Birmingham MP hunting for war veterans to share stories

May 1 2009 by Jane Tyler, Birmingham Mail

A BIRMINGHAM MP is on the hunt for war veterans to share their stories with today’s teenagers.

Steve McCabe (Lab, Hall Green) has launched a campaign to honour wartime sacrifice.

It will culminate with a ceremony on July 3 to formally thank the veterans for their contributions. The date was chosen because it is close to the national Veterans Day of June 27.

Mr McCabe wants to hear from ex-soldiers who served in the Second World War, as well as former members of the Women’s Land Army and Bevin Boys.

Land girls were young women who worked on farms during the war, keeping Britain supplied with food.

Bevin Boys, named after wartime Government minister Ernest Bevin, were young British men conscripted to worked in coal mines from 1943 to 1948.

They were chosen at random from conscripts and volunteers. Around 48,000 of them performed largely unrecognised service in the mines with many not being released until years later.

“We have an enormous amount to thank our veterans for as they made sacrifices that we can only imagine,” he said.

“As the years go by it becomes ever more difficult for young people to put themselves in the shoes of previous generations and I hope this project will help bridge that divide.

“This campaign will enable us as a community to thank our veterans for what they did and keep their memories alive.”

Mr McCabe will put the veterans together with sixth formers from his constituency, who will write up their memories and publish them in a book to be distributed among schools.

Anyone with a story to tell should contact Mr McCabe at his Birmingham office on 0121 443 3878 or write to him at the House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA.