11th November

In Flanders fields the poppies blow
Between the crosses, row on row,
That mark our place; and in the sky
The larks, still bravely singing, fly
Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago
We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,
Loved and were loved, and now we lie,
In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:
To you from failing hands we throw
The torch; be yours to hold it high.
If ye break faith with us who die
We shall not sleep, though poppies grow
In Flanders fields.

Today we pay tribute to all those who have fallen in defence of our country - and continue to follow their orders and do their duty, no matter how obscure or futile the cause.

God Bless them all.

Iraqi Spits on Hero's WWII Service Medals - Escapes Jail

A shocking story from Thursday's Daily Mail indicates just how little respect many of the "cultural enrichers" who have arrived in this country have for its history, its culture and its traditions - not to mention its citizens.

This is Company Sgt. Major Sam Steadman, wearing the medals he earned during his distinguished military career.

Among them are the Palestine Medal, The Africa Star, The Italy Star and the 1939-1945 Star.

During the Second World War, CSM Steadman, a paratrooper, saw action at Dunkirk and in North Africa. He had joined the Army at just 15 and was the first man in his Company to earn The Military Medal.

Mr Steadman died in 1991, and ever since his grandson Timothy House has attended his local Remebrance Day parade in Portsmouth, wearing his Grandfather's medals in his honour. He does this because he believes it is what his Grandfather would have wished for, and also because he believes his Grandfather's actions, and those of countless thousands like him, should be remembered and respected rather than forgotten.

In 2009, Mr House attended as usual, despite the fact he was recovering from a broken hip. After the parade he was standing outside a pub chatting with some friends, including a wheelchair-bound veteran of 91 he had agreed to accompany and look after so he wouldn't miss out on being able to honour his fallen comrades.

As he stood on the pavement, he was passed by this individual, Iraqi immigrant Serwan Abdullah, 23.

For absolutely no reason, Abdullah spat at Mr House, and his saliva landed on his Grandfather's medals. This modern day representative of Cool Britannia then "ran off".

Mr House was understandably furious, and the police were called. When they caught up with Abdullah, he admitted the offence, then claimed Mr House had spat at him first in a "racist attack," before responding:

"I am proud of what I have done. I have no respect for him. F*** him and f*** his medals."

Of course, the stock defence of every non-white scoundrel ("It was racist, innit guv") turned out to be a lie.

Abdullah walked free from court this week, having been sentenced to pay £200 in damages (£100 in compensation to Mr House and £100 in court costs) and to complete 240 hours of unpaid work.

This in spite of the fact that the magistrate, Stuart Chittendon JP, summarised Abdullah's actions thus:

"The offence you have been convicted of is particularly abhorrent to society."

Indeed, Mr Chittendon. What a shame then that you still felt no real punishment was required. I don't think giving a couple of weeks worth of benefits money back to the public purse (assuming he actually pays up, of course) quite cuts it. Evidently this is why I am not and never will be employed in the British criminal justice system.

The only defence Abdullah's lawyer seemed to offer is that "he now accepts he was not acting in self defence."

Big of him. Unfortunately there is no record of any regret or an apology, or even a cursory understanding of why his actions were wrong and deeply offensive. Not that I'm surprised - it's just worth pointing out.

Abdullah has previous convictions for shoplifting, failure to comply with a community order, battery and criminal damage.

Shocking, I'm sure. Still, at least when I'm an old man Abdullah and his ilk will be stealing paying my pension, assuming such a thing still exists - right?

Well, clearly not. Despite the fact Abdullah is happy to enjoy our generous hospitality for as long as we're stupid enough to provide it, he clearly despises everything about this country and what it stands for. What could demonstrate that more clearly (other than his long criminal record) than spitting on the medals of a military veteran?

The article informs us:

Falklands veteran Chris Purcell, a parade martial with the Royal British Legion in Portsmouth, described Abdullah's actions as 'despicable’.

The 50-year-old former petty officer said: "To spit on the medals of a man who fought for our country is disgusting. It's a huge insult."

Yes, it is. But that's just the point - Mr Steadman fought for Britain, for our country, for the British people (you know, those hideously white types who don't actually exist), including his own children and grandchildren.

He did not fight for a criminal Arab Muslim who thinks preying on infidels is his god-given right anyway, and simply can't believe his luck at just what the spoils for him actually are in our weak, degraded country.

He can do whatever he likes and get away with it, as he's proved, several times. Mr Steadman may have fought for many things, but he did not fight for that. For all Abdullah's faults, he can see he's not "one of us" - even though any of the other people in the article would risk prosecution for pointing that very simple and very obvious fact out. He's just here to use us, to leech off of us, because the sad truth is we will let him, and we will persecute anyone who says enough is enough.

Yet still, for many, the siren-song of Leftism continues. Out of 30 comments on the Daily Mail article, one was the barely believable:

What you have to realise is that he has an opinion of Western culture based on his life in Iraq. He probably despises the WEST, and given the appalling way that some of our Soldiers have behaved out there towards the Iraqi people, who could blame him? Whilst not condoning what he did, he has EVERY right to protest about anything that he chooses - it's called Democracy.

- Sarah, Aylesbury, Bucks, 25/2/2010 10:15

Well, Sarah, if he despises the West so much, why did he come here? Since when has spitting at a group of people who are minding their own business then lying about the exact nature of the encounter to shift the blame counted as "democratic protest"?

If Sarah's so fond of democracy, perhaps she'll back a public vote on whether or not Abdullah should be immediately deported - after all, Iraq can do with all the democratic thinking it can get, and Abdullah can happily sit and ponder on just how much he despises the West - without it funding his lifestyle. Perhaps he'll be able to enjoy the benefits of Iraqi justice for bit, too.

Despite my disapproval of her aims, we should be grateful nonetheless for comments such as Sarah's; firstly it's the perfect window into the Leftist mindset, and secondly she almost admits too much, more than all the other bluster in the article put together - i.e. the West is currently letting in thousands upon thousands of people who despise it, and continue to do so whilst they are here and living off of it.

One would think we'd had enough warnings already.

British Soldier Escaped Kidnappers in Kuwait

The Telegraph reports that a British soldier managed to flee five knife-wielding men described as 'Muslim fanatics' after they kidnapped him in Kuwait City:

Private Peter Walker was ambushed by five men wielding knives in Kuwait City before being beaten up and bundled into a building.

Pte Walker, in his mid-20s, was then left alone while his captors talked into mobile phones. The soldier, who had gone for a pizza in civilian clothes, struggled free and scrambled up a flight of steps – to find he was trapped on the first floor.

He then jumped off the balcony as the gang chased after him and managed to land safely before running to safety through the streets below.

Pte Walker, who was serving with 59 Movement Control Squadron, 29 Regiment Royal Logistic Corps, in Iraq before the pull-out of British troops in May, is back in Britain after the ordeal last Sunday.

It is believed the gang pounced after they heard him speak English. A source told The Sun: "Pte Walker had gone out to the local pizza shop but found it closed.

"He was ambushed by five men. He feared they were going to sell him on to terrorists. They were all talking on mobiles. Pte Walker tried to speak to them in English but they blanked him.

