My name is Geoff and I am an English teacher. I was born in England but for the past twenty-eight years I have lived in Italy. From 1983 to 1987, however, I taught English in Egypt. Not long after arriving there, I bought a motorcycle and had many wonderful adventures exploring Egypt’s deserts and the river Nile.
Egyptian Adventures
It was during a trip along the Mediterranean coast that I passed El Alamein, the site of one of the biggest battles of the Second World War, one fought between British, and Italian and German forces in 1942. I stopped to visit the British and Commonwealth cemetery and I saw that so many of the thousands of victims were very young. Some were just teenagers. There were no other visitors that day, apart from the desert wind. The experience brought tears to my eyes.
Human Tragedy
I continued on my journey and I soon came to the Italian war cemetery. I stopped in front of the gate and considered going in there too. But I did not, presumably because they were not British. This is something that I now regret.
When I left Egypt I went to Italy where I met my wife. We live there with our two Italian sons, who are no different from those young Italians buried in the Egyptian sand. These experiences have made it clear to me that the tragedy of war should not be looked at from a national perspective and, ideally, not even an international one. Instead, we should view the tragedy of war from an ‘a-national’, human perspective.
Letter to Queen Elizabeth
With this in mind, I wrote to Queen Elizabeth II. One important role that the Queen has is to lay wreaths on the graves of British soldiers who died for their ‘King and Country’. In my letter I explained how I felt, and I asked Her Majesty to remember Britain’s former enemies too, and to put flowers on the graves of Italian and German victims from both world wars. I did not expect to get a reply. But, to my surprise – and great appreciation – just a few days later an envelope arrived postmarked “Elizabeth II Regina Buckingham Palace”.
Non-political
As the letter shows, the Queen has very little power to make decisions of her own. She must remain ‘non-political.’ However, on reflection, I think that what I asked the Queen to do is not political at all, and as such Her Majesty could be obliged to intervene.
Defender of the Faith
My reason for saying this is that one of the Queen’s many titles is “Defender of the Faith.” This title was given to King Henry VIII of England by Pope Leo X, as a reward for the King’s defence of the Catholic faith against Martin Luther. Even though Henry broke with Rome soon after, English monarchs have maintained the title to apply to their role as head of the Anglican church. Christian philosophy and culture in general revolve around love and forgiveness, and I think that in that context nations do not count. And so, if I may say so, Your Majesty, I believe that you can and should lay flowers on the graves of Britain’s former enemies. As Fidei Defensor, isn’t that your duty?
