I do not buy a poppy nor do I hang my head in shame (Letters, November 12).

I am an ex-serviceman who served in Normandy months before my 18th birthday with the Durham Light Infantry.

I came through it all unharmed but still remember the "who, when, where and why" of my mates who did not make it or who were injured.

I do not need a poppy to remember them but I do observe the silence.

So, you see, I do care, as probably do a lot of other people who don't wear poppies.

-John Nunn, Eastern Road, Brighton