I am fortunate to have been born into a generation who are lucky enough not to have had to go to war or been poor enough to know what its like to go to bed hungry.
My fathers generation lived through the horror of both of these things and to all intents and purposes it wasn’t that long ago. I was listening to an interview on Radio 4 with a 90 year old veteran who was a rear gunner in a Lancaster during the war. Listening him tell his story of what it was like to be shot down chilled me to the bone.
I felt an enormous feeling of gratitude toward this man who in his twenties along with many of his comrades who were not quite so lucky, risked everything to protect our way of life.
So next time you are stuck in traffic or your boss is giving you a hard time, bear a thought of how much you really have to complain about, and if like me you you wake up and open your eyes and all your bodily functions are all still working you are quids in already.
John D Eccles 