No Glory in War's 2014 Awards
1) The most cynical exploitation of WW1 for commercial gain – the Sainsburys Xmas Truce advert.
2) The crassest castration of an anti-war song – Jeff Beck and Joss Stone for their cut-down version of Eric Bogle’s classic The Green Fields of France.
3) The dumbest statement by a politician to glorify WW1 – Michael Gove claiming Britain fought WW1 for ‘western liberal values’.
4) The most disappointing statement by a politician to glorify the 'war to end all wars': Barack Obama whitewashing WW1.
5) The most blatant hijacking of the Red Cross campaign by the arms industry – Lockheed Martin sponsoring the Poppy Rocks Ball.
6) The most prettified and toothless war memorial – the river of red poppies around the Tower of London.
7) The Paxman Prize for glib nastiness – sneering to the granddaughter of a WW1 conscientious objector that her grandfather was a ‘crank’ and ‘just being awkward’.
8) Award for most egregious toadying of the government – the BBC giving the reins of its documentaries about the start of the war to Max Hastings, Jeremy Paxman and Niall Ferguson.
9) Best contemporary comment on WW1 – remains Harry Patch’s description of the war as ‘legalised mass-murder’.
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