"He ran up the stairs and had no option but to jump off the balcony. If he hadn't escaped he could have been held to ransom or beheaded by terrorists."

The Ministry of Defence said that Kuwaiti police and the Royal Military Police are investigating.

Hopefully not part of a new trend, but it seems right up the Islamists' alley to target the unsuspecting off duty soldiers who aren't even armed.

7 Charged over Anglian Parade Protest

Seven men have been charged with public order offences in relation to the heckling of returning Anglian soldiers by a group of Muslims back in march.

True to form, the BBC describes this event, in which men who had just completed a difficult tour of Iraq were branded 'terrorists', 'baby killers' and 'murderers' by a protest which was sanctioned by Bedfordshire Police, as "an anti-war protest which erupted".

It erupted, of course, when British patriots (many of whom would later be banned from holding various counter-demonstrations in support of the troops) objected to the insensitive way the police had handled the demands of a group of Muslims described by their own community as extremists.

The seven charged over the parade are all from Luton and have been named.

They are Jalal Ahmed, 21, of Cavendish Road, Yousaf Bashir, 29, of Dane Road, Ibrahim Anderson, 32, of Warwick Road West, Jubair Ahmed, 19, of Beech Road, Ziaur Rahman, 33, of Nunnery Lane, Shajjadar Choudhury, 30, of Essex Close and Munim Abdul, 28, of Highbury Road.

British Jihadis Gloat About Afghan War Toll

From The Daily Express:

BRITISH Muslim fanatics sparked fresh fury last night by praising Taliban “heroes” for sending our troops back from Afghanistan in body bags.

Dozens of homegrown “jihadis” have posted website messages cheering last weekend’s carnage in Helmand province that saw Britain’s death toll rise to 204 soldiers.

Last night there were calls by senior politicians for the Home Office to crack down on the hate-filled rants that will distress even further the relatives of troops who gave their lives fighting the Taliban.

The shameful website involved stoked up hatred as it emerged that one of two soldiers killed trying to save their mortally wounded commander had recently got married before deploying to Afghanistan.

The commander had got engaged while home on leave in June.

The tragedies were revealed yesterday as the Ministry of Defence named the three soldiers, all from 2nd Battalion The Royal Regiment of Fusiliers, who died on Sunday.

The gloating jihadi website, Islamic Awakening, is a forum for Islamic extremism, prompting a slew of vile attacks on the efforts of British troops to rescue Afghanistan from the grip of fundamentalists.

The first messages were posted within minutes of the news of the latest outrage in Helmand on Sunday.

“Isma’eel”, said: “Man, they really are dropping like flies over there lol [laugh out loud].”

Another, calling himself “AbuJunayd”, said: “Inshallah [God-willing] the more the kuffs [non-Muslims] deploy, the more the bros will send em back in body bags, or crutches or with serious psychological problems.”

“Waziri” said: “By command of Allah, the invading forces will be forced to withdraw humiliated and defeated by a group of men who between them do not possess even one transport helicopter.”

“Noorah”, said: “They are really getting whooped. Don’t know how they think they can win.”

Senior Tory MP Patrick Mercer, chairman of the Commons counter-terrorism committee and a former Army officer, said: “It’s deeply distasteful and clearly the last thing that relatives of the dead want to see or hear.”

Last night the Daily Express informed the Office for Security and Counter Terrorism at the Home Office of the website’s content.

A spokeswoman said: “The role of the internet in radicalisation is an area of concern to Government.”

This tip was sent to me by The Frozen North - and I don't think I can do better than his own summing up of the issue:

Oh that’s all right then! We have treasonous scum living among us who want to see British troops die, and the role of the internet in radicalisation is an “area of concern”? How about the role of those people who were using the internet? If someone is drunk driving and causes an accident, no sane person who expected to be taken seriously would say that the role of cars is an “area of concern” would they? It’s the bugger who was behind the wheel we’d all want to see jailed.

The same principle applies here: the people who sent in those posts to that “jihadi” website should be identified. Their entire lives should be turned inside out, and any accomplices found. Every effort made to find out just how deeply these traitors have managed to embed themselves in our country.

If these are “homegrown” people with British passports, then we should take a leaf out of Geert Wilders’ book, and have their passports taken away from them, then put them on a plane back to wherever their families originally came from. Not following a lengthy, legal-aid funded appeal process either. Immediately. If they’re calling for British troops to die then they’ve forfeited all claims to live in Britain, and our government should recognise that, and send them packing.

Read the rest of his post and see scans of the Scottish edition of this story here.

Why Are We Fighting the Taliban?

The above image is a montage of 200 men killed fighting in Afghanistan.

Since it was created, it has gone out of date; another British soldier has died after succumbing to injuries received in a bomb blast, and the death toll currently stands at 201.

Earlier in the week, Defence Secretary Bob Ainsworth, a man who has never served in the military and was flirting with radical Marxism well into his thirties, blamed the 'defeatist attitude' of the British public for letting down our soldiers.

Of course, one can stand firmly behind our soldiers and all their NATO allies without necessarily supporting the war in Afghanistan, and most sensible people realise this.

Perhaps Mr Ainsworth should do his job, and garner support by actually explaining the purpose of the war. Whilst he is at it, he could complete the far more important task of equipping the troops on the ground with what they actually need.

Several senior commanders have come forward to say he is capable of doing neither.

In an article written in today's Mail on Sunday, Peter Hitchens says:

The explanation shifts and wobbles as the months pass. One minute, we are global social workers, then a sort of drugs squad, then we are promoting feminism or training the Afghan army.

Or perhaps we are introducing ‘democracy’ in a country where men vote as their tribal leaders tell them.

As a last resort, we are spun some tale that by fighting over mud villages near Lashkar Gah, we are protecting Britain from terrorist plots – though all the evidence shows that terrorist plots can be and are begun in Britain, with no aid from supposed ‘training camps’ in Afghanistan.

Although he seems quite glib about some issues, I'm inclined to agree with him; however good the intentions of trying to make Afghanistan a better place may be, I'm not sure they are realistically achievable.

Take the following story:

AFGHANISTAN has quietly passed a law permitting Shiite men to deny their wives food and sustenance if they refuse to obey their husbands' sexual demands, despite international outrage over an earlier version of the legislation that President Hamid Karzai had promised to review.

The new final draft of the legislation also grants guardianship of children exclusively to their fathers and grandfathers, and requires women to gain permission from their husbands to work.

''It also effectively allows a rapist to avoid prosecution by paying 'blood money' to a girl who was injured when he raped her,'' the US charity Human Rights Watch said.

This is the government we are paying with the blood of our young men to prop up.

The problem with Afghanistan is that pretty much everyone in a position of power is a backward, bloodthirsty Islamist - it is simply a question of degrees.

Meanwhile, as the death toll soars and the practices of the Taliban enter normal society once more via the back door, female U.S. Marines are donning headscarves 'to bond with local women':

That was the drill for female American Marines who set out on patrol this week with a mission to make friends with Afghan women in a war zone by showing respect for Muslim standards of modesty. The all-female unit of 46 Marines is the military’s latest innovation in its rivalry with the Taliban for the populace’s loyalty. Afghan women are viewed as good intelligence sources, and more open to the basics of the military’s hearts-and-minds effort — hygiene, education and an end to the violence.

“It’s part of the effort to show we’re sensitive to local culture,” said Capt. Jennifer Gregoire, of East Strasburg, Pennsylvania. She leads the Female Engagement Team in the Now Zad Valley of Helmand province, the heartland of the Taliban insurgency.

“If you show your hair, its kind of like seeing a nude picture here, because women are very covered up,” she said.

Silly question, I know, but aren't these Marines there to help liberate Afghan women from tyrannical oppression, rather than adapting to medieval customs themselves?

It truly beggars belief. These women are the ultimate example, supposedly, of women succeeding in a man's world.

Increasingly, I think this war is a fool's errand. This country cannot be occupied, and it isn't in our interests to do so anyway; if we are concerned about security, then our borders deserve more attention than they currently get.

The Taliban and the training camps can be kept at bay with drones, airstrikes and special forces; but pretending Afghanistan has a democratic future with the way things currently stand is simply delusional.

***Update*** 21:45 16th August 2009

Sadly, even this post is now out of date; a further three British soldiers have died in Afghanistan.

Mullah Krekar is a Symptom of European Softness

Recently an American television programme, 'The Wanted', highlighted the case of Mullah Krekar, a known terrorist cleric from Northern Iraq who sought asylum in Norway.

Naturally, the Norwegian authorities will not deport him, lest his human rights be violated - even though the Kurdish authorities have guaranteed he will not face the death penalty if convicted.

The Progress Party have pledged to get rid of him should they gain power in the upcoming Norwegian elections:

How long will the terrorist, mullah Krekar, be able to menace citizens before he is send out of Norway? Although the Kurdish authorities promise that he will not get the death penalty, the Labor Party insists that Krekar will not be deported. The Progress Party believes Krekar should be held in custody until he can be sent out of the country. Norway has been a refuge for terrorists, and even Osama bin Laden would receive protection in Norway. His friends, at least, will stay in Norway. Taliban minister, Abdul Rauf Mohammad, has lived in Norway since 2001. The same men who threw acid in the eyes of the young Afghan girls that wanted to go to school would be allowed to stay in Norway.

Krekar came to Norway as war refugee in 1991. Although he claimed prosecution in Iraq, he has repeatedly visited the country. Kurdish authorities have wished that he’d be extradited on the basis that he has led a terrorist organization called Ansar Al-Islam. The terror organization announced once in a letter that all Christians in Iraq had to get out or they would be killed. Ansar Al-Islam is affiliated with Al Qaida and is allegedly behind the killings of several Kurds civilians.

Norway’s authorities have point blank refused to extradite him, because they fear that Krekar could be sentenced to death. Now, however, TV2 reports that the Kurdish authorities will guarantee the security of the former leader of the Ansar al-Islam. The government guarantees that Krekar will not be subjected to torture or inhuman treatment. The matter should be clear-cut. The Labor Party’s Bjarne Håkon Hanssen, Jens Stoltenberg, and Jonas Gahr Støre have previously stated that Krekar cannot be kicked out before we are able guarantee for his safety.

But no, it is not as easy as it appears. Jonas Gahr Støre does not believe in the Iraq’s regional authorities’ promises. He will fight with tooth and nails that Krekar, who is behind a series of murders and has several times in recent years talked enthusiastically about the murder of western citizens, will stay in Norway, because of the security reasons. I agree with Carl I. Hagen: "All actions of this government suggests that Mullah Krekar’s safety and security comes before the security of the kingdom.”

This is not only a disgrace for Norwya’s immigration policy. But it is also a shame to all those currently serving in Afghanistan and Iraq for peace. It also dishonors those who work either in aid or human rights organizations in Muslim countries. People like Mullah Krekar endangers all that.

The Progress Party believes the TV2’s documentation is good enough for Mullah Krekar to be extradited from Norway. Norway’s immigration and asylum policy should not apply terrorists or people who support the killing of civilians.

Until Krekar can be put on a plane out of Norway, he should be in custody the same manner others in similar situation are being treated. When the Progress Party takes over the government, we will ensure that all necessary documentation will be prepared and Krekar will sit on an airplane on the way home within 100 days.

You'll notice thought that this is not solely about Mullah Krekar.

Whilst British and European troops are fighting and dying in Afghanistan, allegedly keeping us safe, a former Taliban minister and his family are living safely in Norway, on the Norwegian taxpayer.

How can this be right or just?

Meanwhile, here in Britain, it has been revealed that convicted terrorists are living in bail hostels after their release from prison:

At least 20 men suspected of harbouring al-Qaida sympathies and convicted of terrorism offences have been released from British prisons this year, according to probation staff.

The men had reached the two-thirds point of their sentence and therefore qualified for release back into the community, where the majority are being supervised by probation staff as they reside in hostels.

Many have been placed on curfews or placed under strict licence conditions in a bid to ensure they are kept under close supervision. But the revelation that convicted terrorists are being housed in hostels is likely to trigger a national debate on how best the authorities can deal with what is considered by many experts to be a new type of serious offender.

Most of the men released so far were convicted for offences associated with the possession of terrorist material or literature or aiding others who went on to carry out terrorist attacks both in the UK and abroad. The probation union, Napo, claims that nine men convicted for terrorist offences are being housed in hostels in London, two in the Midlands and another four in Yorkshire.

Probation staff say that, although many of those released may pose a real threat, the normal tools used to assess the risk of reoffending are of limited value because of the motivation which led to their crime.

"It is extremely difficult to work with any individual whose criminal behaviour is politically motivated," said Harry Fletcher, assistant general secretary of Napo. "The psychology is totally different from the vast majority of persons convicted of criminal offences whose activity is either acquisitive or, in cases of violence, often pathological."

However, with an estimated 160 people convicted of terrorism offences inspired by al-Qaida currently residing in Britain's jails, there is growing pressure on the authorities to give details of how they intend to deal with convicted terrorists.

While most are considered "minor" offenders, several convicted of more serious offences are due to be released soon. Andrew Rowe was given a seven-and-a-half year sentence after being caught with details of how to fire mortar bombs and secret codes to facilitate terror attacks. He is due to appear before the parole board within weeks.

Raids on his home uncovered a handwritten guide to firing battlefield weapons, videos of the 9/11 atrocities and tapes of Osama bin Laden. He had used the names of specific models of mobile phones as code for words and phrases such as "airline crew", "explosives" and "army base". His socks carried traces of TNT and plastic explosives.

A Ministry of Justice spokeswoman said anyone convicted of terrorist offences and sentenced to more than 12 months' imprisonment would be subject to probation supervision on release from prison.

"They have to adhere to a set of strict conditions and are subject to recall to custody if they breach their conditions or their behaviour indicates that it is no longer safe to allow them to remain in the community," she said. The Home Office has also pledged to deport any convicted terrorists who are foreign nationals.

We should go further; any terrorist should be stripped of their British citizenship and deported. If our security is worth the blood of our troops, then it should be taken far more seriously.

