James is entitled to express his beliefs

My grandfather took on Rommel in the deserts of Africa. My dad was a soldier, too, stationed in Berlin. When he wasn't manning Checkpoint Charlie, he was at Spandau Prison, guarding Nazi war criminals like Rudolf Hess.

- Chris Dunlavy

Later, he found himself in Northern Ireland during the Troubles. Growing up, I was fascinated by the gigantic rubber bullet he'd kept from his days patrolling the streets of Londonderry. Once, he told me about the night he'd sheltered under an armoured car whilst a riot erupted around him, terrified that he'd be spotted and hauled out. He saw friends killed, and civilians too.

He was no flag-waving patriot, my dad, but he couldn't understand why someone would refuse to serve their country. He was disgusted by conscientious objectors. You might expect someone like me, then, to join the chorus of disapproval whenever James McClean refuses to don a poppy. I am the son of a serviceman. But I never have, and I never will.

McClean's argument is that the poppy, originally conceived by the Royal British Legion in 1921 to commemorate those who lost their lives in World War I, has since evolved into a symbol of remembrance for all conflicts involving British soldiers.

Symbol