Last updated 19:29, Thursday, 13 November 2008

THE sight of Tracey Wilson and son Leo placing a cross on the cenotaph in Workington last Sunday brought home the truth that war is neither glorious nor ever far from home.

They were remembering Kingsman Danny Wilson, who was killed in Iraq.

Others present at poignant remembrance services throughout West Cumbria were recalling their own loved ones.

But what was most noticeable, and what many veterans commented on, was the attendance of so many young people at the ceremonies.

Battles in Iraq and Afghanistan have certainly brought home the harsh realities of war and sacrifice to a generation who many of us probably thought would never understand.

As Lance Corporal Nicholson, 15, of Workington’s Army Cadets, said: “It is important we remember the sacrifices that they made for all of us.”

It is right that we pull emotion out of the numbing statistics of war; right that we try to place a human context on our ravaged history.

For every group of youngsters who show their respect, there are unfortunately others who probably don’t know the meaning of the word: the yobs who attacked funfair guards in Maryport last week spring to mind.

But, thankfully, most of our young people show a deep understanding of what previous generations – and now unfortunately many of their own contemporaries – have had to sacrifice.

Remembrance certainly has its place in the modern world.