A Tribute to the Last Tommy

This morning Harry Patch, 111, died peacefully at his nursing home in Somerset.

Harry was the last British survivor of the First World War, and the country's oldest man after 113 year old Henry Allingham passed away last week.

Harry Patch has a special claim to fame, however; he was the only one of (until recently) three surviving British veterans of the First World War to have seen frontline action in the carnage of the trenches. He was 'The Last Fighting Tommy'.

The Telegraph carries a tribute from Prince Charles:

Mr Patch, who was known as the Last Fighting Tommy, was the last living soldier to have fought in bloody battle of Passchendaele, at Ypres, in 1917 in which more than 70,000 troops died.

The veteran's death follows that of Henry Allingham, also a veteran of the Great War who died on July 18 at the age of 113.

Mr Patch, who was a machine-gunner in the Duke of Cornwalls's Light Infantry, died on Saturday morning at Fletcher House care home in Somerset where he was living.

The Prince of Wales was among the first to pay tribute to Mr Patch, telling the BBC: "The Great War is a chapter in our history we must never forget, so many sacrifices were made, so many young lives lost. So today nothing could give me greater pride than paying tribute to Harry Patch from Somerset.

"Harry was involved in numerous bouts of heavy fighting on the front line but amazingly remained unscathed for a while. Tragically one night in September 1917 when in the morass in the Ypres Salient a German shrapnel shell burst over head badly wounding Harry and killing three of his closest friends.

"In spite of the comparatively short time that he served with the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry Harry always cherished the extraordinary camaraderie that the appalling conditions engendered in the battalion and remained loyal to the end."

Here is an article, also from The Telegraph, which was published two years ago and explains Harry's life and service in more depth:

Henry John Patch would be notable simply by virtue of his 109 years on earth. When he was born, on June 17, 1898, the Marquess of Salisbury was Prime Minister and Queen Victoria had two and a half years still to reign. Kitchener was 11 weeks away from fighting the Battle of Omdurman and the outbreak of the Boer War lay 16 months into the future. H G Wells's latest work, The War of the Worlds, had just been published in book form following its successful serialisation in Pearson's Magazine.

But Harry Patch is more than a gerontological phenomenon. The man arranging his medals and sitting up straight for a photograph in the conservatory of a nursing home in Wells is the last British man alive to have served in the trenches during the First World War. The last survivor of Passchendaele, that three-month orgy of blood-letting in the mud of Flanders which began 90 years ago this month and commemorated by the Queen at Tyne Cot cemetery in Belgium today. The last Tommy of the Great War.

When he is gone, the British experience of daily life on the Western Front will be no man's land. No living man's land.

There are two other men alive who served between 1914 and 1918, but neither experienced the living nightmare of the front line. Henry Allingham, born two years earlier than Mr Patch, served in France with the Royal Naval Air Service and occasionally visited the front to recover downed aircraft, while Bill Stone was called up for the Royal Navy only two months before the Armistice and did not see action.

Mr Patch takes no pride in being the last of the millions who fought and died amid unmitigated horror. His improbable status sometimes overwhelms him, reducing him to silent contemplation.

"The poor bloody infantry. Dead right. That's what we were. For 1/6d a day."

His speech is slow and deliberate; gentle, rusty Somerset. Kaiser is pronounced "Kay-zer", with a long "z".

That he is sitting here, listening to children in a nearby playground, is a testament to life's caprice. He should have died 90 years ago, on a black night in September 1917, with his mates. It would have been an unremarkable death: one more shredded body to add to three others.

He was part of a Lewis Gun team in the Duke of Cornwall's Light Infantry, a close-knit family drawn closer together by the knowledge that machine-gunners, by virtue of the mayhem they wrought among advancing infantry, were likely to receive no mercy if over-run.

That night, his battalion had been pulled out of the line and was moving to the rear over open ground when a German shell, a "whizz-bang", exploded. The young Private Patch was wounded in the groin by a shell splinter. One other member of the five-strong team survived. The others were blown to pieces.

"It killed Number Three - he came from Truro - and Number Four and Number Five. Jack and Jill we called those two. They came from Falmouth. Number Three was known as Maudy. There was an actress of that name. He had a good sense of humour."

Were they good friends? "All of us."

Did they look after each other? "Always."

The British Empire suffered 500,000 dead and wounded during the three months of Third Ypres, as Passchendaele is more properly known. The offensive was the brainchild of the British commander-in-chief, Field Marshal Sir Douglas Haig, and didn't take long to bog down in the morass created by incessant artillery bombardment and constant rain. Casualties mounted.

Between the start of the campaign on July 31 and its end on November 8, an average of 5,000 men a day were killed or wounded, and all for the capture of a few miles of desecrated land.

Harry Patch grew up in Coombe Down, near Bath. He left school at 15 and trained as a plumber. He was 16 when war broke out and reached 18 just as conscription was being introduced. Unlike many of the young men who smilingly signed up for death and dismemberment, he had no illusions.

"I knew what to expect. My mother had three sons. My oldest brother suffered from asthma. He didn't pass. My middle brother was a regular soldier. Royal Engineers. Serving in Africa. He was called home and wounded at Mons. I knew what it was going to be like: dirty, filthy, insanitary."

It met his expectations. There were the lice that clung to the body and the rats that gnawed fearlessly at bootlaces. And the mud. Thick brown liquid quite capable of drowning a man. The shell burst that killed his friends ended Mr Patch's three or so months in the front line.

"I can remember the shell bursting. I saw the flash, I must have passed out. The next thing I could remember was the dressing station. A wound in my groin. The nurse painted something around it to stop the lice getting at it. I was given a good hot bath. The lice came off - you could pick them up with a shovel - bloody things."

There was a shortage of anaesthetic and he had to be held down as the shell splinter was removed. The medical officer asked him if wanted to keep it as a souvenir. Mr Patch told him what he could do with it. "The fella in the next bed said to me, 'If he writes anything in that book, you're for Blighty.' Well, he did write in the book. I didn't believe it until someone came in and called my name and number. I went to Rouen."

During his recovery in Britain, he met his first wife. "Knocked her down. She was coming down some steps from the cinema and I was running for the bus and knocked her down. Picked her up, dusted her off and it started from that." They were married for 56 years and had two sons, both of whom have since died.

Mr Patch has few mementos from the war. He was too old to fight in the Second World War and worked as a sanitary engineer in American army camps in the south-west. He retired in 1963. Following his first wife's death in 1976, he married again at the age of 81. His second wife died five years ago.

His membership of that steadily diminishing band of British veterans of the war to end all wars has earned him audiences with the Queen and the French Légion d'honneur. A few years ago he was taken to meet a German veteran who had fought opposite him in Flanders. "Nice old chap. A pacifist. Same as me. Why did they suffer, those millions of men?"

The afternoon is wearing on and Mr Patch is tired. He pauses to listen to the children playing. What does it feel like to be the last of those millions, that army of ghosts?

"I don't like it," he says and then adds: "I sit there and think. And some nights I dream - of that first battle. I can't forget it.

