The Forgotten Front

It was good to see reports on BBC news about the public parade thorough Norwich city centre by local infantry regiment “The Royal Anglian Regiment (Vikings)”. A new train in Liverpool Street was even named after them.

The 1st Battalion has just returned from a tour of Afghanistan during which 9 of their comrades were killed (and a further 2 Estonians and 1 Dane in their Battle group) amidst what has been described as some of the most ferocious combat that British troops have been involved in since the Korean War.

I suspect that most people know friends, neighbours or relatives who have served in recent years in Afghanistan and/or Iraq. Especially now that the Territorial Army and the other Armed Forces reservists are routinely sent to support their regular counterparts.

I think that like “Remembrance Sunday” even if you don’t agree with the war in Afghanistan or Iraq you should support and honour the young men (and women) who have risked their lives and remember those who have not returned. This link is to a moving video on YouTube.

There has been justifiable criticism that the troops abroad have not felt they have received the support that they deserve for their sacrifice from the media and the wider British public. I think that this is true and that we must organise and support more of these parades and services. However, this is an age old complaint about the “ungrateful” British as this famous poem reminds us:

Then it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy how's yer soul?"
But it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll,
The drums begin to roll, my boys, the drums begin to roll,
O it's "Thin red line of 'eroes" when the drums begin to roll.