Remembering the pointless cruelty of war and not glorifying it

Ceremonies to mark the centenary of the end of the First World War (28 July 1914 to 11 November 1918) are taking place this weekend. Remembrance day in many parts of the world is observed on 11 November to mark the end of hostilities at the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918. One of the deadliest conflicts in history, it is estimated that it resulted in the death of over nine million combatants and seven million civilians. As the First World War’s centenary is marked, we need to be clear, this is not some supposed commemoration of duty performed towards King and Country. This is remembering the dead and the useless suffering endured, in what was supposed to be the war that ended all wars.

Those that decide to wear poppies should do so in sorrowful remembrance, not in an attempt to glorify war and promote jingoism and extreme patriotism. Many of those who fought in and survived the First World War rarely spoke of the hardship they had endured or the horror they had witnessed. The experience of gruelling trench warfare and the cruel reality of the terrible slaughter that took place scarred them for life. Some of the last survivors of the awful conflict spent their final years warning future generations against war. As is often the case those that have actually experienced war do not attempt to glorify it. It is those political leaders responsible for taking people into this war that stand condemned. As do those with greed in their heart who got rich on the profits they made from war whilst staying safely away from conflict.

The words of Scottish journalist and politician Tom Johnston (2 November 1881 – 5 September 1965), were proven correct when he wrote at the beginning of the conflict that it was: “a cause in which we have no interest, in which we were never consulted, and from which no conceivable result can we derive any advantage – only starvation, hungry children, crying in the streets, bones lying in the battlefields, widows, orphans, tears”. This weekend we must ignore those who use it as a platform for the jingoistic propaganda of it being “a just war” and remembering “our glorious dead”. Because it was a pointless war, which was wrong and the deaths of millions was both tragic and futile. We mark the bravery of those who were made to fight and endure the cruelty of the conflict and indeed the vilification and punishment inflicted on those who opposed it. Also the millions of civilians who died as a direct result of the war, as well as the eight million horses and countless mules and donkeys, used by all sides, who perished from wounds, thirst, starvation, disease, exposure and exhaustion in the First World War. This is what we should bow our heads and remember this weekend, while those who use the ceremonies to promote jingoism should only bow their heads in shame.