Sir, - My father was wounded in the battle of the Somme in the first World War. He joined the British Army, not to fight for king, country or freedom but to flee from an impoverished background. Excepting the scions of the big houses, all his comrades joined the British forces for similar reasons. I, and thousands of others, later used the same escape route.
We served with a few, all officers, whose parents (or they themselves) privately questioned the legitimacy of the Free State and the destiny of their own allegiance. To most of us, Kaiser William and Adolf Hitler were rallying pay calls. We can smile at the annual rallying cries. They are part of the myth.
Survival and heroism are irreconcilable opposites. If the truth can be faced, the poppy, like the late Eamonn de Valera, is a reminder of forced emigration. Upper Kilmacud Road, Dublin 14.