Remembrance

00:00:00 Amanda Blanc

So this is a very different year. As I put my beautiful poppy on this morning, I was reflecting about the fact that Aviva has been extremely resilient in this difficult year. Now we come to this time of year where we really need to reflect on the past, and sometimes I think that past can feel like it's hundreds of years ago, ancient history, and certainly as the men and women that were so important in that past now become faded into history it can be very difficult for us to keep the memories alive

00:00:39 Amanda Blanc

I reflect on this because it was actually last year – about a year ago – my grandfather, he passed away and he was 99 and a half. He was in a reserved occupation during World War Two as a miner. Actually, both my grandparents were, and I find it extremely sad that the stories that he would tell us about that time and about how difficult it was, and the resilience of him and my grandmother and the family, and the way that people lived, and the things that they had to put up with during those difficult times can easily be forgotten.

00:01:15 Amanda Blanc

And I think it's really important that we as Aviva, and we in the communities in which we operate, make sure that we do not forget. We do not forget the significant amount that those men, women and children gave for us to have the lives that we have today.

00:01:32 Amanda Blanc

And I just want us as an organisation to really reflect on that and to think very carefully about our actions to make sure that we always do the right thing as they did.