Reflections from the Somme

My Great Uncle's grave at Abbeville cemetery

I sat before my great uncle’s grave recently in the warm French sunshine. He died from his wounds received at the Battle of the Somme on July 13 1916. I sat and wondered ‘Was it worth it?’  Did he consider the sacrifice of his life worth it?

He at least had a grave with his name on. Thousands only had tombstones inscribed A soldier of the Great War. Known unto God.  The huge war memorials of the Menin Gate and Thiepval have thousands and thousands of names inscribed on them of soldiers who are missing and have no known grave. 

The Menin Gate

Some of the thousands of names

It was all such different times then. War was regarded as noble and patriotic.  Giving up your life for King and country was the honourable thing to do. It was your duty.  Generals wrote of the ‘magnificence’ of soldiers advancing without flinching as they were mown down by machine gun fire. Soldiers spoke of not wanting to die but being ready to do so.

Two World Wars have changed our view on the nobility of War, certainly in the West.  The carnage of the battlefields of Europe and Turkey in the First World War and the horrors of the Second World War when civilians and servicemen both here, in Europe and further afield in Asia suffered terribly has made us wonder what principles are worth fighting and dying for.

The public outrage over the Iraq war and especially from families of servicemen who lost their lives has shown that as a nation we need very good grounds to send our armed forces off to fight our national battles.  We no longer trust politicians and the army chiefs to decide if a war is worth fighting. That can be dangerous ground.

Our involvement in both World Wars came about because of treaties we had signed that we couldn’t possibly honour.  Even our involvement in Afghanistan and Iraq came about because of the special relationship with USA.  So what do we do? Pull up the drawbridge, batten down the hatches and hope the latest global bully will go away? Of course not.

Evil must be fought.  Those who died in any of the Wars we have been involved in would, I am sure, be horrified if we just gave up. 100 years ago territories were seen as worth fighting over to create large empires whether in Europe, Africa or Asia.  Today our national boundaries within Europe are so secure there are not even border checks. Our boundaries though with the rest of the world are becoming stronger and stronger as people from poorer areas seek a new, more prosperous life or to flee the crises in their own lands.  These crises are no longer over expansion of territory but over racial and religious hatred. In both Middle East and Africa being the wrong tribe or religion is enough to go to war.

So what might my great uncle say today?

Fight evil wherever you find it. In your heart, your home, your neighbourhood, your nation – don’t tolerate racial bigotry and religious ideology that seeks to impose itself on others. Fight it and if necessary go to war against it.

And remember. Remember those who died – whatever we may think about the cause – remember that they made a sacrifice that they considered worth making and be thankful.

Tyne Cot cemetery and the Cross of Sacrifice

Some beautiful words from one of today's generation *Words below

Finally my great uncle was a Christian and I am sure he would say consider Jesus – the one who made the ultimate sacrifice to overcome evil. Jesus fought and won the good fight of faith so every one of us could know him and live free – free from sin and free from death. One day he will return and usher in the reign of peace we all long for.

Words from a British pupil on the Cross of Sacrifice at Tyne Cot cemetery

To this day there are numerous unidentified soldiers who made up our army that won our freedom. We  have encountered so many unique and heartwarming stories from unidentified soldiers but what about the stories that were never shared. Every soldier is as important and as brave as the next. Some just happen to be unknown. Let us remember the stories that were not told, sons who never returned and lives that were never lived.