Humanist celebrants conducting funerals for those who have served in the armed forces are accustomed to a casket draped in a flag.
Perhaps the sounding of the last post. Sadly as decades pass veterans of the second world war are becoming a smaller band of brothers.
If an 18 year old joined the forces in September 1939 they would be now in 2021 approaching their centenary. A sacrifice beyond comprehension for most. All those years later talking to families the old cliché rang true – they didn’t want to talk about it.
There was of course the ‘forgotten’ war of Korea, the Suez War and the Eden uprising during which British soldiers lost their lives. The height of the Troubles in Northern Ireland now half a century in the past and the Falklands War coming up to 40 years ago.
The first Gulf war incredibly some 30 years ago. Before long the lives lost in Iraq and Afghanistan will be part of distant history. But all the while their comrades in arms are there to pay their respects and we as celebrants are there to make sure their story is told.
