Remembrance belongs to us all. It does so because we are all beneficiaries of what past generations secured on our behalf: freedom. The freedom we enjoy now would not have been possible without the sacrifice of those who let go of their freedom.

At a time when our society remains more fragmented and anxious than any of us could have thought and would want, remembrance is something we can share as members of society. British troops fought alongside soldiers from across the Commonwealth, including 1.5 million Indian soldiers, 40,000 of them Muslims from present Pakistan, and most people are still unaware that Muslims fought for Britain in world war one. This shared history should play a huge role in the integration of cultures that at present struggle to be reconciled. The Remember Together initiative brings people together to learn about the multi-ethnic, multifaith armies of world war one, and to understand what remembering our history can mean for identity and for belonging in our society today.

When we commemorate battles past, for courage, sacrifice and loss, we think of all those who answered the call to defend freedom from tyranny, people who, despite their differences, had one thing in common—their shared humanity. Human existence and survival are not just conditional on the individual and the community but the developing relationship between the individual and society, which provides the real source of enlightenment for both and helps humanity to thrive. As an individual you can't attain perfection unless you are part of the community, where so much is to be gained.

As a retired surgeon, I am reminded at this time of year of the contribution of our doctors and nurses in a time of war. The first world war was the first truly industrial conflict in human history, a conflict that, over four years, would leave over 750,000 British troops dead, with a further 1.6 million injured, the majority with orthopaedic injuries. Against this backdrop, the skills of the orthopaedic surgeon were brought to the fore. Millions died and millions more were left disabled. Faced with such carnage, the medical profession did, indeed, respond magnificently.

Two Welshmen were responsible for one of the most important advances, the Thomas splint, which is still used in war zones today. It was invented in the late nineteenth century by pioneering surgeon Hugh Owen Thomas of Liverpool, often described as the father of British orthopaedics, born in Anglesey to a family of bone setters. But it was his surgeon nephew Robert Jones, later Sir Robert, who as a major general inspector of orthopaedics in the military, was mainly responsible for rolling out its use on the battlefield in the first world war and became a father figure of British orthopaedic surgery. He had established a hospital in Oswestry before the war with Agnes Hunt. In the fullness of time, the Robert Jones and Agnes Hunt Orthopaedic Hospital would become recognised as a centre of orthopaedic excellence.

In 1914, 80 per cent of soldiers with broken thigh bones died. The use of the Thomas splint meant that, by 1916, 80 per cent of soldiers suffering that injury survived. With hundreds of thousands of injured soldiers returning home, the first world war also led to a new emphasis on rehabilitation and continuing care. There were huge advances in prosthetic limb technology to meet the needs of hundreds of thousands of amputees. The system of healthcare was overwhelmed but new capacity was built. The first world war is remembered for so much—for liberty and freedom, for life without the risk of aggression. For me as a surgeon, it is also about what others did to treat and support those who fought and were injured. So, today I wanted to acknowledge this and say with pride that we will all remember you. Thank you.