This year, as ever, HM Armed Forces have been very busy around the world, despite the challenges of the coronavirus pandemic, from maritime policing against drug runners in the Caribbean Sea to intercepting Russian warplanes off the coast of this country.
In the past few months HM Armed Forces personnel have been helping during the pandemic emergency and been instrumental in the speedy building of our Nightingale Hospitals and helping in the distribution of billions of items of Personal Protective Equipment supplies as well as staffing testing sites.
At all times, but particularly on Armed Forces Day, I celebrate and pay tribute to our servicemen and servicewomen, our military cadets, our reservists, and our veterans, and their families.
The day this year poignantly fell just days after the sad passing of the forces’ sweetheart, Dame Vera Lynn, whose iconic performances raised the spirits of the nation and our Armed Forces for generations.
Let us not forget the sacrifice and bravery of those who paid the ultimate price: young men and women who gave up their futures, loves, lives and dreams to ensure that the freedoms they once knew were protected; every war memorial in every village, every town and every city across our country is sacred and serves to remind us of the immeasurable gratitude that we afford to our armed forces, both past and present. The passage of time must never dim our collective recollections.
I want to take this opportunity to say how much we appreciate the work of Her Majesty’s Armed Forces and how much we support them in what they do to support us. They are our front line and our last line of defence. They are some of the best people, courageous, selfless and dutybound in service to their Queen and this country.
Over the years I have been MP for Northampton North I given tours of Parliament to military personnel, supported our Armed Forces in parades here in Northampton and been a guest at a military dinner held at Clare Street barracks. My most important duty of the year is the laying of a wreath on Remembrance Sunday at All Saints Church in Northampton, to commemorate all our fallen servicemen and women.
You can watch my Armed Forces Day 2020 video here: https://twitter.com/i/status/1276825194829623296.