Campaign News

L’Etape du Tour – Monday 20^th July 2009

Chris Hill will be tackling the gruelling 105 mile L’Etape du Tour at the mythical Mont Ventoux on Monday July 20th, to help raise NDM Campaign funds.  He will follow the exact route of stage 20 of the 2009 Tour de France.

Mont Ventoux “The Giant of Provence” is seldom visited by the Tour de France so when it was chosen chosen for L’Etape du Tour, Chris jumped at the chance to ride.

Although Chris never served in the Military his Grandfather did during WW2.  Chris said “ Our Armed Forces do a fantastic job, I very nearly joined up but circumstances dictated I took another route.  I have studied the claim for an NDM and as a member of the public believe it is needed and long over due”

The Campaign team are thrilled Chris has chosen to cycle on behalf of the NDM.  The route is challenging even for the most hardened rider.  Chris hopes that through his efforts he can generate pledges of support from all quarters.

Please send your pledge to n-d-m@hotmail.co.uk or ask for a sponsorship form.  We hope you will all support Chris’s effort.

The stage route starts from the city of Montelimar, on the Rhone valley and features four smaller climbs (3rd & 2nd category climbs (Côte de Citelle 19km, Col d'Eye 70km, the Col de Fontaube 92km, and the Col de Notre-Dame des Abeilles 126km) before a long descent to Bedoin and the 21.5km climb to Mont Ventoux.

The main climbs:

• 19km Côte de Citelle 5.2km at 3.9% (3rd Category)
• 70km Col d'Eye 6.3km at 5% (2nd Category)
• 92km Col de Fontaube 4.7km at 4.3% (3rd Category)
• 126km Col de Notre-Dame des Abeilles 7.8km at 4% (2nd Category)
• 172km Mont Vebntoux 21.2km at 7.6%

 All cheques made payable to: National Defence Medal Society

Please give generously

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/SnatchLandRover/

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/HMFORCESTHANKS/

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/justice4gurkhas/

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/militarypension/

http://petitions.number10.gov.uk/Cyprus-Medals/

It is now 2009 and the battle to secure a National Defence Medal for Veterans of the British Armed Forces goes on. Despite the worst that the ‘abominable NO men’ of the Honours Committee and the MoD can throw up in the way of obstacles and denials, it has become quite clear that there is no such thing as an extant protocol that would deny the bestowal of such a medal. Nor is there any precedent for denial, quite the reverse in point of fact, as the GSM of WWll so clearly demonstrates. In point of fact, every single argument that has been postulated by the people who are denying the right of an honourable medal that is available to all Veterans, has been shown to be quite without foundation. Contradictions and examples abound to clearly illustrate that every so called ‘tradition’, ‘convention’ or ‘protocol’ has at one time or another been casually ignored when it was deemed convenient to do so by the ‘establishment’. 

As an Australian citizen, I see before me the example set by the Australian Defence Medal, which now ensures that EVERY Australian Veteran has a tangible sign of a grateful Governments appreciation for time and service rendered for the general good. This medal has been received with universal acclaim and is so revered by the general public that requests have been made by NoK for posthumous award of the ADM on behalf of deceased Veterans. More to the point, these requests have been met, so that the widow/widower or heir can have the medal to mount or even wear (on the right breast) at official parades. This is in direct contrast to the dog in the manger attitude being shown by those whose remit includes the awarding of medals for British Veterans.

The ANZAC Day phenomenon in Australia has made the whole of the populace aware of just what is owed to Veteran’s, it is not a celebration of wars and victories but rather of many generations of men and women who have stood by the colours when the nation needed them. It honours the sacrifices, not just of life and limb, but also of time and service as and when required. None are forgotten, all are honoured. In Cities, Suburbs and the smallest of ‘Bush’ communities, Dawn parades and later on, Marching parades are held. The whole community is involved, with every generation marching to honour those who have served, the streets are lined with spectators and the oldest of the Veterans are driven at the head of the parade in restored military vehicles. It is moving and very, very inspiring, as the ranks form into an open square and the ceremonies commence. I feel a great glow of pride when I see and experience an ANZAC Day event.

This is something that Britain needs to experience too, a date (perhaps the 6^th June) needs to be set aside to honour ALL Veterans and a name needs to be coined that will suit the day, the occasion and the need for an outpouring of emotion for all who attend, whether as participant or spectator. Thanksgiving Day has already been bespoke by the Americans but something along those lines needs to be coined and kept inviolate for that special purpose.

On that special day and indeed on any memorial occasion, Britain’s Veterans need to have a proper medal, approved by her most gracious Majesty Queen Elizabeth the second with which to mark their participation as members of the Armed Forces. The Queen herself is a Veteran and I feel quite certain that she would be delighted to see her loyal and devoted servants awarded a proper token of mutual respect for their unflagging love of Queen and Country.

It is time for those that cling stubbornly to the antiquated and outmoded ‘customs’ and thought processes that impede the granting of an NDM for Britons to be shaken out of their smug and complacent nonsense. Britain will soon be the only country in the ‘civilised’ world that denies its Veterans a medal that specifically celebrates and acknowledges their service. That is a disgrace that cannot be allowed to continue. We, the Veterans so casually dismissed as being of little or no merit, are now on the march for OUR NDM and this is not a fight that we intend to lose! There is not a moment to lose either, because with every day that passes, one or more of our number will die unsung and unacknowledged.