WHAT is the meaning of the name veteran on the badge that we wear on our lapel?

In World War Two I started to become one at the age of 18 when I was called up to do my basic training in the infantry and was sent to the Far East against the Japanese in Burma.

The olive green uniforms for the jungle campaign consisted of khaki uniforms and equipment tied to a long length of rope and dragged through a tank of hot green dye.

Because of the jungle terrain we never enjoyed the luxury of dry clothes or proper washing facilities and were in constant danger of diseases, such as malaria, bronchitis or pneumonia, plus the leeches, ticks and many other insects.

If you were bitten by these it would infect your skin which in turn increased your survival problems, and of course there were the Japanese.

Always there was fear and after each advance you were missing many familiar faces and also close mates, and that fear never went away until the final surrender.

I carried on in one of the searcher teams finding out the fate of 330,000 people missing believed killed.

It is a great pity that our schools have not been taught about the sacrifices of young men of my age in Europe and the Far East, many of whom lost their lives.

Had this untold bravery not taken place, this country would have been an occupied land. We would have faced a future of the horrors which came to light when the occupied countries were freed.

Schoolchildren should be made aware of the British stock they come from, then maybe they could develop a pride for this country, and themselves.

GEORGE MORRIS (by email).