Letter to an Unknown Soldier – WW1 Memorial

Dear Sir,

As you read this you may be wondering whether or not it was all worth it. Well, to be honest, yes and no.

One hundred years on there is still war in this world- greedy people fighting over land, resources and money, and bullying in the form of opinions and beliefs being forced on generally peace loving nations.

Although the front lines are no longer on our doorstep as they were in your day, they are still within arm’s reach in the form of terrorism and in the name of belief, be it political or religious. Neighbours within the same community don’t always trust each other. But we still have the same resolve you had in your time: the attitude of not giving in. The ‘stiff upper lip’ prevails and we still go on buses, trains and planes. We make slight changes and carry on.

On a global scale, we talk more via huge advances in technology- technology you may not be able to understand or keep up with. A message can now be sent from a device in your hand and be carried around the world in seconds. The same technology is used on the battle front in the form of pilot-less planes with cameras fitted, operated by a handheld device while the pilot is out of harm’s way.

Any wars we do find ourselves involved in use fewer personnel and have fewer casualties, although the innocent still seem to find themselves in the firing line.

The welfare of those returning from war is better understood now than in your day, with front line staff being given better prosthetic limbs. Not only are they living near normal lives but Britain did extremely well in the 2012 Paralympics- the Olympics for physically and intellectually disabled- which runs alongside The Olympics. I can see, within my lifetime, the abled and disabled people competing alongside each other for certain events.

In 2011 four such men, having survived a war in Afghanistan, trekked to the North Pole unsupported to raise awareness and money for Walking with the Wounded. Two were amputees, one had a paralysed right arm and the last fractured his spine whilst in combat. Not only did they have to face their own fears and physical constraints but they had to deal with polar bears and shifting ice, as well as sub zero temperatures, high winds and blizzards. Two years later, a similar trek visited the South Pole. This time three teams of men and women. One from the UK, another form the USA, the last a combination of Canadian and Australian faced comparable adversity to the North Pole challenge but succeeded where many able bodied would not.

These men and women, along with their comrades, suffer with the mental scars of war. We have a better understanding of these than we did in your day. We now call it Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and those who suffer from it are diagnosed quickly and get the help they need faster.

I guess, dear soldier, that there will always be a need for our armed forces as there always has been. Whether it’s for peace keeping or defence of not just this realm but others too, but thanks to you and your comrades we have a better understanding of how to help the survivors.

Thank you.

Yours faithfully

Stephanie Plant (Mrs)

                                       

KATE PULLINGER AND NEIL BARTLETT

LETTER TO AN UNKNOWN SOLDIER

A NEW KIND OF WAR MEMORIAL MADE BY THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE…

 

On Platform One of Paddington Station in London, there is a statue of an unknown soldier; he’s reading a letter.

On the hundredth anniversary of the declaration of war – in this year crowded with official remembrance and ceremony – we’re inviting everyone in the country to pause, take a moment or two, and write that letter.

All the letters the soldier receives will be published on www.1418now.org.uk creating a new kind of war memorial – one made only of words.

Eventually all of the letters will be archived in the British Library where they will remain permanently accessible online.

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