A Teddy Bear Gives Comfort – Wootton Bassett

A teddy bear gives comfort as the people of Wootton Bassett echo the feelings of the nation

It’s not often that I watch television but today a news item caught my attention.  The town of Wootton Bassett was hosting its 100th repatriation ceremony.  The widow of the latest soldier to be killed in Afghanistan bravely clutched a teddy bear for comfort, as she watched her husband’s coffin pass through the town on it’s way from RAF Lyneham in Wiltshire.  So many young lives have been lost in this war, and there seems to be no end in sight and to think that yet more servicemen will return home in this way is just too much to bear.

This story also holds a personal poignancy to me because I grew up in Wootton Bassett and to see the town so frequently in the news, and to realise that it’s name is becoming synonymous with the tragic loss of so many lives, fills me with such sadness.

My thoughts go out to the families of those who have given their lives, we shall remember them and i applaud the people of Wootton Bassett who represent us all when they line the High Street to watch the procession and pay their respects.

It is time that Wootton Bassett to be rewarded by the UK and recieve the Royal Status is most certainly deserves!