Commemorations begin today to mark the eightieth anniversary of Victory in Europe Day. A military procession will leave Parliament Square and head to Buckingham Palace – the start of four days of events that culminate on Thursday, actual VE Day, with a service of thanksgiving from Westminster Abbey.
Britain’s military top brass will be out in force, laying wreaths at memorials and talking in grave tones about the courage and sacrifice of the Second World War generation.
This generation was ethnically diverse, as highlighted in the set of commemorative stamps released by Royal Mail to mark VE Day. A recent poll found that 86% of the British public agree that the nation should ‘commemorate all those who fought for Britain in the World Wars, regardless of where they came from’. Only 3% disagreed.
Britain’s armed forces have long been diverse – a fact that appears to have eluded the top brass in recent years. A week after his appointment as the new Chief of the Defence Staff in 2021, Admiral Tony Radakin gave his inaugural address at the Royal United Services Institute.
One of his priorities, he declared, was to boost diversity in the army, navy and air force. ‘Because if we don’t, then quite simply, we risk looking ridiculous,’ explained Radakin. ‘This is not about wokefulness. It is about woefulness. The woefulness of too few women. The woefulness of not reflecting the ethnic, religious and cognitive diversity of our nation.’
Radakin’s declaration was a continuation of a diversity drive already well underway – to the alarm of some former senior officers. One, Brigadier Justin Maciejewski, who served in Iraq and later became director of the National Army Museum, issued a warning in April 2021. Don’t alienate ‘your core constituency’, he said. ‘In the modern world the army needs to focus on recruiting a diverse workforce but also being very mindful of who historically has provided the bulk of the people for the army… what we would have called in the old days working-class families from right across the country.’
Maciejewski’s warning fell on deaf ears. In 2022 – the same year that Russia invaded Ukraine – it was revealed that the Royal Air Force was pausing the recruitment of white men in order to prioritise women and ethnic minorities. The RAF said it was ‘unashamed’ of its policy, although a subsequent inquiry found it to be one of unlawful discrimination.
Last month the Royal Navy launched a recruitment drive on social media. ‘Looking to learn new skills, meet great teammates and travel the world?’ ran the strapline above a montage of six Navy personnel. They were a diverse group – a reflection of modern Britain – save for the fact that there was no white male.
There have also been accusations from serving commandos that the Royal Marines are lowering their entry standards in order to increase the likelihood that a woman will be able to pass the commandos’ famously challenging physical tests.
Another former senior officer, Tim Collins, last year accused the British military of endangering the country with its ‘evangelically zealous pursuit of diversity to the exclusion of the traditional recruiting base’.
It does appear to have alienated the ‘core constituency’ – white working-class males – who know when they are not wanted. As a result, nine of the British army’s 16 infantry regiments were below their paper strength by more than 20%. The Scots Guards, whose lineage reaches back to 1642, were 42% below strength.
As Admiral Radakin feared, the British military has become an object of ridicule – though not for the reason he outlined in his maiden speech. Our armed forces are mocked by Vladimir Putin because the Russian president is kept abreast of their diminishing size, status and spirit.
The esprit de corps of the British military has been degraded this century by another strand of political correctness: the persecution of soldiers by human rights lawyers. This was laid bare by a former Regimental Sergeant Major of the Special Air Service in a letter to Country Squire magazine last year. ‘When our dedication and sacrifices seem to be met with disdain or, worse, exploitation, it shakes the very foundation of our commitment,’ he wrote. ‘Soldiers who once charged bravely into conflict may begin to question the legitimacy of their purpose.’
There will be a slight whiff of hypocrisy in the air this week as Britain’s military elite bow their heads before the nation’s war memorials. Despite the sterling contribution of Indians, Nepalese, Africans, West Indians, Poles and others, the majority of the British military personnel who lost their lives in the Second World War were white and working-class.
The same demographic that in recent years has been sacrificed on the altar of diversity, equity and inclusion.
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