Honouring the dead

Today, at the National Memorial Arboretum, Prince Edward will be present and the names of one hundred and nineteen UK service personnel are added to the walls of the Armed Forces Memorial (AFM).

This is not a celebration of war, neither is it glorifying war. It is a simple service of thanks for lives offered, and given in the service of their country by men and women in uniform. They are members of the same group of people we remember on Remembrance day, being the latest in the line to join the ranks of service deaths. Just as the Cenotaph recalls those who died in the major conflicts up to 1945, the AFM marks those who have given their lives from that period onwards.

Please spare a thought for the families who will come to Alrewas today. They come with pride for a job well done, a sadness for a price expensively paid and to seek comfort in their own losses.

May God touch and comfort them.