Remembrance Day pacifist plea brings sudden halt to Wellington Town Council meeting
A town council meeting was brought to an abrupt halt in a row over the sacking of 92-year-old pacifist war veteran George Evans as poem reader at Wellington's Remembrance Day service.
Councillor Pat McCarthy hit out at Mr Evans's treatment and tried to call for him to be reinstated for next year's service during a heated exchange at Wellington Town Council.
But he claims town mayor Phil Morris-Jones, chairing the meeting at the civic centre on Tuesday night, told him to "shut up and sit down" before bringing the meeting to a close with two items left on the agenda.
Mr Evans, who fought in the Normandy campaign during World War Two, had read the traditional poem at the Wellington parade for the last 25 years. But he caused offence among local Royal British Legion members last year when he also read a short peace poem of his own which ended with the line "Isn't war stupid?".
RBL members said many people were "horrified" by his comments and found them offensive and inappropriate, and confirmed he had been asked to step down from this year's event.
Councillor McCarthy said he had been denied his "democratic right" to speak at the meeting.
"It was disgraceful that George Evans, someone who had been part of the D-Day landings, was prevented from expressing his views on war and peace at the Remembrance Parade," he said.
"He had more right to express his opinions than probably anyone else present. Those that made this decision create an impression of the Wellington community as being made up of narrow-minded and mean-spirited people who can't tolerate those who argue for peace and pacifism."
"I wanted to propose that in future services that George be allowed to again express his views, but I was not allowed to finish what I wanted to say. I was told to sit down and shut up."
Councillor Morris-Jones said he had brought the meeting to a halt because Councillor McCarthy was "rude and insulting" to the council and its members.
"He got up and went into a ramble about George Evans," the mayor said.
"It was nothing to do with the item on the agenda being discussed at the time.
"Patrick was spouting his usual left-wing nonsense and went on to attack the council and everybody in it.
"I just felt it wasn't useful and closed the meeting down."
Wellington Town Council clerk Karen Roper said the meeting had been adjourned because Councillor McCarthy was "not respecting the chair and not respecting the other councillors".
She said the two outstanding agenda items would be discussed at the next meeting.
