I am writing to you to express my dismay and disgust at the ending of a statement given and read out to Keighley Town Council’s general meeting last Thursday (Sept 5).
Although I cannot recount the exact words It was along the lines of “our armed forces have given their lives in the past, present and future in the name of freedom” as the orator made a point of holding his Help for Heroes wristband.
As an ex-soldier myself, many of my ex-military friends did not put their lives on the line every day just so people could use our name and the name of our fallen comrades to argue a case as to whether they should be allowed to film at a meeting; in fact the thought of using the memory of our brave heroes for any politically motivated speech is a disgusting and despicable act.
Myself and the ex-servicemen I have spoken to hope that the author of the speech can show some of the honour and valour that our troops show by publicly apologising for this gross act of disrespect and we would also like to see our MP Kris Hopkins, who also served in the same Infantry Division (Kings Division) as me, stand up and condemn the use of our heroes’ memories.
ANDREW SPENCE
(Ex Infantry, 1 PWO)
Keighley
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