SIXTY years ago, they fought and died for us. Today, it seems, we must fight for them: fight to keep their memory alive.

Every year at this time, we spare a few coins and a few moments in honour of our war fallen.

But for how much longer? The generation of men and women who sacrificed so much for our freedom is dwindling with each year that passes, and our collective memory is fading too.

A few years ago, we highlighted the shocking state of the inscriptions on the Station Rise war memorial in York. The names were in danger of being washed away. Then, in 2001, the York Poppy Appeal was threatened with closure, before a new headquarters was found.

On Monday we reported how the Festival of Remembrance organisers warned it could be York's last, as its home, the Barbican Centre is set to be replaced.

And today, we report how City of York Council asked whether the British Legion had the cash to pay for the removal of recycling banks near the Barbican, as part of the security measures for the festival. An insensitive inquiry, to say the least.

The council is right to be constantly on the look out for cost savings. But this was not the time or the place to penny pinch.

For a year, the council knew that this event was planned and had security implications. When officers discovered they did not have the money to move the skips, they should have used contingency funds, rather than approaching the British Legion.

It was a mistake. But one made possible by the diminishing respect being shown to the season of remembrance. We should be on our guard against this worrying trend and reaffirm our pledge: we shall remember them.

Updated: 10:07 Wednesday, November 05, 2003