A cemetery where Allies and Germans lie

SIR – When the Prime Minister visits the St Symphorien military cemetery in Mons, Belgium, on Friday as part of the events marking the end of the First World War, I hope she will reflect on the contribution of Irish soldiers, many of whom are buried there.

For example, the 2nd Battalion of the Royal Irish Regiment, in which my father served, took part in the Battle of Mons in 1914.

Over the course of the war, that one battalion suffered more than 2,000 casualties and was almost wiped out on four occasions. Each time it was re-formed with recruits from Ireland.

It is interesting to note that the St Symphorien cemetery was established by the Germans after the British Army had retreated. Equal honour was afforded to the 284 German and 229 Allied soldiers buried there.

Colonel Dion Beard (retd)

Ascot, Berkshire

SIR – In this area, every town and village has at least one silhouette of a soldier. Many lamp posts here have poppies on them, and houses and businesses display poppies or wreaths. My local supermarket has a list of the fallen. I am surprised to learn that this is not the case in every part of Britain. H J Williams

Prestatyn, Denbighshire

SIR – It is good that Theresa May is to honour John Parr as the first British soldier to die in the Great War.

However, the very first British casualties were from the Royal Navy. On August 6 1914, just 30 hours into the war, having picked up casualties from a German minelayer that the Navy had sunk earlier, HMS Amphion was sunk on contact with a German mine, with the loss of 130 men. Nick Lang

West Wickham, Kent

SIR – As we commemorate the end of the Great War, it is worth remembering those who were unable to fight. My grandfather spent the war loading ammunition ships on the Thames, dying in 1920 of the consumption that prevented him from enlisting. War cemeteries were for the healthy dead. Martin Smith

Wells, Somerset