London, Aug 21 (IANS) Britain’s military veterans formed a ‘guard of dishonour’ for a woman who has been convicted of urinating and performing a drunken sex act on a man at a monument built in the memory of soldiers who were killed in the two world wars.
The ex-servicemen were present when Wendy Lewis, 32, came to court for sentencing after being convicted of outraging public decency.
When news of her arrest and court appearance before Blackpool magistrates leaked out, a dozen veterans camped outside the court, The Sun reported Saturday.
Angry military veterans formed the ‘guard of dishonour’ for Lewis who was caught urinating next to a row of poppies at the cenotaph in Blackpool, Lancashire, and then performing oral sex on a man. She was earlier convicted and a warrant is due to be issued for her arrest.
D-Day veteran James Baker, 88 — one of only two men from his army unit to survive the 1944 landings — said: ‘This woman is a disgrace to her sex because the young women of Britain in both wars distinguished themselves and they deserve their recognition.’
‘It is absolutely disgraceful and there is no excuse whatsoever for what she did. It is disgusting. She has also insulted the good name of every soldier named on that memorial just for some puerile pleasure worthy of a common alley cat,’ Baker fumed.
‘The men named on that memorial died for their country so that people like this woman could live in freedom. Yet, she went beyond the pale with no regards, morals or scruples at all as to what she was doing.’
Ian Coleman, 71, president of the Blackpool Royal British Legion and who was in the Royal Army Medical Core, added: ‘This woman is the most disgusting person in this country. These names on the cenotaph are the names of people that have given us all our freedom.’
‘Anyone who commits such vile acts as have been perpetrated on that memorial should automatically lose the freedom that those fallen have given everybody – have given her,’ Coleman said.
During an earlier hearing, the court was told that police were called to the cenotaph near North Pier one night in June this year.
CCTV operators told them a woman was relieving herself on the monument, which gives the names of fallen soldiers who died during World War One and Two.
When officers arrived they found Lewis performing the sex act on a man sat on a bench next to the tribute.
A 15-minute DVD of the events was played to the court and showed Lewis — cigarette in mouth — pulling down her jeans before squatting on the floor while cyclists and members of the public passed by.
