Ex-Royal Green Jacket and an SAS veteran reveal their ‘horror’ at having to protect memorials

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Why we’re defending the Cenotaph: Ex-Royal Green Jacket and an SAS veteran reveal their ‘horror’ at having to protect memorials to fallen soldiers

  • Former soldiers guarded London’s Cenotaph yesterday fearing it was a target
  • The father of two was also among soldiers guarding the Cenotaph on Saturday   
  • He said it was a small group of people using the protests to vandalise memorials

By Daily Mail Reporter

Published: | Updated:

Former soldiers guarded London’s Cenotaph yesterday amid fears the memorial remained a target for vandals.

Ex-Royal Green Jacket Lee Grieveson, 56, stood by the boarded-up memorial alongside an ex-SAS veteran who asked to be named only as Nick.

Corporal Grieveson, who served between 1983 and 1995 and did four tours of Northern Ireland and one in Kosovo and Bosnia, said it was his duty to protect the statues.

Ex-Royal Green Jacket Lee Grieveson (pictured), 56, stood by the boarded-up memorial alongside an ex-SAS veteran who asked to be named only as Nick

The father of two was also among soldiers guarding the Cenotaph on Saturday.

He said: ‘I came down and there were a lot of ex-squaddies, some of them I hadn’t seen for 25 or 30 years. 

‘We were all there for the same reason. 

‘I’m horrified we have to do this to protect our memorials. 

‘There’s a difference between writing something on a shop window and targeting memorials to our fallen soldiers. 

Corporal Grieveson, of Croydon, south London, also criticised police for moving veterans guarding memorials in Westminster on Saturday, saying ¿they got the tactics wrong¿, provoking ¿the football lads¿ and sparked ugly scenes

Corporal Grieveson, of Croydon, south London, also criticised police for moving veterans guarding memorials in Westminster on Saturday, saying ‘they got the tactics wrong’, provoking ‘the football lads’ and sparked ugly scenes

‘That’s crossed a terrible line and cannot be allowed. 

‘It’s a small group of people using these protests to desecrate memorials.’

Nick, who served in the SAS from 1991 to 2001, said: ‘It’s not about race. 

‘Attacking memorials like this damages the cause and distracts from the real issues.’

Corporal Grieveson, of Croydon, south London, also criticised police for moving veterans guarding memorials in Westminster on Saturday, saying ‘they got the tactics wrong’, provoking ‘the football lads’ and sparked ugly scenes.