BBC News: Remembering the British 2009 War Casualties
Hats off to the BBC for its live TV coverage of the Memorial Service at the National Armed Forces Memorial in the Midlands of the remembrance service to honour the 119 service man and women who died for their country in 2009. It was a year of great loss for the British Armed Forces according to the BBC commentary accompanying the solemn pictures of wreath laying by friends and relatives.
Sitting in Crete watching BBC News TV on satellite reminded me of the importance in the BBC's role to ensure we do not forget those who fought and died for the rest of us!
This coverage followed hot on the heels of the 70th anniversary commemorations of the rescue from France in the Battle of Dunkirk of 330,000+ British and French combatants from generals to rank and file service men and women. Those days at the end of May 1940 enabled Britain to fight another day to win World War 2 eventually. BBC News was again on location in Dover and Calais, live, recounting the historic and momentous events of 1940.
The reason I mention all this is there are times when I think that those in today's media scene in Britain all too often forget to give prominent coverage of important and historic events, for which we would not be able to live the lives we do in freedom, if they had not happened.
While it is not necessary to have to fight in a war to be brave or to display our "Britishness" there is no doubt that our national broadcaster, the BBC plays a key role in maintaining awareness and understanding the importance of remembering this kind of event for today's generation, pre-occupied with computer games and other (for the most part) mindless technology. (How did we ever cope and live before computers and mobile phones were invented?)
I am glad the BBC performs its role so well as Britain's state broadcaster so that we are reminded: "lest we forget..."
Let us not lose sight then of the great events that have gotten we Brits to where we are today and the service men and woman who fight and died on our behalf.
In today's fast paced generation where we do not even sit down together as a family to have our main meal of the day, we as fellow citizens overlook and show respect to men and women who come out of the armed services after facing enemy action. In today's context that could be in Iraq, Afghanistan and other disputed hotspots around the world that threaten our very lifestyle from far.
Often all we do is ignore them at a time when they have to re-adjust to being back into an unforgiving civilian world. Let us restore the armed forces to their rightful place in our society and not demote them to being "just another job".
From Crete, Greece, this is a roundabout way of thanking the powers that be at the BBC Trust for ensuring that nationally important events of historical importance continue to be brought to the attention of the mainstream population through radio and TV broadcasts.
One of many BBC links: http://news.bbc.co.uk/local/kent/hi/people_and_places/nature/newsid_8692000/8692901.stm
Information
Share