Oxford is right to remember its German war dead

The Queen’s College, Oxford, has put in a planning application to add the names of five alumni who died fighting for the Germans to its first world war memorial. Richard Tice, deputy leader of Reform, expressed his outrage at the plan earlier this week. ‘Where will this wokery end?’ he told the Telegraph. ‘War memorials in the UK should be to remember those who paid the ultimate sacrifice to protect and defend the Allied nations.’

The Great War hit Oxford colleges particularly hard. 20 per cent of the 15,000 who enlisted died. Officers led from the front, which was reflected in their mortality rate – almost double the overall average.

William Spooner, warden of New College, took a stand. He ensured that German alumni were included alongside their colleagues on the running list of the dead, which was kept on the chapel door while the war was fought.