"I fell in a trench. There was a fella there. He must have been about our age. He was ripped shoulder to waist with shrapnel. I held his hand for the last 60 seconds of his life. He only said one word: 'Mother'. I didn't see her, but she was there. No doubt about it. He passed from this life into the next, and it felt as if I was in God's presence.

"I've never got over it. You never forget it. Never."

Once more, see that humbling stoicism in the face of adversity. Once more, we mourn a man who seems to take with him so much of what made this country great.

Rest in peace, Harry.

You may be gone, but we will never forget the sacrifices you and your generation made for us.

Having said that, it would be nice if many of the politicians paying tribute to Harry remembered what he actually fought for - Great Britain and her people.

Illegal Immigrant Worked Guarding the Queen

A surreal story from The Telegraph:

A soldier who guards the Queen at Buckingham Palace has been arrested after he was found to be illegal immigrant who joined the Army under a fake name, it has been reported.

The guardsman is believed to have used fake documents to join the Army – where he was trained in marksmanship, grenade throwing and how to use a rocket launcher – and his scam was only uncovered after a car crash when police discovered he had numerous aliases.

The soldier, named only as Guardsman Kapinga, is from an African Commonwealth country and took part in the Trooping of the Colour in front of the royal family last month, according to The Sun.

He trained at Catterick Barracks in North Yorkshire before joining the elite Batallion Irish Guards last Autumn, where he adopted the traditional red tunic and bearskin hat worn by Palace guards and apparently took part in sentry duties.

A military source told The Sun: "This is a blunder of unparalleled proportions. For an illegal immigrant to gain membership of any Army regiment is unbelievable when you consider the potential damage an enemy could do there.

"But to be accepted into a Guards regiment, and therefore to have such close proximity to the monarch, is nothing short of a scandal."

Palace officials were said to be "extremely unhappy" when told of the error after Kapinga was arrested by Hampshire police following a car accident on Monday.

The Irish Guards, based in Windsor, are on a two-year tour of ceremonial duties. A source told The Sun: "This is incredibly embarrassing. Clearly the vetting procedure was not as thorough as it should have been."

A Tribute to a Hero

Today it was announced that Henry Allingham, the world's oldest man and one of only two surviving British veterans of the First World War, as well as the only surviving founder-member of the Royal Air Force, died aged 113.



Here is an overview of Henry's life which was published in The Daily Telegraph, including the war memories which still haunted him:

He was haunted by a nightmare memory of falling into a trench on the Western Front.

With a clear mind, even as he reached his 113th birthday, he could recall the death of Queen Victoria in 1901, the Wright brothers' first flight two years later and seeing WG Grace bat sometime between 1903 and 1906, though he could not remember how many runs Grace scored.

His experience of the trenches came was when he was looking for the remains of aircraft that had been shot down.

"We were moving forward at night," he would recall. "I was very apprehensive. It was dark. One of those nights you got where the night time seems to surround you. There were booby traps everywhere."

Suddenly his foothold gave way: "I fell into a shell hole. It was full of arms, legs, ears, dead rats – a lot of dead, rotten flesh. I was up to my armpits in water. I can't describe the smell flesh and mud mixed up together.

"I turned to my left, and that's what saved me. It got shallower to the left, and I was able to lift myself out of the water. I lay there in the dark, not daring to move, cold and with my uniform stinking. I was frightened. I was scared. I was so relieved when it finally got light and I could move."

Despite such a gruesome experience, Allingham counted himself fortunate: "I think I had an angel hanging over my shoulders. I still do, I hope."

Henry Allingham was born on June 6 1896 in Clapham, South London. His father died when he was 14 months old, and his mother and grandparents brought him up.

He attended the London County Council School in South Lambert Road, which he left to become a trainee surgical instrument-maker at St Bartholomew's Hospital. However, the work was uninteresting, and he soon moved to a coachbuilder specialising in car bodies for Foden and Scammel.

Allingham tried to enlist on August 3 1914. But when he turned up at the Royal Engineers' recruiting office in Piccadilly, desperate to be a dispatch rider, he found 200 other men in a queue in front of him. Even though he had his own Triumph motorbike, he was told there was no chance.

His mother's illness persuaded to him to stay at home for a few more months, but after she died, he saw a plane over Chingford, and thought: "That's for me".

Joining the Royal Naval Air Service, he was rated Mechanic First Class on September 21 1915, and sent to Sheerness to complete his training with 14 other recruits, who included two Australians, a New Zealander and an American.

Stationed for two years at Great Yarmouth, Allingham maintained seaplanes, but frequently cadged rides in aircraft, occasionally sitting in the navigator's seat on fights over the North Sea.

Later, at Bacton, Norfolk, he lit flares to make landing strips for night fighters which were hunting German airships. Among the pilots whom Allingham remembered with great affection were Lieutenant Egbert Cadbury, DSC, DFC, and his commanding officers

Lieutenant-Commander Wyndor de Courcy Ireland and Lieutenant-Commander Douglas "Snakey" Oliver.

He recalled watching Oliver win the DSO in June 1916 for his single-handed attack on German cruisers which were shelling Great Yarmouth; on another occasion, he helped Christopher Wood tie himself into a BE2c so that he could loop the first loop.

Allingham was disappointed when King George V, on a visit to the station, spoke to several sailors but never got to him in the line.

He undertook several patrols in seaplane tenders which each carried a Tabloid, a small aircraft Tommy Sopwith had designed to win the Schneider trophy race in 1914. In naval service, the Tabloid had a detachable rear fuselage which Allingham had to assemble before hoisting out the aircraft on a derrick for take-off.

On patrols Allingham preferred the paddle steamer Brocklesbury which had better accommodation than the trawlers, where the bunks were in the fish-hold. On May 31 1916, he was in the armed trawler Kingfisher, whose seaplane was shadowing the German High Seas Fleet.

His memories were of British Dreadnoughts steaming past with their huge bow-waves, followed by the whole fleet, line astern. The shells from the Germans came straight for the ship, but they bounced right over the top "like ducks-and-drakes."

Allingham was not aware that he had taken part in an epic sea battle until Kingfisher returned to Great Yarmouth, where he heard the vicar offer a prayer of thanks for the "great victory of Jutland".

In June 1917 he helped form 12 Naval Air Squadron, flying Sopwith Pups, Triplanes and Camels, and was sent to France as reinforcements for the Western Front. 12 NAS was a training squadron, based at Petit Synthe, which in November became involved in operations over Passchendaele, the third major offensive of Ypres. He remembered "dotting around places like Hellfire Corner, Plugstreet [Ploegstert] and Pop [Poperinghe] looking for the remains of aircraft that had been shot down."

It was on one of these visits to the trenches that he fell into a shell hole at night.

Transferring to the RAF when it was formed on April 1 1918, Allingham was demobilised in 1919, and then went to work for Ford until his retirement. During the Second World War, this was a reserved occupation.

He tried to forget his wartime memories, never going to reunions or joining old comrades' associations until 2003, when he was asked to lead the parade at the Remembrance Sunday ceremony at the Cenotaph.

As a concession to his age he was allowed to ride down Whitehall in an open-top 1911 Austin car at the head of the former servicemen and women who marched silently past the monument to the Glorious Dead. He was awarded the French Legion d'Honneur to add to his 1918 Victory and 1914-1918 campaign medals.

