IT IS always a pleasure to see a letter from one of Ealing's most distinguished authors, Roy Bartlett, in the Gazette but I was disturbed to read his comments (June 25) concerning the ceremonies held in central Ealing on the Saturday before Armed Forces Day.
On Armed Forces Day itself, Saturday, June 26, we had a superb commemoration and tribute to our armed forces that culminated in a ceremony at the Greenford War Memorial and which followed a march from the Royal British Legion.
I didn't count how many hundreds of people stood at the War Memorial green to greet the march when it reached the junction of Oldfield Lane and Ruislip Road, but the parade certainly took a long time to pass the reviewing party - which included the Mayor and Mayoress of Ealing, representatives of the Royal Navy, Army and RAF and the Royal British Legion, council leader Julian Bell and councillors Harbajan Kaur, Ranjit Dheer, Lauren Wall and Bassam Mahfouz and the Rector of Greenford, the Reverend Neil Richardson - and was witnessed in silence by a very large gathering indeed.
Judging by Roy's letter, we ordered things rather better in Greenford and if we did that is a tribute to the RBL and to all those who gathered to salute our heroes and heroines who have served in the past and who serve today.
I was honoured to be there and will gladly welcome Roy (and Beryl) to Greenford next June if they would like to see how Greenford does it best.
STEVE POUND MP Westminster
