Remembering those who fought for freedom in World War Two
This afternoon, my wife Vee and I were at Brookwood Military Cemetery, south west of London, for a ceremony to mark the 69th anniversary of the end of the Second World War in Europe. It was my first visit, but Vee has been once before.
Brookwood is the largest military cemetery in the UK with 5,000 graves of Commonwealth dead and 800 graves of other nationalities. We were there to attend a ceremony hosted by the Czech and Slovak Embassies, in conjunction with the Free Czechoslovak Air Force Association.
We had been invited because Vee’s father, Karel Kuttelwascher, was a Czech pilot who flew with the Royal Air Force in WWII including the Battle of Britain. You can find information on his exploits here and information on other Czech and Slovak RAF pilots here.
Past and present military personnel, together with relatives and friends, gathered at the imposing memorial to all the (then) Czechoslovaks who served with British forces during World War Two. There were several short speeches and the playing of the Czech, Slovak and British national anthems.
Czechoslovakia memorial at Brookwood
Vee and I found it a moving occasion. We always welcome an opportunity to acknowledge the wartime contribution of her father and all of us in Europe need to remember that the freedoms we enjoy today were won by the courage of so many men and women – many of whom paid with their lives – in the long and bloody fight against Nazi Germany.