Wearing what had become his trademark crimson bow tie the following year, Allingham was applauded by the crowd as he insisted on standing to place a wreath, with only a little help from his escort.

He also crossed the Channel for the first time in 85 years to unveil a memorial to those who fell on the 90th anniversary of the war that was supposed to end all wars.

"I never went back," he said. "I wanted to forget it. I did forget. But, of course, there are some things you can never forget. The veterans' association asked me if I would go back. I didn't want to show any disrespect to my old pals. I had to go for them." He was presented with a gold medal and the freedom of St Omer.

Henry Allingham outlived his wife Dorothy, a nurse whom he met while he was in hospital with a cracked rib at Yarmmouth during the first war and their two daughters; his grandchildren tried to persuade him to move to United States, but he insisted on remaining in his flat overlooking the front at Eastbourne, saying "I love England".

He would attribute his longevity to "cigarettes, whisky and wild, wild women" then add that there had only been one woman for him – his beloved wife, who died in 1970.

The BBC presents a short tribute to his life in pictures here.

Mr Allingham was much celebrated during his later years, and rightly so.

With his passing, however, we should not forget the sacrifices that people of his generation made for us and this country. When he was asked how he'd like to be remembered his reply was:

"I don't. I want to be forgotten. Remember the others."

What he meant was that we should remember all of those who never came back - those who couldn't dream of seeing their 21st birthdays, never mind reaching 100.

In that sentiment, he reveals just what was so humbling about him. He represents everything which was once great about this country.

Rest in peace, Henry.

Troops in Afghanistan 'Fighting for U.K.'s Future'

Yesterday say eight British soldiers die in Afghanistan in a 24 hour period.

The total casualty rate now exceeds the Iraq war, standing at 184.

Understandably, many are now questioning the purpose of Britain's presence in the benighted country - but David Miliband has the answers:

David Miliband warned that Britain would not be safe until it had built sufficient security in Afghanistan.

He said that it was essential to prevent Afghanistan from again becoming an "incubator for terrorism" and a launch pad for attacks on the UK and the West.

Mr Miliband said that it had been a "grievous few days" for the families of those who had been killed, for the Army, and for the whole country.

"We know that they are engaged in a very, very difficult mission and we have a responsibility to engage the country in understanding that mission and supporting it," he told the BBC Radio 4 Today programme.

"This is about the future of Britain because we know that the badlands of Afghanistan and Pakistan – that border area – have been used to launch terrible attacks, not just on the United States, but on Britain as well.

"We know that until we can ensure there is a modicum of stability and security provided by Afghan forces for their own people, we are not going to be able to be secure in our own country."

Well - finally I understand why this obscene, disingenuous liar was tipped as the next leader of the Labour Party.

First of all - we are never going to secure freedom in Afghanistan, at least not as we understand the term.

It is still a violent hellhole riddled with Islamists over a hundred years after we left with our tail between our legs last time; doubtless it still will be a hundred years after we have left after this effort.

I think attacking the Taliban was a very reasonable response to the 9/11 attacks; but I feel we have done all we can. All that is going to change, if anything, is what the Islamic militia we leave in charge is calling itself.

Now our young men die to prop up a government which wished to legalise spousal rape and has no jurisdiction outside the presidential compound under the auspices of this somehow being 'freedom' or 'liberal democracy'.

I admit, if our troops left it is perfectly conceivable that Afghanistan and then Pakistan could become 'a crucible of terror' (more so, because they already are); but we can minimise the extent to which this is our problem by actually securing our borders.

This is the issue which shows up Brown, Miliband and the rest for what they are; they do not care about this country. If they did, they would devise an effective immigration policy and actually worry about who comes here and who stays before sending its young men to die in far off deserts.

What, on a practical level, is likely to make Britain safer; our young men being blown to bits in Helmand, or tracking down the 300 or so Pakistani students who disappeared after their visas expired from one university last year?

British army foot patrols to extend the authority of the Afghan government in Kabul, or looking at some of the 2,000 or so illegal immigrants who try to sneak into Britain from Calais daily, many of them Afghans?

Sadly, unless we secure our borders and clamp down on those on our own soil who wish us ill in any sense, I'm not sure that Britain has a future. Here is an extract from an article by Saira Khan, a Pakistani born in Britain:

The Government has estimated that there are up to 570,000 illegal immigrants in Britain, but with so many visas being applied for with malicious intent, that figure could run to millions. Not that there is any attempt by the Government to chase it down.

Although there are no official figures for the number of overstayers from Pakistan, or from anywhere else for that matter, there is enough anecdotal evidence to show that it is a growing problem. Between 2003 and 2006, at Portsmouth University alone, 379 students from Pakistan were offered places but failed to register.

Considering that the number of Pakistani students in Britain has more than doubled since 2001, from fewer than 5,000 then to 10,600 today, the national figure of absconders could run into several thousand.

Immigration Minister Phil Woolas has admitted that the student visa system is ‘the major loophole in Britain’s border controls’, but I think the entire visa system is one big loophole.

If the U.K. is to have a future, this is what needs to be fought.

U.S. Soldier Reported Captured in Afghanistan

Various news reports today suggest that an American soldier has been captured alive by militants in Afghanistan - an unprecedented occurrence in the war so far.

Whilst the Taliban and assorted Afghan militias have captured aid workers, journalists and other civilians in the past, this is the first time that an Allied soldier has been captured alive.

From the LA Times:

An American soldier is believed to have been captured by insurgents in eastern Afghanistan, the U.S. military said today.

The soldier has been missing from his unit since Tuesday, said Army Capt. Elizabeth Mathias. Citing concern for his safety, she did not disclose the circumstances of his disappearance, explain how military authorities had concluded that he was being held, or say whether there had been any communication with insurgents about the missing man.

The brief military statement was not definitive about a capture having occurred; Mathias said the soldier was "believed" to have fallen into the hands of "militant forces."

There was no immediate public claim of responsibility from any insurgent group. A number of militant commanders, not all of them affiliated with the Taliban, operate in eastern Afghanistan.

However, the Reuters news agency quoted a senior Taliban commander, Mullah Sangeen, as saying the soldier was captured this week as he left a base in Paktika province on patrol.

If the reports are borne out and an American soldier was seized alive, it would be an unprecedented coup for the insurgents. They could exploit a capture for propaganda purposes or demand concessions such as a prisoner exchange.

The news comes on the day that U.S. forces have launched a massive operation to clear southern Helmand Province of Taliban influence:

Thousands of US Marines stormed into an Afghan river valley by helicopter and land early today, launching the first major military offensive of Barack Obama's presidency with an assault deep into Taleban-held territory.

Operation Khanjar, which the Marines call simply "the decisive op", is intended to seize virtually the entire lower Helmand River valley, a heartland of the Taleban insurgency and the world's biggest heroin producing region.

It is the biggest operation launched by the US Marines Corps since the retaking of Fallujah in 2004 and seeks to break the grinding stalemate between Nato forces and the Taleban in the province.

