With Remembrance Day not far off, can we have an assurance that what happened at the St Giles war memorial in Oxford last year will not happen again?

Someone gave orders to remove all the wreaths and crosses barely seven days after Remembrance Sunday. This was an act of gross disrespect for all who had given their lives and an insult to all surviving relatives.

I am sure many ex-servicemen and women in this city, like myself, felt nothing but contempt for those who were responsible.

The normal period of time is around three weeks, as at the Cenotaph in London.

I know a lot of people these days, especially younger people, think that Remembrance Sunday is only to remember those who lost their lives in the two world wars. Nothing could be further from the truth.

Since the end of the Second World War, there have been countless wars and conflicts, from Korea in the early 1950s to the present day with Iraq and Afghanistan.

So, when you buy a poppy and perhaps lay a wreath, it shows you care - not like some.

R Thomas, (25+ years poppy seller), Woodlands Park, Radley