David Chadwick has told MPs about the contribution his constituency made to winning the Second World War.
The Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe MP said in the Commons that 80 years ago, when the guns fell silent, the long and bitter war against tyranny in Europe was over.
He said Britain’s peace was marked by not only celebration, but gratitude and reflection on all that had been sacrificed to make it possible.
Video from parliamentlive.tv
The Brecon, Radnor and Cwm Tawe MP said in the Commons that 80 years ago, when the guns fell silent, the long and bitter war against tyranny in Europe was over.
He said Britain’s peace was marked by not only celebration, but gratitude and reflection on all that had been sacrificed to make it possible.
Video from parliamentlive.tv
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00:00David Chadwick.
00:03Thank you, Madam Deputy Speaker.
00:05Eighty years ago, when the guns fell silent,
00:07the long and bitter war against tyranny in Europe was over.
00:10Britain's peace was marked not only by celebration,
00:13but by gratitude and reflection on all that had been sacrificed
00:16to make it possible.
00:18Across my constituency of Brecon, Radnor and Kumtawa,
00:20that peace had been fully and faithfully earned,
00:23with courage, with resolve and at great cost.
00:25From every corner of the constituency,
00:27men and women stepped forward to serve.
00:29In the air, at sea, on the front line and at home.
00:32Their names are etched into memorials across our communities,
00:36not only to remind us who they were, but of what they gave.
00:39Brecknickshire, with its long-standing military tradition,
00:42stood as a proud centre of that service.
00:45But the uniform was worn across the constituency,
00:48in the hills of Radnisshire, in the valleys of Kumtawa and beyond.
00:52Among them were those who served with distinction in local regiments,
00:55such as the South Wales Borderers and the Welsh Regiment,
00:58both of which sought action across Europe, North Africa and the Far East.
01:02The Royal Navy also bore our town's name with pride.
01:05HMS Breckn, a Hunt-class destroyer,
01:08served with honour in the Atlantic and the Mediterranean,
01:11carrying the name of Breckn wherever she sailed.
01:14Others served in different ways, but with equal resolve.
01:17In the Swansea Valley, local men were conscripted as bevan boys,
01:23sent into the deep and dangerous scenes of the South Wales coalfield
01:27to mine the coal that powered our fleets and fuelled the wartime economy.
01:31Their work was exhausting and often overlooked, but vital to victory,
01:36and many of them were not released until 1948.
01:39In the fields of my constituency, the rhythms of farming did not cease.
01:43Amid rationing and relentless shortages,
01:46Welsh agricultural workers and the land girls who stood beside them
01:49kept the nation fed.
01:51Across the constituency, women took on vital responsibilities
01:54in munitions factories, in hospitals, in civil defence
01:57and at the heart of their communities.
02:00Their contribution was lasting.
02:03It shaped the peace that followed and the freedoms we live by today.
02:07I was proud to attend the commemorations last Saturday in Ustra-Gunlice,
02:11organised by Jade and the Swansea Valley Armed Forces Club,
02:14where that contribution was honoured.
02:16Let our remembrance be a promise to live up to their example,
02:20to work together for the public good
02:22and never to forget what was given in the hope of a fairer future.
02:25And finally, I'd like to pay tribute to RAF war veteran John Gwynn,
02:29a worthy guest of honour at recent VE Day celebrations in Talgarth,
02:34age 104.
02:36stagft!
02:37Yee, yee, yee.
02:40Yee, yee...