The UK needs another public holiday to honour its Armed Forces, a government-backed inquiry has found, despite the fact that one already exists near the proposed date.
This suggestion was among 40 proposed by a study commissioned by prime minister Gordon Brown in December last year to generate greater public recognition of the Army, Navy and Air Force.
The holiday, tentatively named ‘Armed Forces Day’, would occur on a Saturday at the end of June, to allow children and working adults to attend events, such as public parades and other memorial services.
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Currently, the month has no public holidays, but the UK already celebrates Veterans Day on the 27 June, to “commemorate the service of British men and women in Her Majesty’s Armed Forces”, according to the inquiry.
Other proposals include arrest and jail for anyone who abuses troops in uniform, and the provision of £750,000 to military museums to subsidise transport for school groups.