US commanders stressed this morning their desire to move quickly and decisively with overwhelming force to seize the entire southern Helmand River valley from Taleban control ahead of the delayed Afghan Presidential elections on August 20.

"Where we go we will stay, and where we stay, we will hold, build and work toward transition of all security responsibilities to Afghan forces," Marine Corps Brigadier General Larry Nicholson, commander of the Marines in southern Afghanistan said in a statement.

He told his staff before the operation: "The intent is to go big, go strong and go fast, and by doing so we are going to save lives on both sides."

The 4,000 men from US 2nd Marine Expeditionary Brigade enjoy the support of their own integrated air wing, giving them more air support than the entire 8,000 strong British force has had at its disposal.

The US force went into action with the support of 650 Afghan troops, an operation by foreign ground troops on a scale unseen in Afghanistan since the Soviet withdrawal in 1989.

The operation would have an initial highly aggressive stage lasting 36 hours, AFP reported.

Also reported today was the news that two British soldiers died yesterday in an explosion. The soldiers, from the Welsh Guards and the Royal Tank Regiment, were on patrol near Lashkar Gah in Helmand province on Wednesday afternoon.

***Update 3rd July 12:12***

One of the British soldiers killed was Lieutenant-Colonel Rupert Thorneloe, 39, the commanding officer of the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards.

He is the most senior British soldier to die in action since Lieutenant-Colonel 'H' Jones was shot dead during the Falklands campaign in 1982.

Trooper Joshua Hammond, 19, was also killed when th Viking armoured vehicle was blown up. Six soldiers were wounded, some critically.

171 British soldiers have now died in Afghanistan.

British Troops Abused by Militant Arab Demonstrators

The homecoming parade of 3 Commando Royal Marines was almost ruined by militant protesters today, at least one of whom had to be dragged back and restrained by police after running at the marching troops.

There are some discrepancies in the newspaper article on this. Firstly, although two of the protesters are those who permanently camp in Parliament Square to protest about the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, others seemed to be anti-Israel/pro-Palestine.

Despite this, the article simply mentions 'anti-war' demonstrators.

Some of the protesters were waving "Palestinian" flags, 'free Palestine' banners, and appeared to be Arab Muslims. Interestingly the article says that the protesters were waving Iraqi flags, but the pictures quite clearly show "Palestinian" ones - the Iraqi flag does not contain a red triangle.

From the Daily Mail:

A homecoming march by Royal Marines returning after a bloody tour of Afghanistan was hijacked yesterday by anti-war protesters.

Five militants waving Iraqi flags screamed 'genocide' and 'not in my name' at soldiers from 3 Commando as they marched from Buckingham Palace to Parliament.

Some of the protesters also tried to use a megaphone to drown out the Royal Marines band but were beaten when onlookers began to clap and cheer to overcome them.

One of the militants had to be restrained by police until the 120 servicemen and women had gone into the House of Commons, where they were met by Armed Forces Minister Bill Rammell and other dignitaries.

However, it proved the only slight on what was a special day for 3 Commando, which has suffered more fatalities than any other brigade on their last tour.

Some 33 of the 3,500 elite unit died, and hundreds more were injured on the gruelling six-month winter tour in southern Helmand province.

Despite the demonstrations, the soldiers were cheered on by dozens of well-wishers and tourists who gathered outside Wellington barracks in London.

Lance Corporal Frank Wyatt, 25, from Oxford, said: 'People are increasingly appreciating what we do and it's a real boost to know the country is behind you.'

Police said the five protesters maintain a constant presence in Parliament Square.

3 Commando Brigade Royal Marines is the elite fighting force of the Royal Navy.

The 3,500-strong brigade is an amphibious rapid reaction force, highly trained for combat in extreme weather conditions and on difficult terrain.

On the last tour they were involved in operation Sond Chara, or Red Dagger, the biggest offensive since the Iraq invasion of 2003 which involved attacking insurgent strongholds near Nad-e-Ali in Helmand.

The troops also took part in operation Diesel, a raid on a Taliban drug factory in Upper Sangin Valley.

The number of UK troops killed on operations in Afghanistan since 2001 stands at 169, after a soldier from the 1st Battalion Welsh Guards was killed in an explosion in Helmand province on 19 June.

A small crowd gathered outside Wellington barracks to cheer on the troops as they marched down Birdcage Walk, through Parliament Square and through the Carriage Gate to the Royal Marines Band.

One young boy waved a union jack while others including tourists from Germany, the U.S. and Japan clapped and cheered.

Lance Corporal Frank Wyatt, 25, from Oxford, said the support made a difference.

He said: 'People need to appreciate what we're doing and the more they know about it the better.'

Medical Assistant Roxanne Starsmeare, 23, from Taunton in Somerset, had just completed her first six-month tour of Afghanistan.

She said: 'For the last three months I was one of the front-line medics and treated everything from cut knees to troops who had been seriously injured, of which there were unfortunately a lot.

'It was hard work but I learned a lot and made some good friends. I think people are increasingly appreciating what we do an it's a real boost to know the country is behind you.'

Onlooker Sterling Lacey, 73, a retired teacher, said: 'It's the last we can do to show our gratitude for all they've been through.'

Last weekend some 30,000 people turned out to show support for the troops on Armed Forces Day. 3 Commando will be holding a day of remembrance for fallen colleagues in Exeter on Saturday, where they are based, and some 1,000 personnel from the Brigade are expected to attend.

The five who shouted abuse are protestors who maintain a constant presence in Parliament Square to demonstrate against the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Scotland Yard said there were no arrests.

Once again, the troops are abused on their own soil, once again the police stand by and do nothing, whilst the media barely deems the event worthy of coverage, whilst attempting to mislead us with what is reported.

The anti-war movement is steadily being hijacked by anti-Western and more importantly Islam-orientated forces.

This is more than just a political protest - it is an act of defiance, of dominance.

All involved should be arrested and stripped of their British citizenship - they do not deserve to be served by or associated with these brave soldiers.

Afghan Illegal in Sandhurst Military Academy

As young British men are dying with alarming frequency in Afghanistan, British Army officers bumped into an Afghan in a rather unexpected place - Sandhurst Military Academy.

The illegal immigrant was on a coach full of officers - but was only noticed after the vehicle was inside the gates of the elite military academy.

From the Times:

The Army today launched an investigation into its security measures after an illegal immigrant from Afghanistan managed to get inside Sandhurst military academy by stowing away on a coach full of officers.

The man is thought to have slipped on board the coach at Calais as it carried troops back to Britain from 28 Engineer Regiment’s barracks in Hamlyn, Germany.

He was finally spotted crouching in a stairwell next to the bus toilet by two junior officers as they got off the coach. By that time the bus was already inside the gates of the academy at Camberley, Surrey.

An MoD spokeswoman said: “We can confirm that an individual was discovered on board a coach within the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst, having stowed onboard during the coach’s transit from Germany.

The man, who claimed to be a minor but is believed to be older, was arrested by Thames Valley police and handed over to the UK Border Agency.

A UK Border Agency spokesman said: “As soon as this individual was discovered he was taken into custody, detained and finger-printed so he could be checked against a range of criminal and immigration watch-lists.

