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REPATRIATION The duty of a town
The tributes paid to our brave fallen soldiers by the inhabitants of Wootton Bassett have become a remarkable and touching memorial that is acknowledged by the entire nation. However, June 26, Armed Forces Day, offers an opportunity to celebrate. BY THE ROYAL BRITISH LEGION
Legion (RBL), turning out to salute a fallen fellow soldier. Since then the crowds have swollen, media interest has grown, but the sentiment remains the same: respect and thanks for the brave few who choose a life less ordinary, one that often takes them far from family and friends, and one that can all too often lead to a young life being cut short. The town of Wootton Bassett has become
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so closely associated with the Armed Forces, that not so long ago there were calls – from mostly non-residents, it should be pointed out – to have the main High Street renamed ‘Highway for Heroes’. Ask just about any local resident for their thoughts on this Hollywood-like proposals and the answer is almost always, ‘thanks, but no thanks’. This is because Bassett, as the locals call it,
t all started two and half years ago with a handful of members from the local branch of The Royal British
like the Armed Forces collectively, recoils from its newly found almost celebrity status and humbly rejects its celebrated position, stating in most cases that this is nothing out of the norm – ‘it is a duty’. Wootton Bassett and those that organise
the repatriations that pass through the town have never sought publicity. The RBL, as the national custodians of remembrance, view events like these as a responsibility. The RBL has a responsibility, entrusted
to it within its Royal Charter, to manage this responsibility on an enduring basis, whether that be through fixed centres of remembrance like The National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire or indeed at spontaneous living tributes to the recent fallen, like those that occur on an almost weekly basis in Wootton Bassett. Bassett is like many quintessentially
British market towns. There’s the butchers, the post office, the local church of St
Bartholomew’s and the Cross Keys pub. It is for all intents and purposes completely unremarkable, except for one thing: the people and the part they now play in the repatriation of every soldier killed in action in Afghanistan. Such is the media interest in Wootton
Bassett, that what originally started with a handful of Royal British Legion members standing on the street to salute a fellow fallen soldier, has now morphed into a living memorial, a real-time service of remembrance played out live for the world’s media. Armed Forces Day this year offers the
town an opportunity for one day on which to celebrate, rather than mourn our Armed Forces. It is apt that arguably Britain’s most famous street, famous for its sombre respect and dignity, should be able to come together to celebrate them, even if it is for just one day. •
www.armedforcesday.org.uk SHOW YOUR SUPPORT 97
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