Youngsters care about Remembrance Sunday, says Colin Walker

Nov 4 2009 By Neil Atkinson

YOUNG people do care about remembering those who gave their lives for the country.

That was the key finding of a major survey by a University of Huddersfield researcher, released days ahead of this weekend’s Remembrance Sunday.

Colin Walker has spent four years undertaking research that proves young people don’t deserve to be written off just yet.

His findings contrast relentless media coverage of hoodies, ASBOs and teenage pregnancies, which paint a depressing picture of today’s society.

Amid the furore over the shocking photograph of student Phil Laing urinating on a war memorial after a pub crawl, one could be forgiven for thinking that he is representative of young people’s attitudes in general.

But senior education lecturer Mr Walker has devoted hundreds of hours to talking to 14-25-year-olds about their opinions of Remembrance Sunday, war veterans and current soldiers.

And his findings are overwhelmingly positive.

“The impressions we get of young people today can be very depressing; we are constantly being bombarded with stories about knife crime, gang culture, teenage pregnancies and family disunity.

“But my findings show that there are young people out there who do care about society, who do care about what’s going on in the wider world, and who do think it’s important to remember the sacrifices that others have made, and continue to make,” he said.

Mr Walker spent much of his time at the National Memorial Arboretum in Staffordshire, collecting the views of school pupils and young visitors to the 150-acre site, which is home not just to a vast collection of memorials, but also to over 50,000 trees, each one of which represents a soldier who has died in battle.

He found that the overwhelming majority of student visitors to the site were extremely moved by the experience, not just in memory of First and Second World War veterans, but also in relation to soldiers who are currently fighting.

“We are doing our youth a disservice by continuing to portray them all in this negative way.

“The passion and sensitivity that 14-year-olds showed towards this issue is something that should inspire us all.