Posted on 11/21/2006 10:43:01 AM PST by atomic conspiracy
Harrods bans soldiers on Poppy Day By Mail on Sunday Reporter
A serving Army officer was banned from entering Harrods on Remembrance Day in case his uniform upset other shoppers.
Lieutenant Daniel Lenherr had just taken part in a parade honouring Britain's war dead when the London department store turned him away at the door.
The security guard told him other customers might be intimidated by the uniform.
The 26-year-old soldier, who serves in the 1st regiment of the Royal Horse Artillery, had been at commemorations in Hyde Park Corner last weekend when he decided to visit the shop with his wife Michelle and their one-year-old son.
Mrs Lenherr, who lives in Tidworth, Hampshire, said: "We were horrified when we were refused entry on a day when we honoured the men who sacrificed so much for our freedom. I find it sad this can happen."
The store has stood by their dress policy, saying: "There is a long-standing tradition at Harrods that would normally preclude customers who are wearing non-civilian attire from entering the store.
"A lot of people assume that somebody in uniform is either there on official duty, which could cause them alarm, or they assume they're a member of staff and ask them where the lavatories are and so on."
But the shop came under fire for its ban.
Shadow Defence Minister Mark Harper said: "It's an outrageous slap in the face to our Armed Forces who are serving our country around the world. On Remembrance Sunday it's even more of an insult. I cannot see any legitimate reason for a shop not to let in members of the Armed Forces in uniform."
And Thomas Carter MBE, a former Warrant Officer in the Royal Horse Artillery, said Mr Lenherr had been treated disgracefully.
The 78-year-old said: "Harrods' policy is a load of rubbish. It treats members of the Armed Forces as sixth-rate citizens. It definitely makes it worse that it was on Remembrance Sunday, as that's the day everybody wears uniform."
Rival department stores Selfridges and Harvey Nichols said they had no problem with service personnel entering their stores in uniform.
Methinks the SAS should be sent to Mr. Fayad's residence to have a little "Chat" with him...
It is an outrage. Mohammed al-Fayed should be in prison already. Pack him and his family up and drop them in the Atlas Mountains.
amen
It is a sad day for the United Kingdom when one of Her Majesty's officers is denied entry to a public place by a shopkeeper. One can only hope that the British shop elsewhere in the future.
Marks and Spencer gives good rates when you are changing dollars to pounds or euros. Their underwear and socks are top rate too.
O it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Tommy, go away";
There's always been a certain element of this ... perhaps worse toward enlisted than officers (debatable?) ... a presumption on the part of some elements of society that Soldiers are Soldiers because they can't "make it on the outside". That snobbery was usually tempered by the hypocritical:
But it's "Thank you, Mister Atkins", when the band begins to play,
in which the snobs are at least sometimes willing to recognise that the Soldier is doing necessary work.
Beginning with the scandalous maltreatment of veterans returning from SEA, and continuing today, the pacifists aren't even willing to do that. The band's playing. The drums are rolling. There's trouble in the wind. And these freaks still both literally and figuratively spit on Tommy.
Haven't bought anything there in decades, and never will again. ;)
No; American, not Brit, but I do have relatives in the area whom I occasionally have buy stuff for me.
But not at Harrod's ever since it was made part of Dar al Islam. The R.H.s get enough of my money to fight us with via oil and "foreign aid", without willing giving them more.
On my visits to London in the 80s and 90s, I spent a lot more at M&S than Harrod's!
Yup. I had two friends who came back to the States all banged up from Nam. One got slapped in the face, the other his crutch grabbed from him. Both were obviously wounded (in uniform, with crutches, one also with a neck brace). I got off lightly with verbal insults.
So much for the pacifists filled with compassion.
Perfect. Thank you.
I was hopeing someone would post this.
Give yourself an attaboy
ATTABOY
The more things change the more they remain the same.
(They actually did stomp a bunch of zoot-suiters for a lot less.)
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