Was it all worth it? A 100-year-old war veteran reflects on Remembrance Sunday
World War Two veteran Mervyn Kersh shared his views on the significance of Remembrance Sunday with LBC's Henry Riley. Now approaching 101 years old, Mr. Kersh served in the Royal Army Ordnance Corps during the war.
The importance of remembering
Mr. Kersh emphasized the value of remembrance traditions:
"I think it's very important. Because if you don't remember you're not alive. You learn nothing....Not we learnt much anyway."
Lessons from the war
Reflecting on the anniversary of D-Day and his wartime experience, he expressed his core lesson:
"The main lesson that I would teach is that bullies don't attack anyone who is stronger than them. Strong defence should be first."
He criticized successive governments for failing to apply these lessons:
"And by 'we', I mean governments - the successive governments. As I say, the most important thing is to be strong. It should come before anything else. It should before cheaper this, or freer that... the main thing is to have stronger defence than anyone else."
Summary
Mervyn Kersh’s reflections remind us that learning from history means prioritizing strength and remembering sacrifices to prevent future conflicts.
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