The Bishop of Rochester asked a question on the inclusion of names of fallen soldiers from the former British Empire on war memorials, following a government statement on the Commonwealth War Graves Commission: Historical Inequalities Report:
The Lord Bishop of Rochester: My Lords, I associate myself with the comments just made by the noble Lord, Lord Singh. Like many others, I have stood in places such as the Menin Gate and been overawed by the reading of the names there. In seeing the names of the fallen from many parts of the then Empire, I had assumed that all such were indeed properly commemorated. I know now of course that I and many others were wrong in that assumption. I have present and past diocesan connections with Papua New Guinea, Zimbabwe and Tanzania. I have also visited memorials and cemeteries in those places where I have seen the names of some local nationals. I am now asking myself how many names were not there when I visited those places. Is the Minister able to give me confidence to assure my colleagues in those places that their fallen compatriots will be as fully commemorated as possible, as soon as possible? Is there anything they can do to help this process?
Continue reading “Bishop of Rochester asks about updates to war memorials”



The Lord Bishop of Peterborough [V]: My Lords, David Cameron, under whose premiership the new rules came in, has admitted that the current situation is a mistake and was not intended. It is manifestly unjust and betrays those who have served our country. The ridiculous rule that people could rectify the situation by divorcing and then remarrying undermines the institution of marriage. Does this not make it entirely justifiable to overturn, or at least suspend, the policy to which the Minister refers?
The Lord Bishop of St Albans: To ask Her Majesty’s Government whether there are gambling machines in any British Army installations in the UK; and if so, (1) which categories these machines fall into in accordance with the Gambling Act 2005, and (2) whether these machines are operated by the Ministry of Defence or external contractors. [HL8770] 
On 24th June 2019 the Bishop of St Albans, Rt Revd Alan Smith, received written answers from Government, in reply to five questions about problem gambling and gaming machines in the armed forces and on the armed forces estates:
On 16th April Baroness Evans of Bowes Park repeated a statement from the Prime Minister on the UK’s military action in Syria. The Bishop of Coventry, the Rt Revd Christopher Cocksworth, responded to the statement:
The Lord Bishop of Derby: My Lords, I, too, thank the noble Lord, Lord Black of Brentwood, and associate myself with the lovely phrase that it is both a privilege and very humbling to be part of this remembrance.
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