What the Armistice centenary means to serving personnel

Thousands of servicemen and women all over the nation joined together yesterday to mark 100 years since the signing of the Armistice that brought the First World War to an end. Two of them explained what the centenary means to them:

Colour Sergeant Robert Ritchie serves in 4th Battalion The Royal Regiment of Scotland and is currently an instructor at the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst.

His great grandfather served at Passchendaele, one of the bloodiest bat-

tles of the First World War. He said that new recruits are taught the history of their regiment from the moment they arrive at Sandhurst and the sacrifices that were made by generations of soldiers before them.

He said: “In the first few weeks they’ll have a fair idea of what regiment they’ll be joining and they will learn about that regiment and the First and Second World War and any conflict after that - they will understand the details of it and any significant battle that happened.

“It’s important that they learn about the sacrifices those people made.”

Denise Wright is now a reservist nurse with the Royal Navy in Portsmouth having trained in 1997 and said the build-up to the centenary had been an amazing experience.

“The atmosphere in Portsmouth at the moment is just fantastic, we really have so many events going on because of this centenary and everyone really is turning out and supporting and remembering those who lost their lives 100 years ago,” she said.

“It’s just an amazing position to be able to say ‘yeah, I’m there I can see what part I can play and support other people as well’ – it’s an amazing experience.”

She continued: “Joining the military was the best thing I ever did. I joined up in 1988 having had family members in the military. I’ve never looked back.

“Now I’m a reservist but I was in the Wrens first, so I’ve spent a total of 27 years in uniform - it’s the biggest family I’ve ever belonged to and it’s a wonderful place to work.”

Asked if she expects to see a wave of women joining special units such as the SAS now all combat roles are open to them, she said: “If the opportunities are there, then offer it to them and they’ll take them.”