Column by Franklin Owusu-Antwi, South Gloucestershire Council's cabinet member for public health & equality of opportunity and lead on veterans affairs.

This week marks Remembrance, when many of us will pause to consider the sacrifices of others made while serving in our armed forces, during times of conflict and times of peace.

As someone who has proudly served in the British Army, in combat and peacetime roles, this time of year holds real significance for me. I know that for many in our community, it represents a time to think about friends and family who have served and in so doing have contributed to the lives that we can all enjoy today.

The spirit of remembrance is something I believe we should all hold inside ourselves all year round, which is why I founded the charity ASSISTPLUS, which support veterans in the community after they leave the forces. It is why we see wreaths and other commemorations left at graves and memorials throughout the year.

I am just as proud of my Ghanaian heritage as I am of my British heritage. In my time in service, with the Army, NATO and the United Nations, I have worked with people from around the world in pursuit of shared goals, to bring peace and understanding where otherwise there can be conflict.

There is a long and proud history of people from a huge diversity of backgrounds serving in the British Army who share our community ideals. The first black soldier to win The Victoria Cross was Samuel Hodge, from the British Virgin Islands, in 1866. His Commanding Officer cited him “the bravest soldier in the Regiment.”

Major James Africanus Beale Horton was born in Sierra Leone in 1835. He qualified as a doctor in Britain and joined the Army as an Assistant Surgeon, one of the first Africans in the officer corps, participating in several wars. Army service helped him develop important medical theories, earning him acclaim and promotion. He is held as the Father of modern African political thought writing pioneering works to rebut ideas of scientific racism.

Mary Seacole is well known. Born in Jamaica in 1805 she had already achieved much before following the Army to Crimea in 1854. Here she set up an establishment caring for wounded soldiers, travelling to battlefields to tend casualties and was nicknamed ‘Mother Seacole’ by soldiers for her compassion. Seacole is commemorated by a statue outside St Thomas’ Hospital in London.

These examples illustrate the valuable contribution of Caribbean and African peoples to the Army and they underline that many people, from many backgrounds, make many sacrifices.

At this time of remembrance, I think it is important to not only think about the ones we love and perhaps have lost, but to learn about those we don’t know. To learn about those things we have in common and which connect us, because these are the values those heroes served to preserve and that is what we should remember at this time of the year, and everyday, as we work in our lives to make the world worthy of their sacrifice.