4 of my brothers served in the British Army., my late husband, and 5 Nephews.

My father and uncles served in WWII, and my mother in the Land Army.

A good army friend of mine was blow up by a bomb which has left him disfigured and blind.

Two of my nephews, Andrew and Liam, barely 18 at the time, served in Afghanistan. One never recovered from the trauma and went on to commit suicide, the other continues to suffer severe mental health problems and will never be the young man he was, or have a quality of life he deserves, for fighting for his country. We often forget the sacrifices service men and women make because they are not in the media on a daily basis. Their physical and psychological trauma is not in our faces, like some other banal coverage we see on a daily basis in the news/media.

But they are there, in the background looking after us, making sacrifices, putting their lives on the line. We salute you and thank you from the bottom of our hearts. Thank you for our freedom and keeping us safe.