91-year-old war veteran Harry Smith at the Labour Party Conference

[Margaret]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CsmIfDNeKLY


91-year-old war veteran Harry Smith at the Labour Party Conference with an NHS speech that leaves delegates in tears.

[rebbonk]

A very well thought out and presented speech.

Well said Sir!

[Shizara]

That speech came from the heart and deep within the soul of a man who has seen and experienced life in a way that many living to day have not and the subsequent impact on the listeners was evident. This is not to say or demean the tragedies of war, disease, hunger etc that are going on around the world. I am specifically referring to time in the UK without a NHS.

I noted the point about his sister having TB and the effect it had on his family with his sister dying when she was aged 10. Due to severe hardship and extreme poverty this family, like so many others of their time were unable to pay for a funeral and so his sister was put into a pauper's grave. In my journey researching my family history I found that my great grandmother had such a burial. When she was a young married woman she nursed her husband who had TB and he subsequently died. By this time she had 2 little girls. She married again and had 2 more children, one being my grandmother. At 37 she too succumbed to TB and my grandmother who was about 13 looked after her. She remembered having to scrub the walls with carbolic acid. This family who, like so many of their time, lived in poverty and so my great grandmother was buried in a grave for many. I know where the graveyard is and at some point I will visit even though there is nothing to actually see.

For all our criticism of the NHS today - many of us with experiences of our own - it is far superior to the day of my grandparents when there was only a facility for those who were able to afford it. This doesn't mean that the NHS doesn't need improving, it does and in some cases it needs radical, open heart surgery but at least we have one and it is available to people from all walks of life.

Harry Smith presented an amazing speech. Incredibly he was not tied to his notes and when you consider his age, that along with his experience, wisdom and understanding are absolutely remarkable.