Head of the 50 nation British Commonwealth asks Gordon Brown to honor war dead by remaming town

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Head of the 50 nation British Commonwealth asks Gordon ... - 2/24/2010 9:08:51 AM

freeserve

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Queen wants Wootton Bassett to get Royal status for its part in honouring war dead

By Daily Mail Reporter
Last updated at 8:48 AM on 17th September 2009

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It has become a town synonymous with honour, respect and a deep appreciation for our Armed Forces.
Now Wootton Bassett could be honoured with the title 'Royal' in recognition of its role in the repatriation of British troops.
Ever since two old soldiers gave an impromptu salute as a military cortege passed through in 2007, the Wiltshire town comes to a standstill to pay its respects to every fallen soldier en route from RAF Lyneham to Oxford.

Honouring the fallen: The town of Wootton Bassett has been the scene of a number of repatriations of British soldiersNow the small Wiltshire market town could find itself being honoured - after the Queen asked Gordon Brown to consider granting it 'Royal' prefix in recognition of its role in the repatriation of British soldiers.
Retired naval officer Bill Thomas wrote to Her Majesty asking if she would consider renaming the town Royal Wootton Bassett to repay the town's patriotism.
He has now received a reply confirming the Queen has taken 'careful note' of his suggestion and asked the Prime Minister to 'consider' it.
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Honouring the fallen: Veterans salute and relatives mourn as a cortege passes through Wootton BassettDespite being Sovereign, the Queen cannot grant a Royal prefix without the approval of ministers.
The reply from Buckingham Palace reads: 'Her Majesty has taken careful note of your comments requesting official recognition for the village of Wootton Bassett in Wiltshire, in honour of the respect accorded to every fallen soldier, killed during their tour of duty in Afghanistan or Iraq, when their funeral cortege passes through the village from RAF Lyneham.
'As a constitutional Sovereign, the Queen acts on the advice of her Ministers and I have, therefore, been instructed to send your letter to the Right Honourable Gordon Brown MP, Prime Minister, so that he may know of your approach to Her Majesty on this matter, and may consider the points you raise.'

Together in mourning: Wootton Bassett, seen here in July 2009 at the repatriation of eight British soldiers, would be the third town in the UK with the 'Royal' prefixIt is understood that the request will be discussed by Cabinet, before a final decision is made in coming months.
If Mr Brown agrees to the request, it would make Wootton Bassett only the third 'Royal' town in the country, after Royal Leamington Spa in Warwickshire and Royal Tunbridge Wells in Kent.
More than 2,600 people have already signed a petition on the Downing Street website calling for Wootton Bassett to be 'officially recognised in some form'.
But Mr Thomas could yet end up disappointed - five different requests to start petitions asking for the town to be renamed Royal Wootton Bassett have already been rejected on the website.

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Mr Thomas, who served in the navy in the 1960s and 1970s, said he had been compelled to write to the Queen because the residents of Wootton Bassett do a 'fantastic job' in paying their respects to the fallen.
The 62-year-old, from Portchester, Hampshire, said: 'They should be rewarded whether they want to be rewarded or not.
'I know they're modest people, but they're going to be called 'Royal' if I have anything to do with it.'
Wootton Bassett, which has a population of 11,000, has become an unofficial focal point for the nation's grief since the bodies of dead service personnel began being flown home to nearby RAF Lyneham in 2007 and driven through the town en-route to an Oxford mortuary for post mortem examinations.
Hundreds of residents, shoppers and friends and family of the dead now line the town's main street to pay their respects each time a fallen soldier is flown home.
Royal Tunbridge Wells, currently celebrating 100 years of Royal status, was given the prefix by King Edward VII in recognition of its popularity with the Royal family.
It was added to Leamington Spa in 1838 by Queen Victoria, who had visited the town eight years previously as a Princess.
Playing down the requests, the town's Mayor Steve Bucknell said: 'Repatriations are all about us paying respects to the fallen soldiers and offering whatever support we can to their families.
'We are not doing this for any plaudits, honours or awards and whilst it is humbling to have people from around the country saying nice things about Wootton Bassett we don't want anything to take the attention away from the guys who have paid the ultimate price.'
He said the town would, at a future point, find its own way of marking 'this passage in its history'.

