The "Every man remembered" sculpture, currently in George Square in Glasgow is striking. And the campaign by the Royal British Legion and the Commonwealth War Graves Commission to commemorate everyone who died in the First World War is admirable. I cannot help reflecting on the women who will also be remembered - there are over 800 women in the CWGC records for the First World War - and the initiative was inspired by a young woman. And I wonder why, today, when women are as likely to serve in the armed forces as men, why "Every One Remembered" could not be the wording that adorns the sculpture. However, I fear that posing the question will be seen as a sign of disrespect alongside those who choose other ways to remember and reflect on war, those who wear white poppies and those who call for peace in our time.
In a world that is heaving with gender injustice, where misogyny is taking centre stage in US politics, it saddens me that the UK could not have been a little more sensitive.
I will remember the men and the women, military and civilian, of the past and the present whose service to their country has cost them and their loved ones dearly.
Every One Remembered.
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