

Sir, - It was pleasing to see Colonel Maclean’s letter about the Royal British Legion Scotland’s Festival of Remembrance on November 5.

Unfortunately, I’ll be out of the country and unable to attend, but I’m sure it will be a memorable occasion, as nearly all such events are.

At services across the land, reference will be made to Jutland and the Somme, in this the centenary year of these battles, and, as Colonel Maclean says, there will be time to reflect on the losses “in that conflict and in other wars since”.

Every year I ask why just other wars?

Service personnel are killed in the course of their service and these losses are seldom, if ever, mentioned.

The National Arboretum Memorial at Alrewas carries the names of more than 16,000 British service personnel who have either been killed in action or in training since 1945.

Those names from the army certainly will be of those killed in the Korea War and other conflicts and peacekeeping operations, and, therefore, can be classed killed in action, but some will be accidents.

However, in my service, the Royal Air Force, thousands have been killed in accidents since 1945.

Such losses need to be remembered because a sacrifice is also made by those who train for action. Please let us not forget them.

Two very recent cases come to mind – the corporal who died of exhaustion on a run when aiming for promotion, and the private killed in a live firing exercise.

In time their names will be on the memorial wall at Alrewas.

At this time, as poppies are appearing on shop counters, let us remember that service personnel put their lives at risk in training or even just to entertain us in military displays. JA Laing. 10 Graybank Road, Perth.

Itwould appear the UK Government is determined to adopt the type of British nationalism many find unacceptable and is in danger of taking us back to a time of Victorian principles ....