“People with no right to be in the UK will be removed at the earliest opportunity.”

An Aston Villa Supporting Taliban Found

British troops fighting in Afghanistan have found a dead Taliban insurgent with a tattoo of the Aston Villa FC emblem.

From the Mail:

Army top brass fear the Taliban is recruiting Brummie Muslims to fight in Afghanistan after a dead insurgent was found - with an Aston Villa FC tattoo.

Military spies have also reported hearing Taliban fighters talking with distinctive Birmingham accents over the airwaves.

A senior military source said: 'It's been well-known for some time among soldiers in Afghanistan that at least one Aston Villa fan was fighting for the Taliban.

'A body of one of the men was found to have an AVFC tattoo on it.

'We've known for a long time that foreign fighters, many with thick Birmingham accents, have been recruited to fight against us for the Taliban.

'Some of the linguistics specialists have picked up West Midland and Manchester accents too.'

The Foreign Office yesterday confirmed RAF radio operators had reported hearing Midlands accents while listening in to Taliban fighters talking on the ground.

An insider said: 'There will always be a number of people who are radicalised in this country and want to leave the UK.

'The details of Aston Villa fans in the Taliban does not shock or surprise me.

'We have never had any hard and fast evidence to tie all of these snippets of information together, but we are sure they equate to a wider ongoing radicalism in the UK.'

A spokesman for the Foreign Office said: 'Some young Taliban fighters have been heard with strong Black Country accents.

'Wherever there is any firm evidence of Brits going abroad to wage jihad we work with governments to stop them.

'There is a long-term set of work with the governments of Pakistan and Afghanistan to look at issues of radicalisation both in the UK and abroad.

'It is important that British Muslim communities make clear that they reject this kind of activity.'

But don't let this distract you - the most important thing in Britain today is preventing any dissenting voices on immigration and multiculturalism being heard - with violence if necessary.

If anything sums up the criminal insanity of our immigration policies, it is surely this - young men given everything by this country going to Afghanistan in the hope of killing and maiming our troops.

It should be beyond belief - but is it?

Anniversary of the D-Day Landings

Commemorations for those who died in and those who survived the D-Day landings, the largest invasion fleet the world has seen, have been going on since yesterday.

Yesterday British paratroops were honoured by a German Bundeswehr band and cheered by French veterans and civilians. These men were dropped ahead of the landing beaches a few hours before the main assault to capture bridges and neutralise concrete gun emplacements.

Of 750 men from 9 Para dropped to spike the gun batteries at Merville, just 150 actually reached the target, many of them wounded. They still managed to destroy the guns before they could decimate British forces landing on Sword Beach, however.

To honour them, men of the current Parachute Regiment did a jump, some from a Dakota of the era.

At midnight the men of the Ox and Bucks light infantry who landed by glider to capture the crucial Pegasus Bridge over the Caen Canal were commemorated.

This was followed by a huge firework display all along the 60 mile front of invasion beaches were so many British, Americans and Canadians lost their lives.

Over 17,000 Britons were killed during the invasion.

All week veterans of each nation have been honouring each other; taking flags and banners to war cemeteries to remember fallen comrades in moments of quiet reflection, interspersed with applause and tears from crowds of onlookers.

Some amazing stories have come to light; here is the tale of Charlie Truman, 91, whose life was saved by a framed photograph of his wife Joyce.

Grandfather Charlie Truman, now 91, survived a machine gun attack on the beaches of Normandy thanks purely to the silver-framed photograph.

He was one of 150,000 Allied troops who landed on the shores of Northern France on June 6 1944.

As a 26-year-old infantryman with the Suffolk Regiment, he was one of the first soldiers to brave shells and mines of German-occupied territory.

A mile inland from Sword beach, Charlie was mown down in a burst of machine gun fire as his company stormed a German stronghold with fixed bayonets.

But the bullet flying towards his chest was deflected by the silver frame holding a picture of his young wife Joyce - that Charlie had stashed next to his heart just hours before.

Speaking from his home in Crowland, Lincs., Charlie said luck and love had combined to save his life that day.

He said: 'I was darned if I wasn't going to have that picture of Joyce with me in the battle.

'The bullet hit a corner of the silver frame and deflected through the arm of my tunic. The doctors told me later that it definitely saved my life.

'It was only much later when I'd recovered that I saw the damage to the picture and realised I'd be dead if I hadn't been carrying it.'

Charlie and Joyce met and courted at local dances in Crowland before marrying on Christmas Day in 1940.

During the war Charlie carried a photo of Joyce with him in an envelope, but was given a silver frame to keep it in by a family he billeted with in Weymouth just before D-Day.

As the troops made their way across the Channel they were told to leave their packs in a heap on the boat.

But Charlie could not bear to risk losing his beloved photo, so on a last minute impulse tucked it in his tunic for safe keeping.

He said: 'There was no guarantee I would get my pack back. I don't remember being scared but I wanted Joyce with me.

'I didn't know that it was going to make the difference between life and death.'

The nine-inch by four-inch solid silver frame still bears the mark of where a tracer bullet aimed directly at Charlie's heart deflected off the metal and hit his arm instead.

Another bullet caught him in the lung but he was picked up by army medics and ferried back to the Royal Hospital Haslar in Portsmouth.

There he hovered between life and death and doctors sent five-months pregnant Joyce a telegram to say her husband was seriously ill and could die.

Charlie was even taken off resuscitation and read the last rites, before the thought of his unborn child pulled him through.

In hospital, he showed Joyce his photo and it was only then that the couple realised the bullet-scared frame had saved his life.

They went on to spend 61 years of married life and have two daughters together before Joyce's death in 2001.

The frame now sits in pride of place in the regiment's official museum in Bury St Edmunds in honour of her memory.

Colonel Tony Slater of the Royal Anglian Regiment, which was created in 1964 after the Suffolk and Norfolk regiments merged, said Charlie's story was incredible.

He said: 'It is a fantastic bit of history and another important part of the story of the Suffolk regiment.

'When they landed on D-Day their objective was to take a hill three miles inland, codenamed Hillman after the car, going uphill in the open air towards heavily fortified Germans.

'What started with Charlie Truman being wounded and the luck of the photo frame saving him went through to extraordinary acts of bravery by many of his comrades that day.

'The regiment was in the thick of heavy fighting in Normandy and Charlie was one of the lucky ones.'

Colonel Slater said of the 650-strong battalion that landed on D-Day around 120 were killed and three of four times that many were injured.

He added: 'It is incredible talking to these men who survived how much was down to pure luck.

'It was a case of the man standing 10 yards away got hit by a bullet and they did not. There was no rhyme or reason to it.'

Five D-Day veterans and 91 serving members of the Royal Anglian will attend a ceremony on Hillman hill in Normandy tomorrow to commemorate those who died.

Frail Charlie, who suffers poor eyesight, will visit Crowland war memorial and mark the day in the company of fellow veterans.

For me, this sums up everything. A hundred thousand individual stories locked together to make history. It is surprising just how much is down to luck and chance.

God bless, Charlie, and God bless each and every one of those men who fought for freedom that day - especially those who paid the ultimate price and didn't come back to tell their tale.