As someone who spends a lot of their time interested in military themes, November 11th has a habit of making me feel uneasy. How easy would it be to say that my hobby glorifies or even perpetuates myths about war? We are of course all selective about what lessons can be learnt from the First World War. I know a number of gamers who would not even consider gaming the period and I have to say that I am one of them. You may of course reply that the Second World War was even more disasterous for humanity than the first but even though…….

The local war memorial was movingly decorated this year and the numbers of people impressive. The loss of so many brave souls obviously still resonates with us. There were moving tributes to local veterans in the park and a striking new bench. Do these people have any more of an understanding of the war than you or I? 

I defy anyone to be unmoved by the ceremony. The unwelcome advent of drone photography was a minor irritant – I could not help thinking that the military drone in the next war will perhaps be the machine gun of the First World War i.e. we are aware of their use but have underestimated their effects. My son laid a wreath on behalf of his school and quite a large proportion of the crowd followed us into the church and here I remembered why I’m not a regular church attender.

The sermon was awful. We were treated to a childlike summary of the rise of “strong men” around the world. Rather than be macho , we should remember the hardship faced by conscientious objectors! Weren’t these objectors ostracised and held in contempt by contemporary society? If the choice was facing gas and machine guns on the Western front or a prison cell, I think the conscientious objector was quite lucky. I personally can’t feel much sympathy for such people. I do believe that they are not honest. Why not declare that whatever someone was to threaten, they would not defend their nearest and dearest. Rather the pacifist should say that they are accepting of any regime foisted upon the country.

What an opportunity was missed by the sermon. We were warned of the military industrial complex that was propelling us to World War Three. I was incredulous at this point, how could an obviously intelligent person come up with this drivel. No thought to the disaster that interwar reluctance to arm visited upon Great Britain when the Second started. How was Nazism stopped? When the country faced the murderous Soviet regime, was the answer really to abandon our defences? The sermon also was such a missed opportunity, with a full church we were treated to this infantile thinking when he could really have spoken to us about meaning in life. Surely these soldiers were filled with exceptional self sacrifice. The one thing that strikes me is the absence of all that is trivial in modern life. Our hobby does present us with the chance to learn about real history and admire just what these people went through. A true story of their patriotism and heroism may even tear people away from their self obsession and anxiety in today’s world. The real problem for pacifists is when you meet real sadist, and then strong leadership may well be indespensible.