World War Two veterans are growing increasingly “worried” about the future of British values, finding support in Nigel Farage as they approach the final years of their lives.
Marking the 80th anniversary of VE Day, people across Britain came together in celebration. Among them were a few of the country’s last surviving World War Two veterans, who attended a commemorative lunch hosted by Reform UK leader Nigel Farage. A clear bond was observed between the veterans and the Clacton MP: a shared commitment to traditional British values – values many now feel are fading. “These people epitomise duty, they believed in family, they, for them, community and country was everything,” Mr Farage told the Daily Express. “They’re concerned about the direction, the drift of this country. And you know what they’re really concerned about? Values.”
The event aimed not only to remember the fallen, but to honour those who are still with us. Among the attendees were three remarkable veterans – Dorothea Barron, John King and Jim O’Dwyer, all of whom are 100 years old.
Despite the celebratory tone, many expressed concern for the country’s future. “And perhaps that’s why so many of them gravitate towards me in political terms because I believe in their values,” Mr Farage added.
The party leader blamed the erosion of patriotism on the influx of immigration, “with whom we have nothing in common”.
“Many of those that have come in the last 20 years do not share our values. And so in a sense, we become a little bit less British every day,” he said.
He argued that rekindling a sense of national pride must begin in the classroom, “by teaching kids what this country is.”
“We have to start teaching people about rather than teaching them to be ashamed of church and our past,” he said.
One of the guests, 100-year-old Dorothea Barron, joined the Women’s Royal Naval Service (Wrens) after leaving school when the war broke out. She expressed concern about modern society, saying men today have “no sense of respect” and that schools are failing to teach children about the realities of the Second World War.
“Our kids are not taught about the invasion. It’s wrong!” she exclaimed.
Ms Barron recalled witnessing the first soldiers returning from Dunkirk: “We saw these trains going by, with grubby, dirty and weary boys, and their eyes were dead. There was no life in them.”
She praised the “grit and the determination of the people” for defeating the Nazis, yet, she emphasised that “nobody wins a war, nobody.”
Fellow veteran John King, also 100, attended the VE Day celebration. A survivor of a torpedo attack during an effort to liberate Italy, Mr King has lived with the memory of losing over 150 comrades and watching a nearby hospital ship be sunk by Nazi forces.
He called on Brits to take a stand against the rise of evil in the UK.
He said: “Evil does exist and if good people do not step in to save it, they will triumph.”