I AM a 21st century Colonel Blimp, bursting with pride in the great things about Britain.

I have the deepest respect for today’s servicemen sent by our country to bleak troublespots in the world; feel moved by the unity shown in Britain for wanting our football teams to wear the poppy on their shirts; and salute the veterans marching in memory of fallen comrades.

So I am, perhaps, an unexpected voice of support for the peaceful protesters who set up camp outside St Paul’s and, indeed, the small band in 12 tents tucked by the side of Bournemouth town hall.

Obviously, Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday are extremely important. Lest we ever dare forget, they honour those who fell in the service of our country. And at the heart of what they – and my father and grandfather – fought for was something very precious. Freedom and democracy.

It seems ironic to me that a reason cited for evicting the town hall camp should be Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday. We may think the protest camps are an inconvenience and, perhaps, self-delusory but they have raised issues and I defend their right to hold a peaceful protest. In a dignified way.

That is democracy at work.

And, though sitting in a tent may seem an odd way to exercise our liberty and some may regard the protesters’ efforts to tackle such issues as the greedy profits enjoyed by the super-rich at a time of austerity as ineffective and lacking practical purpose, I applaud their desire for a better world.

That is what so many of our servicemen sacrificed their lives for. But this Armistice Day we should hold fire on the future and give humble thanks to those who gave their lives in the past, safeguarding the freedom we should treasure today.