Contribution
It is a great privilege to follow the right hon. Member for Rayleigh and Wickford (Mr Francois). He routinely reminds us of the absence of certain Members of Parliament in such debates. It reminds me that it is serious parties and a serious Parliament that present a united point of view on matters such as this, and it is not Governments alone that fix or address our security, but Parliaments. We must come together in our resolve to ensure that we pay these matters respect when they are brought to the House.
I am grateful to the hon. Member for South West Devon (Rebecca Smith) for securing this very important debate at a very important time, and to all Members for their worthy contributions. The hon. Member for South West Devon captured not only the colossal scale of the loss but the extent to which it covered her constituency and all our constituencies, right here to the doors of Parliament. I am very grateful for her work for the Commonwealth War Graves Commission. I reflected that perhaps the Devonshires did not just hold ground; they also held her heart.
As I prepared for this speech, I was struck by the extent to which every community was touched by this battle, which was a seminal battle in the first world war but also a seminal moment in our nation’s psyche. As I stood in front of the Cenotaph yesterday, it felt as though the whole nation had joined us in silence, reflecting and remembering. That, for me, is what remembrance is about: unity. They came from every nation in our Union, every village and town in every region, forming something like 50 divisions. Every soldier fought, many giving their lives.
I was incredibly touched by the stories of the Pals. In Leyton, 41 players, staff and supporters from my beloved Leyton Orient—known then as Clapton Orient—led by the club captain Fred “Spider” Parker were enlisted as the 17th (Service) Battalion. Many of them never came home, including three sons of Leyton: Richard McFadden, William Jonas and George Scott. It was incredibly powerful to create a bridge and a link with my hon. Friend the Member for Edinburgh South West (Dr Arthur), who spoke about the 16th (Service) Battalion, and my hon. Friend the Member for Carlisle (Ms Minns), who spoke lovingly about the Lonsdale Pals, reminding us of the proximity of our people who gave so valiantly in this campaign.
But Britain did not fight alone. We are the great convener. We are the home of democracy, and at moments like this, our friends came to our aid. Some tens of thousands of Commonwealth soldiers are buried in military and civilian cemeteries. In Thiepval, the Memorial to the Missing of the Somme bears the names of 72,000 British and South African men who died at the Somme and have no grave. It was incredibly powerful when I heard those stories in the speeches by the hon. Member for Esher and Walton (Monica Harding), and my hon. Friend and colleague the Member for Ilford South (Jas Athwal). They spoke about the contributions of all those nations, and reminded us that courage has no religion and sacrifice has no colour. The Commonwealth Air Forces memorial is a poignant reminder of that sacrifice, because those who came to fight alongside us from the Commonwealth, from places like Africa, from where I came, were Christians, Muslims, Jews, Hindus, Sikhs and many others, looking after our birthplace, looking over Runnymede. I suggest that all hon. Members go there and take some of that in.
Over the past couple of days I have had the honour and privilege to host my opposite number from Australia, the hon. Matt Keogh. Yesterday I presented him with a poppy forged from barbed wire recovered from the battlefield of the Somme, as a sign of the shared sacrifice that our two countries made and which the Liberal Democrat leader—[Interruption.] Correction; perhaps in the future—the hon. Member for Esher and Walton spoke so powerfully about. Around 6,800 of the Australian Imperial Force were killed at the Somme, and 18,000 more were injured. It was a chance for me to reciprocate the Australian Government hosting me, as part of my visit with the House of Commons Defence Committee, and to reflect on our national gratitude for Australia’s contribution.
The Australian Government clean the tomb of the unknown Australian soldier every year. This year, I was inspired to take a moment to visit our own Tomb of the Unknown Warrior, and to remind ourselves that every one of those soldiers, sailors, aviators and nurses at the Somme, and elsewhere, gave everything to every one of us. That is why I went alone, and why my message to them reflected the individual nature of those soldiers’ sacrifices. From every one of us, to every one of you, lest we forget.
The loss extended into this place. Some 264 Members enlisted during the first world war. Many came home injured and traumatised, and 43 did not return at all. The hon. Member for Dumfries and Galloway (John Cooper) raised one of the bigger questions: what is war for? He gave us a powerful reminder that this was a war of liberation. It was a point that we must remember when we speak of the sacrifices that those in Ukraine are making today for us all across Europe. There was a powerful reminder from my hon. Friend the Member for Barrow and Furness (Michelle Scrogham) about the importance of the linkages that we created after the war between our communities and our European friends. Those linkages are things we should covet and seek to rebuild.
There was an incredibly powerful intervention from the right hon. Member for New Forest East (Sir Julian Lewis), who spoke in essence about the character and nature of war. It is easy for us to get suckered in to technology and to concern ourselves with how killing happens at such scale. We must remember, as he said, the enduring horribleness of fighting between peoples to remind ourselves that we must never allow it to happen again.