My family were not necessarily regarded as war heroes but every year on this day I remember them.

I am not normally a sentimental person but for reasons I shall try to explain, Remembrance Day always knocks me out of my stride.

Like so many of you, I am immensely proud of our armed service personnel who have made this country what it is today. Whilst we can, and often do, complain about things that are wrong in our society, without the bravery of our soldiers, seamen and airmen (yes, and women), we would not have the democracy we have today.

My family does not have any kind of history of service for the armed forces. My grandfathers were both too old to fight but both served in home guard type roles. My father, Anthony Johansen, was too young to serve but I know that had he been old enough, he’d have been there on the frontline for King and Country. As it was, he joined the Merchant Navy at age 15 in 1944, sailing through the U Boats in the North Atlantic convoys in order to feed hungry Britons. The sea was his overwhelming passion and he was good at it. He was also incredibly brave and I am very proud of his record both in the war and in the years after. I cannot imagine how it must have felt, volunteering as a young boy to risk drowning in the frozen waters between Ireland and the USA, through storms and mountainous waves, but he plainly had reserves of courage well beyond anything I inherited.

My mother, Neeltje Verburg, came from Rotterdam and spent the Second World War there, dodging the bombs and bullets of the invaders. The family lost all their possessions several times over when their homes – three of them – were destroyed by the Luftwaffe. The family told me incredible stories about the courageous Dutch marines, who fought against overwhelming numbers often losing their lives, in order to preserve their freedom, their country.

I was once a frequent visitor to Rotterdam and it is hard to see anything that remains of the pre war City. Now, it has become a cutting-edge, state of the art example of how modern cities can be built. You can find ghosts from the past without looking to the past too much but you can also see the rebirth of a place flattened by the agents of evil.

I welcome the more secular look of Remembrance these days. I do not stand against those who wish to pray to their Gods – the freedom to believe in a God or not is surely vital in the free society we have been gifted – and I would like to stand alongside the theists to reflect and to thank those who gave everything.

Remembrance Day is a solemn day and I am very proud that we show it maximum respect every year.

Thanks to all those who have served and those who still do. As I have shown here, words sometimes just aren’t enough.