< Message edited by freeserve -- 2/24/2010 9:10:15 AM >

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RE: Head of the 50 nation British Commonwealth asks Gor... - 2/24/2010 10:51:38 AM

SL4V3M4YB3

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London Borough of Greenwich is getting royal status 'for having parks.'

I expect only that this'll mean council tax increases for those living in such places with Royal approval.

< Message edited by SL4V3M4YB3 -- 2/24/2010 10:54:02 AM >

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RE: Head of the 50 nation British Commonwealth asks Gor... - 2/24/2010 11:05:50 AM

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RE: Head of the 50 nation British Commonwealth asks Gor... - 2/24/2010 1:10:29 PM

susie

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I do hope this happens. The people of Wooton Bassett and people from all over the UK turn out in rain, wind and snow to honour the returning soldiers.

The Earl of Wessex, Prince Charles and the Duchess of Cornwall have all visited the town already so we will see if Gordon does the right thing!

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RE: Head of the 50 nation British Commonwealth asks Gor... - 2/24/2010 8:30:53 PM

JonnieBoy

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The OP is misleading , the "queen" ain't asking the P.M. to do anything except read a letter (content unknown)

If her Maj ... TOLD the twat to do it, it would get done.

Wooton Basset is a lovely place, I've passed that way loads of times, it's such a shame that a war and coffin procession is all people can associate it with these days.

If anything were to be done,the people of Wooton Basset should appear in the honours list if you ask me, not just for the respects they've paid for the war dead, but for putting up with the fucking "royals" poncing around there in fake sympathy for the photo opportunity.

FTR: It got done for Malta G.C. ... so there IS a precedent in honouring the population of a place.

I think it would be a MASSIVE PISS TAKE out of the dead to use "royal", because the standard for dishing it out is established as being to places the inbreads have liked or gone for an undeserved rest or several at our expense ... rather than out of respect FROM THEM for anything (not surprising since they don't have much)

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RE: Head of the 50 nation British Commonwealth asks Gor... - 2/25/2010 2:35:22 AM

Politesub53

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Jonnie, I dont disagree that some of the Royals sponge of the taxpayer. Lets not forget some of the younger ones have served on the battlefield though.

Dont start me of on Princess pushy whatever her name is.

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RE: Head of the 50 nation British Commonwealth asks Gor... - 2/25/2010 8:56:49 AM

JonnieBoy

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quote:

ORIGINAL: Politesub53

Jonnie, I dont disagree that some of the Royals sponge of the taxpayer. Lets not forget some of the younger ones have served on the battlefield though.

Dont start me of on Princess pushy whatever her name is.

In that capacity they are soldiers, not royalty, just being "royal" is fuck all to me.

This is not a simple "I didn't vote for them" thing ... I stand by what I said earlier :

quote:

ORIGINAL : Pirate

I think it would be a MASSIVE PISS TAKE out of the dead to use "royal", because the standard for dishing it out is established as being to places the inbreads have liked or gone for an undeserved rest or several at our expense ... rather than out of respect FROM THEM for anything (not surprising since they don't have much)

As such, the association with sponging and poncing about "enjoying" places is very relevant when considering just exactly how respectful such a hypothetical "award" might actually be perceived.

Pirate

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RE: Head of the 50 nation British Commonwealth asks Gor... - 2/25/2010 10:22:50 AM

Jaybeee

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It's bad enough my taxes are paying for those killers, but NOW, hundreds of thousands of pounds down the drain for new stationery/signage.

Terrific.

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RE: Head of the 50 nation British Commonwealth asks Gor... - 2/25/2010 11:37:18 AM

JonnieBoy

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I'm not going into my views on the war/war ... wouldn't want this "royal" topic/issue of respect for the deceased to get moved into politics, now would we ?
(I could have a field day if we did, but to cause that, in my opinion, would be an insult to both the dead and the people of Wooton Basset )

I said earlier, the "queen" can TELL the PM to do this, the inbreads don't need to "ask" ... if you read the letter above you may see why my post reads as it does. The letter makes no reference to a decision or instruction ... other than the (content unknown) letter.

Whatever your vievs on the war/war, it has to be said that having so, so many coffins full of corpses (and/or body parts) proceeding through your town so, so frequently can't be easy. It's known that many will turn out simply out of respect for the dead, without an agenda.

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