Of all the British troops who performed acts of exemplary heroism on D-Day, only one won the Victoria Cross.
With almost suicidal courage, Company Sergeant Major Stan Hollis single-handedly stormed three German machine gun posts, killing or capturing dozens of enemy soldiers. He also rescued two wounded comrades.
“Wherever the fighting was fiercest, Hollis showed courage and bravery,” said the citation for his VC.
Hollis, who survived, served with the Green Howards, a historic regiment based in Richmond, North Yorkshire. The town still proudly houses the regimental museum.
The constituency of Richmond is also home to Catterick Garrison, the UK’s largest army base. Military families and veterans make up a large portion of the electorate.
Rishi Sunak has apologized for his ‘mistake’ as he returned early from D-Day commemorations
As a local Member of Parliament Rishi Sunak should know this better than anyone. That’s why his early departure from the D-Day commemorations in Normandy was so unfathomably bad.
It is true that the Prime Minister accompanied the King to a British ceremony in the morning. But his decision to miss the international event on Omaha Beach attended by world leaders – including President Biden – was staggeringly disrespectful and foolish.
When our island story is written, June 6, 1944 will be the biggest chapter. The heroes who participated helped overthrow Hitler and save the world from tyranny. This date is meaningful to millions of people across the country.
So what possessed Mr Sunak to prioritize pre-recording a TV election interview (and with a left-wing broadcaster that disdains the Tories)? And why couldn’t his advisors see that this was so clearly wrong?
It was his national duty to stay to pay due tribute to the fallen and the old soldiers who survived the bullets and grenades.
The Tory leader has faced accusations that he is out of touch with ordinary people. This now threatens to entrench that feeling.
The Prime Minister’s trip to Britain for an ITV interview left Foreign Secretary Lord Cameron (left) at an international ceremony with (from left to right) French President Emmanuel Macron, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz and the US President Joe Biden
Mr Sunak had earlier laid a wreath at the UK Ministry of Defense and Royal British Legion commemoration ceremony in Normandy to mark the 80th anniversary of D-Day.
But please spare us Sir Keir Starmer’s false outrage. The Labor leader himself insulted veterans when a commemorative poppy he was wearing strangely disappeared last November before he filmed a video aimed at a Muslim audience.
Mr Sunak has rightly apologized for his unfortunate error of judgement. All he can do now is focus positively and constructively on selling the Tories’ campaign message.
The D-Day blunder is hopefully a blunder. Next week, the main parties will unveil their manifestos to shape the country’s future.
While the Tories have outlined some striking ideas, from a tax guarantee on pensions to protecting motorists from cash grabs, Labour’s policies are likely to be anodyne and uninformative.
Details are lacking on how it finances its redistribution programs. Shadow Chancellor Rachel Reeves says she will not increase income tax or national insurance.
But tax attacks on pension funds, investments and companies are not excluded. The public deserves more than just flannel.
Rishi Sunak (right), seen here on Thursday with French President Emmanuel Macron in Ver-sur-Mer, Normandy, is accused of being ‘out of touch with ordinary people’
Labor leader Sir Keir Starmer (left), seen at Britain’s national commemoration event with Defense Secretary Grant Shapps on Thursday, has criticized Mr Sunak for his early return
One of the worst consequences of Sunak’s blunder is that Nigel Farage could portray him as unpatriotic – and potentially convince more Tories to vote for Reform UK.
Polls may show that reforms are almost on par with the Conservatives, but under our first-past-the-post system the party can only win a small number of seats. If that.
All Farage will do is split the anti-Starmer vote and leave Labor with an even bigger majority – and more opportunities to destroy the nation. Until Thursday’s mistake, Sunak had had two good days in which he had rattled Labor over their tax plans.
Now he must dust himself off and, like the heroes of the Longest Day, fight on.
