But the big question now is what will the 23 be able to do? Dave insists that he will stop them using EU institutions, a position backed by Jose Manuel Barroso, the European Commission President. But if the result is new institutions for the 23 (or the 25), then this looks less like a two-speed Europe and more like British withdrawal.

This is a fantastic opportunity to be involved in a company earmarked for high growth in the near future and to work with a strong leadership team who have a proven ability to create a global brand with a worldwide reputation. This is the start of the next phase of the development and an exciting time to join this business.

When considering these arguments, I always remind myself that I was brought up (about seven miles from where I live now) in a mining community. The biggest employer of the fathers at my village school was British Gypsum. It owned two serious gypsum mines (one of which is still functioning) nearby. They ran several miles underground, with lorries coming and going and a sort of pulley system carrying the product out of the mines and across the countryside. I never remember anyone suggesting that this industry was destroying our idyll. If anyone had said that the mines should be closed down because of environmental damage, he or she would have been thought mad.

Mr Roberts does not believe the information from Nixon was ever passed on to his grandparents, but following his mother's death, a photograph of the funeral was found in her possessions, apparently having been passed on from her parents. Another elderly relative told him that it was thought to have been sent to the family by a German from the squadron who had been present.

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