MoD plans to thank army veterans
Defence secretary John Reid
Monday, 13, Feb 2006 12:00
The government has announced plans for a national veterans day and an extension of the veteran's badge to more ex-service men and women to thank those who have fought for Britain.
Defence secretary John Reid said today the badge was designed to ensure "the many heroic acts and sacrifices of our veterans" would never be forgotten.
It will be available to any veterans who served up to 1960, and is aimed at honouring the current generation who fought after the world wars.
The Treasury has agreed to use £1.5 million from the proceeds of the commemorative Trafalgar coin to help fund a new armed forces memorial in Staffordshire, which will be finished next autumn.
Mr Reid said: "It seems fitting that funds raised through a coin to commemorate a battle which took place 200 years ago is providing such an appropriate and lasting memorial to today's heroes."
Chancellor Gordon Brown said today the plans were part of a patriotic drive to celebrate "the ideals of Britishness" and "its symbols and institutions".
In a major speech on national security, he said "liberty, responsibility and fairness" were the British qualities he wished to protect.
The commemorative events would include "ceremonies in every constituency and locality," according to Mr Brown, as well as proposals to get young people involved in future celebrations by inviting them to create a media archive of veterans' memories.
Mr Brown and Mr Reid are also hoping to pilot an expansion of the army cadets, with a particular focus on state schools, which would be funded by a mixture of state and private money.
The chancellor said he wanted to instill a sense of "local and national pride and achievement that measures up to the contribution our armed forces have made".
The plans come in the light of a turbulent time for the armed forces. They are already struggling with low levels of recruitment but yesterday's allegations of abuse of Iraqi civilians will have done little to raise morale.