Bombardment

It was an early start this morning as at 8am I attended the annual remembrance and wreath laying to commemorate the bombardment of Hartlepool by Imperial German Warships.

It was shortly after 8am on 16th December 1914 that three German heavy cruisers Blucher, Seydlitz and Moltke emerged from the mist approximately 4,000 yards of the coast of Hartlepool and opened fire. The bombardment continued for about three quarters of an hour, 1,150 shells were fired into the area killing 112 and wounding over 200. Amongst the casualties was Theo Jones, the first soldier to die on British soil in the Great War.

The service was lead by a Salvation Army Major, who ironically is a German by birth but who has served the Salvation Army in postings in many different Countries. The Major spoke of the need to reach out to other countries in peace and understanding. A sentiment I agree with 100%. As a member of the UK Independence Party I am often accused of being anti-European and a little Englander. Nothing could be farther from the truth. I love Europe and would never wish to see another war engulf the Continent and the whole world. However I don’t want the undemocratic European Union having control of my life. I don’t believe the only way to live in peace is by giving up our nationality and our British Culture. I am not a European Citizen, I am a British Subject.

Why can we celebrate every culture in the world and spend millions of pounds encouraging immigrants to this country to retain their own cultures but not protect our own. Why is it considered racist to expect if people from abroad want to live in this country then they should speak our language and abide by our cultural norms and standards?

I recently listened to a Radio Program where one of them studio guests was a “Cultural Diversity Trainer” and she described her job as training local government officers about other cultures so that they did not inadvertently give offence if they had to deal with people from other cultures. This seemed to be entirely the wrong way to go about it. Instead of expecting British Officials to adapt to foreign standards we should be explaining British Culture to people who come here so that they do not take offence where none is intended.