• I AM a descendant of a survivor of the Passchendaele Battle. By 1917, the country was war weary, with most families having lost a loved one.

Conscription was introduced because volunteers were no longer enough. My uncle went because of a sense of duty and returned home having been gassed.

While French and American veterans were given automatic pensions, Brits had to prove the war had given them a disability. Where else would an 18-year-old be gassed? After a long fight he got a pension.

Hardship for many did not end when the war ended. They fought for a better world and my uncle was overjoyed to see the welfare state.

Far from the EU bringing peace to Europe it was Nato that did that. Norway, a stalwart member of Nato, is not in the EU (Remember, the EU was built to prevent war, August 3).

My other uncle died at Passchendaele and his name is on a memorial for unfound bodies at Tyne Cot cemetery: David Maguire, RFA. I don’t want his name hijacked on spurious grounds for support of the EU.

TERRY WOOD
Manor Road, N16