Remembrance

Streeting reveals grandfather pulled own brother out of North Atlantic under WW2 fire

8th November 2026 at 10:58am

Defence Secretary Wes Streeting reflected on the naval service of his grandfather on Remembrance Sunday

Respect service, respect our Armed Forces and commemorate but never glorify war: three salient lessons the Defence Secretary learned from his military grandfather that still ring true today.

Speaking to BFBS Forces News ahead of the National Service of Remembrance at the Cenotaph, Wes Streeting said he always thinks about his grandfather, who served in the Royal Navy, on Remembrance Sunday.

"I remember in his living room, he always had his World War II medals alongside my great-grandfather's medals from World War I," Mr Streeting said.

"I know my granddad served on HMS Fowey, because there's a great photo of him with his uniform on, and the ship's name emblazoned on his cap," he continued.

"And there was one moment where, and it must have been in the North Atlantic, they were mounting a rescue of a British ship that had come under heavy fire, and there were sailors drowning.

"And my granddad found himself, in that moment, pulling his own brother out of the water.

"It gives me goosebumps talking about it. You cannot imagine what that must have been like."

Mr Streeting continued: "Ultimately, the lesson my grandfather taught me was, respect service, respect our Armed Forces, commemorate, but never glorify war.

"His whole purpose was to try and bring an end to the war that he was fighting. And that's a lesson that sits with me very strongly today."

In sharing this story, the Defence Secretary joined service chiefs in recognising the personal as well as collective nature of Remembrance.

Chief of the Air Staff Air Chief Marshal Sir Harv Smyth earlier told BFBS Forces News that Remembrance had an additional personal meaning for him this year, having recently unexpectedly lost his brother, a former serviceman.