Cllr Steve Wiles delivered an emotional speech at a meeting of the ful Suffolk County Council, where the body pledged to support the government's defence spending plans. Credit: SCC
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00:00 Okay, so Councillor Wiles please.
00:02 Thank you Mr Chairman and thank you Councillor Fraser for bringing this motion,
00:10 especially at this time of year. Mr Chairman, with your permission I'd like to park
00:16 politics for just a few sentences. I'd like to remember my own past in the military in very few
00:28 words. As a 17 year old I packed my bag, a few clothes and I left my family home for the very
00:37 first time. It was really, really exciting to be a member of the armed forces. It was my absolute
00:46 honour to serve my Queen the same as most of my family had. Everything went well until I drew
00:57 the first Christmas guard duty. I remember just before midnight on Christmas Eve,
01:06 freezing cold, walking around the barracks, reaching into my pocket for a peppermint.
01:15 In my pocket was a bluey and a bluey, as ex-military will know, was a message from home.
01:26 I opened up this message and in very few words it said just how proud your mum, your dad,
01:33 your brothers and sisters and all the family are for what you're doing.
01:39 It didn't help looking at the watch that it was still a minute to Christmas but it did make me
01:48 feel much, much better knowing that there were people back home thinking of me. So if I wind
01:54 the clock forward, around about 18, 19 years later, when my own son was packing his bags ready to go
02:04 to Bosnia, I made sure that in his top pocket he had a message from home and what I'm trying to say
02:13 to colleagues here, for once let's park politics. Let's send the message out to say just how proud
02:22 we are of everyone who serves us, especially at this time of year and if my son's watching today,
02:31 I love you.