Priest speaks out for armed forces

FATHER Alan Cooke

AN outspoken vicar was given a round of applause after an impassioned speech at Chadderton war memorial.

Father Alan Cooke of St Mark’s Church gave his sermon at the Remembrance Sunday service, as he has done for the past 25 years.

He criticised governments of all colours for failing to give adequate support to British armed forces, highlighting the death of Cpl Sarah Bryant in Afghanistan.

Her commanding officer resigned because of what he called negligence by the Ministry of Defence in not supplying the right equipment.

Father Cooke said: “Ever since the Korean War, governments of both major parties seem to have had a strange reluctance to give the armed forces proper footwear, vehicles, housing and arms.

“When we look at the vast amounts of money which have been produced out of nowhere to rescue our banks from the consequences of our own folly, is it really too much to expect that money should be spent on equipping those who, day after day, are putting their lives on the line in the name of us all?”

Ex-servicemen who had marched from Chadderton Reform Club heard Father Cooke support the Gurkha regiments who, he said, had proved themselves some of the bravest soldiers in the Army, only to be denied the right to settle in the UK after their service ended.

It took a High Court case a few weeks ago to change the ruling.

Yet a Gurkha soldier died in Afghanistan a week ago, on the same day three of his countrymen received the Military Cross.

Father Cooke asked: “Why has it taken so long for the courage of another group of British forces to be recognised?

“Bomber Command suffered the highest casualties of any unit during the Second World War. Yet 63 years after the end of the war there is still no national memorial to these brave men.

“Politicians of both major parties, from Churchill onwards, have been embarrassed by the damage done to German cities by British bombing, and so have been reluctant to acknowledge the courage and self-sacrifice of of the airmen.

“A national newspaper is running an appeal for a memorial. But why should a newspaper have to do it? Why has it taken so long?”

Today, Father Cooke said he was a little surprised by the applause adding: “I think it is a responsibility to speak out for people who cannot speak for themselves.”