Andrew Dismore, MP for Hendon, reflects on Remembrance Sunday and its many important lessons, especially in the wake of September 11.

On Sunday I joined many others at Hendon war memorial for the annual Remembrance Day service and wreath laying.

At a time when we again face a threat to our own national security, it is more important than ever to remember the scale of the sacrifice made by our parents', grandparents' and, indeed, now great-grandparents' generations in the wars of the last century. And the reasons behind their sacrifices.

Remembrance Day is not just about old soldiers parading in their medals and paying their respects to fallen comrades. It is an opportunity for us all to reflect on the world in which we now live and to remind ourselves of the price to be paid if we do not stand up to those who threaten our society with violence.

It brought to mind the huge contribution made by service people from all around the Commonwealth, when wreaths were laid on behalf of the fallen from the Indian sub-continent Hindus, Muslims and Sikhs together with many from the West Indies.

We should also think about the message of peace behind Remembrance Day November 11 is the anniversary not of the start of the Great War, but the end, when the guns fell silent after four years of horror, and peace returned to the world.

As an MP, it is also an occasion on which I remind myself of so much unfinished work.

Even now, I fight battles with the War Pensions Agency on behalf of constituents denied fair entitlements:

There is the entirely justified claim, in my view, for a campaign medal for those who endured the deprivation of the Arctic convoys to help Russia against the Nazis; the discrimination within the war pension system which prevents fair treatment for the Gurkhas who volunteered to fight side-by-side with British soldiers.

As well as the tracking down and prosecuting of war criminals; and insuring Holocaust survivors receive the fair restitution to which they are entitled.

On Monday, as part of these continuing efforts, I organised a meeting at the House of Commons for MPs to protest at the lack of compensation for many who were civilian prisoners of the Japanese internment camps, people who were imprisoned because our officials of the time pointed them out.

Remembrance Day is a vital national occasion a day for us all to think about how the lessons of the past should influence what we must do for the future.

November 12, 2001 18:18