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War
and Peace
World War II
I cannot recall a summer with war so much in our minds. We
joined our veterans to celebrate with pride and joy the freedom
they won in the Second World War in Europe, over Japan and
in Burma. The magnificent Service of Thanksgiving in Salisbury
Cathedral, The Royal British Legion Parade at our Salisbury
Cenotaph followed by the Service in Thomas’s Church and
the March through the City, the British Legion Concert in the
City Hall – all who took part celebrated sixty years
of comparative peace in Europe and remembered the sacrifices
made as well as the glorious victories.
Nor did we forget the millions of civilians directly involved
in the war effort, very many of whom also lost their lives.
Today in S. Wiltshire more than half of MoD employees are civilians
and I salute them, too.
Current conflicts
With our local military community we are reminded every day
of the continuing conflict in Iraq, the operations in Afghanistan,
in the Balkans and elsewhere. Nearer to home, we hold our breath
for our fellow British Citizens in Northern Ireland and HM
Forces and civilians who protect them.
Very many of us in Salisbury have been touched in one way
or another by the terrorist bombings in London this summer.
Let us remember that much of the forensic work that has helped
to identify those responsible has its roots in our local defence
scientific communities here in South Wiltshire.
Foreigners who seek to kill our people and to damage and destroy
us, envy us our freedom and prosperity, are denied the peace
and safety we enjoy under our ancient system of justice and
the rule of law, and reject or are refused the democratic way
we govern ourselves. That some of the terrorists are British
born and bred is alarming. Where have we gone wrong?
In the House of Commons we must be very, very wary of eroding
our freedoms in the name of ‘tightening up security’.
The flexibility of our unwritten constitution means that the
law is a living thing, evolving to meet each new challenge,
reforming to recognise new knowledge and new attitudes in our
communities. This is something the British really have got
right in the eyes of the world. So most nations, in their own
way, follow our example. Some people, in cold-blooded fury,
want us dead.
For the time being the political name-calling has stopped.
We stand together in your name. When Parliament resumes will
it be business as usual? I hope very much that many of us will
instead be working out where we’ve gone wrong and how
we can identify the needs and aspirations that are missing
from the current political agenda, thus driving away millions
of citizens of all ages from the democratic process. Apathy
is indeed the enemy.
Ted Heath
One man whose battles are over is Sir Edward Heath. People
still ask me why he came to Salisbury. When the Government
Chief Whip asked me, back in 1984, if I would take on the traditional
task of unofficial Parliamentary Private Secretary to our former
Prime Minister, I was quick to see that the advantages would
outweigh the problems. I learnt an enormous amount from him
and I am grateful.
One day Ted told me how he regretted having nowhere he could
call home. He said he’d asked all the estate agents over
many years but the right house never came up. He just wanted
something simple – not too far from London, in the country
but with city facilities, near good international transport
links, close to his beloved south coast. Somewhere big enough
for his collections and archives but cosy, too. A house of
distinction to entertain the good and the great and appropriate
for a first-time buyer!
The following Sunday in the Cathedral I bumped into a childhood
friend whose mother had lived in Arundells and had died recently.
The family had decided to move on. The house was on the market.
I picked up a brochure on Monday morning and when I got up
to London I took it straight to Ted. When I returned to my
flat after the House rose that night, at about midnight, Ted
phoned me and said, “I hope they haven’t sold my
house”. I brought him down to Salisbury that Wednesday
where he fell in love with Arundells. The rest is history.
Ted loved that house and garden. It gave him enormous pleasure.
He made it his own. Now it expresses so much of his personality,
what he believed in, what he enjoyed in art and music and what
it means to be English.
Ted Heath’s political agenda was indeed controversial – that
is what made his contribution to our national life so important.
Friends and adversaries alike will find at Arundells the personal
record of a great Englishman, a great achiever in all he did,
who loved his Queen and country and who found in Salisbury
great solace in old age and an English city of which he was
so proud. It was my good fortune to help to make it happen.
Robert Key MP
Salisbury, 1st August 2005 |
