A personal view by Ford Prefect
Having investigated the origins of a major war veterans’ charity, it is obvious to me they are far from the war veteran's friend.
A Brief History: Following the First World War, troops returning to civilian life realised they had been duped. They faced low wage industrial slavery, high unemployment and dire poverty. The promise of returning to a land of milk and honey fit for heroes, that inspired them on the battlefield, was a lie.
Militant veterans’ organisations sprang up throughout the country. Terrified of an armed rebellion, the government rushed the 1920 Firearms Act through parliament. This severely limited sales of firearms. Prior to 1920, weapons could easily be purchased over the counter, in much the same way as they can be bought in America today.
After the First World War mass militancy was deliberately suppressed in the press in order to prevent a revolution. To contain the situation the government hurriedly formed a major veteran’s charity. Mass publicity enticed veterans into the organisation. British secret service agents infiltrated the militant organisations. They discredited the leaders and disillusioned and pacified the members until the organisations eventually disbanded or merged with the government’s “Charity.” In the early 1920’s accusations of German wartime atrocities started to appear in the press. Reports of “Germans burning bodies in the Black Forest to extract fat from them” and “Germans impaling Belgium babies on the ends of their bayonet’s” have since been proven to be a pack of lies, dreamt up by the British Secret Service. The reasons for such stories were to justify the conflict and also to unify public opinion and ultimately pacify the masses. Propaganda is very powerful and some people will believe almost anything from an official source.
The Authorities’ World War One Lesson: Much was learnt from propaganda errors after World War One. The aftermath of subsequent wars has therefore been subjected to mass manipulation that continues to this day.
The Continuous Deception: What we see today is a charity that works in successive governments’ best interests whilst giving the impression they are fully supporting veterans. They work on veterans’ behalf to ensure they receive their correct benefits, but they don’t question why veterans are subjected to such humiliation or living in poverty in the first place! It is a brilliant deception. I know the origins of the charity to be true, having spoken to people many years ago that witnessed the infiltration of their independent veterans organisations after World War One. They also remembered the press suppression of major civil unrest. These facts can also be found in the archives. The “Charity” in question continues to survive as its taboo to question any aspect of it. Hero worship and inspirational patriotism is very enticing, especially for those that saw little or no action during their war service. It could take up to five men to keep one man in the fighting line. With that ratio it’s inevitable the ranks of the veterans’ charity are often swelled by medal clad so-called veterans that don’t speak about their experiences because they were either not there or saw no action! Admittedly some genuine veterans don’t talk about their wartime activities but they are often few and far between.
Conclusion: To prevent post-war civil unrest the authorities justify a conflict by maintaining the propaganda long into the aftermath.
World War Two continues to be a lucrative mass media industry whilst governments can safely avoid their responsibilities behind a controlled charitable façade. The charity is more like a gentleman’s drinking club. By giving its members a social coherence of patriotic hero worship, it projects an image of war veterans, to the general populous, that best suits successive governments. Smoking, drinking and regimental exhibitionism all help to give the impression of the stereotypical ex-serviceman, but in reality it does not represent all veterans especially ex-conscripts and those that actually experienced the full six years of front line hell during World War Two. Controlled opposition, such as alleged infiltration of some peace groups, skilfully steers the populous away from official cover-ups. Selective and distorted history from armchair historians regurgitating official bias keeps myths alive. Media worship of the official consensus stifles and vilifies anyone that questions it. Whilst parasites prosper, genuine war veterans are kept in poverty. To fully honour the sacrifices of past and present generations, it is essential to break through the official web of deceit and expose the stark reality.
Unanswered Questions and Cover-Ups/Gloss Overs:
1. Question: If a well-known veterans’ charity is actually working on behalf of veterans, why aren’t they a thorn in the side of successive governments? Answer: Because they are an integral part of the authorities propoganda machine.
2. Many war veterans are still living in poverty and subjected to humiliating means testing usually when home care is required. Some that have to go into a care home can have their property and assets forcibly taken from them by the state. Even though most have fully paid their "Cradle to Grave" National Insurance contributions throught their working lives. Why should their hard earned assets be focibly stolen from them to make a minority of private care firms rich - it amounts to theft. Why does the veterans' charity remain silent on these and many other issues?
3. A veteran can receive regimental paraphernalia, almost by return of post. On the other hand, a pension claim is met with mind numbing bureaucracy that’s obviously designed to dissuade the claimant. Why should this be, especially as the authorities have full records of war service?
4. During World War Two unfit troops were deliberately kept in the front line with little, if any, respite. They were known as "Seasoned Troops." It was believed, at the time, they were deliberately kept at the front in order to "Finish them off" in order to save on welfare costs in the aftermath of the conflict. This was made abundantly clear when survivors endeavored to claim their rightful entitlements within the immediate postwar period. They were deliberately mentally and physically tortured to dissuade them from claiming. Many of those that managed to stay the course were eventually given spurious excuses in order to fraudulently terminate their pensions. In the late 1980's the government at that time quietly admitted pensions had been unjustly terminated. They said Veterans could re-claim, but the Veterans were NOT entitled to back-pay. The veterans' charity remains silent on this issue.
For further details, please see: http://www.warveteran.co.uk
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