Veteran peace campaign plans seated vigil
Veteran Shropshire peace campaigner George Evans, 94, is to stage an hour-long seated vigil to mark International Peace Day on September 21, and is inviting others to join him.
George, from Wellington, will be taking a seat on a bench at the Wellington Peace Garden, which was created largely down to his efforts.
"With the international and national news at the moment, by God somebody needs to shout Peace at the top of their voice," said ex-soldier George, who fought during the Normandy campaign, and went on to see the horrors of the Belsen concentration camp first hand.
"It's just me, nobody else. I'm nobody important these days.
"I can't do very much, but one of the things I can do is that I can sit in the peace garden, which is what I am going to do. I shall be there from noon to 1pm and am inviting anybody who wants to, to join me. There are several benches.
"The idea is to do something for International Peace Day and to encourage our politicians to stay out of wars.
"I happen to have a hat with a Quaker badge on it and I also have a peace flag which I shall be flying.
"I have invited Wellington Town Council and I'm going to have a go with BBC Radio Shropshire.
"I'm hoping that people will think about war and peace. We may or may not have a two minute silence. It may be thought to be a good idea.
"And if somebody turns up with a bugle and plays the Last Post, that would be wonderful. I don't know if anybody is going to, but maybe they will."
Comment Guidelines
Iconic Media encourages reader discussion on our stories. User feedback, insights and back-and-forth exchanges add a rich layer of context to reporting. Please review our Community Guidelines before commenting.