LIKE hundreds of other Boltonians, I attended the Remembrance Day service on Sunday, November 10.

We were there to remember those soldiers and civilians, men, women and children, who have lost their lives in war.

During the service, the Vicar of Bolton expressed the hope that war can be averted in Iraq, a hope we no doubt all share. It was a moving occasion on which people from all different backgrounds gathered to pay homage to the dead.

A few days later, however, when walking past the war memorial in Victoria Square, I noticed that someone had desecrated the memorial by vandalising one of the wreaths laid during Sunday's ceremony. Whoever it was who sprayed the white CND wreath with red paint should certainly feel ashamed. This wreath has been laid on Remembrance Day for many years. In fact white poppies are not a new idea; people have been wearing them since 1938.

Those who wear a white poppy want to remember and show respect for the war dead, but believe that war is fundamentally wrong and will never be a solution to arguments between nations. In modern wars, about 90 per cent of casualties are civilians. A war against Iraq, if it takes place, will be no exception.

Perhaps the person disagrees with the pacifist point of view. He has every right to do so, but, by daubing red paint on a wreath, he only shows his own narrow-mindedness. I wore a white poppy last Sunday, but I wouldn't dream of showing such disrespect to those who prefer the red version. If the culprit thinks that red paint can silence those who he disagrees with, he is wrong. Pacifists will continue to show their respects for the war-dead in the way they see fit. A frank discussion on the value of war is something to be encouraged. But this furtive vandalism is both intolerant and childish.

John Greenwood

St Paul's Place

Halliwell, Bolton