On the 11th of November, we commemorated 90 years, to the day, since the end of the war. We remembered the millions of men and women of British soil fought and ultimately won, and also the 800,000 soldiers who perished in the gallant act of fighting for their country, driven by both their fierce patriotic beliefs and the fear of death.

Even here in Kingston, in schools, churches and other public areas, we see monuments commemorating those brave men who survived and those even braver men who died in the face of the enemy. Many young men from Surrey, who had just graduated, joined the British force, with their whole life ahead of them, and yet, only a few returned.

One of whom who did was Douglas Walter Belcher. Born on the 15th of July 1889 in Surbiton, he was one of the most famous veterans of the Great War because of his attainment of the Victoria Cross, the highest and most prestigious award for showing bravery in war.

After being educated at Tiffin School in Kingston until 1903, Belcher worked in an antiques department known as Waring and Gillow. He was also a member of the Cyclist Volunteer Corps in the Territorial Army for which he used the Waring and Gillow private range to practice shooting.

Belcher joined the British Army in the August of 1914. He was just a 25 year old Lance-Sergeant in the 1/5th Battalion in the London Regiment (The London Rifle Brigade) when he showed great gallantry in the face of the enemy. On the 13th of May 1915, whilst serving in Belgium under continuous enemy shell fire, he and 18 men chose to stay and hold their ground despite his fellow troops being withdrawn. He continued to hold his position for 9 hours by opening rapid fire on nearby enemies. He and his 4 remaining companions prevented the enemy from breaking through and launching an attack on the flank of one of the divisions. It was this brave deed which earned him his Victoria Cross, which is now on display in the Royal Green Jackets Museum in Winchester. He was later promoted to the rank of Captain and following his death on 3 June 1953, aged 63, he was buried at the Holy Trinity Churchyard in Claygate.

Not everyone was so lucky to have lived, let alone gain such a prestigious award. Yet despite the carnage which tore through Europe between 1914 and 1918, we still continue to participate in the slow massacre of our people. We send men to fight in Iraq, Afghanistan and other areas of the world also captivated by war. As of Tuesday, 25 November 2008, 176 British military deaths in the Iraq war have been reported and a staggering 4,200 US military deaths since the war began in 2003. Sometimes, it makes us wonder whether we have learnt anything from the past.

So the question of whether war is the maker of heroes or plainly the taker of innocent lives remains to be answered. The solution is not; as many have taken too long too realise, to assign more troops to fight and risk death, but to end it completely. When? That is up to us.