Amanda Martin

It is a pleasure to serve under your chairmanship, Mr Stuart. I thank my hon. Friend the Member for Cowdenbeath and Kirkcaldy (Melanie Ward) for securing the debate. In Portsmouth North, we are proud of our naval heritage and deep connection to those who serve. Our war memorials are more than stone and metal; they are living markers of sacrifice, service and the values that we hold dear. In St Peter and St Paul church in Wymering, there is a wooden shrine with five panels listing 62 names from world war one and world war two; positioned in the churchyard corner, it has been carefully maintained and restored over decades. The Portsdown hill D-day window, in Christ church in Portsdown, is a beautiful stained glass window depicting St Michael, St George and the Normandy landings. The Nelson monument at the summit of Portsdown hill is a 37 metre granite memorial that was dedicated in 1808 to Admiral Lord Nelson and funded by naval subscription. Although not a war memorial in the modern sense, it is an early tribute to naval heroism. From the Portsdown hill memorials that honour the Royal Regiment of Artillery and those lost in both world wars to the Paulsgrove war memorials, the plaques inside St Michael’s church, and the silhouettes of soldiers on the lampposts across our city, commemorating individuals who fell during the wars—these sites connect generations. They are places where our communities come together on Remembrance Sunday and beyond to reflect, remember and recommit ourselves to peace. The sites also have an educational role. I have seen young people from local schools visit our city war memorials and begin to understand history, not as something distant but as something personal. That is why it is so important that we protect, preserve and promote such spaces. Recent attacks on war memorials are attacks on our shared history and those who gave their lives for our freedom; they are disgraceful and must be met with zero tolerance. I thank all those volunteers, whether with charities, movements or small community groups, for the work they do on the upkeep of these memorials. I urge all MPs to work with our local authorities, the Commonwealth War Graves Commission, community groups and our schools to ensure that war memorials across our country, including those in Portsmouth North, are properly maintained and understood, and that they serve as civic spaces and not just historical artefacts. In remembering the past, we strengthen our shared future.