THE threat and fear of war has loomed large across the world since the terrorist atrocities in the United States, on September 11.

The day - many claim as having changed the world - shattered complacent beliefs in peace and evoked a sense of unease.

The reprisal bombing raids on Afghanistan have divided many - and fuelled fears that conflict could escalate.

The feeling that worse could be to come seems to have added a fresh relevance and poignancy to this year's Remembrance Sunday, on November 11.

Maybe the proximity of military action and reality of suffering has brought people's endurance in the last two world wars into sharper focus for a new generation.

But for one man the annual event has always been of the utmost significance.

Jim Shelton, 75, of Burley-in-Wharfedale, has organised the village's poppy appeal for almost 50 years.

When I visited him at his home in Lawn Avenue, Mr Shelton joked I was lucky to find space to sit down as his house is crammed with boxes filled with thousands of poppies.

Mr Shelton, who has been married to his wife Hazel for 54 years, (secretary of the women's branch of the Royal British Legion, in Burley), was himself in conflict in the Second World War.

He travelled with the Royal Navy for almost ten years and took part in campaigns in France and Germany. Following the war, he was involved in action in Malaysia and Korea.

Like many couples of the time, he was only able to communicate with Hazel - who was in the Wrens - through letters and they arranged leave together to be able to marry.

Mr Shelton said: "We met on leave and I was going to Ceylon and Hazel was going to Scotland. And so we said we would write to each other and got each other's addresses and went our separate ways, both thinking, 'he'll not write and she'll not write'. But we did and 18 months later we got married, at the age of 21."

The veteran - who joined the British Legion 47 years ago- believes deeply in the ethos that people should not forget those who fell in battle.

He said: "The people who do not appreciate it do not realise just how much they owe to people who lost their lives - and you must not forget those who lost their lives to make the world a better place.

"There is a well-known quote, 'Greater love hath no man than this that a man lay down his life for his friend,' and that sums it up for me.

"There were bombs dropped all around, in Leeds and Bradford and Yeadon and the point that I make is that everybody suffered in the village because they had search lights around and anti-air craft guns. Everybody knew somebody who was in the services and somebody who had died. It is only right that people realise just what people did give up."

But Mr Shelton is not the type to stand on a soapbox - his style is to keep the spirit of those who died alive through hard work rather than preaching.

He said: "When I joined the British Legion, I went to the AGM and came away as secretary. When people say to me, 'I'm bored, I've got nothing to do', I say the best thing you can do is join an organisation and go to its AGM. You will come away as something and that still applies today."

Such long-standing commitment to a community role is not unusual for Mr Shelton.

As we chat and he tells me of his involvement with many such organisations, I begin to feel lethargic just listening.

Mr Shelton is also an active member of and leading light in the Ilkley Moor Lions Group, formerly known as Wharfedale Lions.

He has been a member of the group for 27 years - since he was head-hunted in 1974 - and has achieved recognition on an international level.

He said: "They kept asking me because in those days when I was on Ilkley Urban District Council, we used to have several balls and invite all the organisations to it. They kept asking me to join the lions because I was so helpful to them and I said I couldn't until I had finished being a member of the council. When it became Ilkley Parish Council the chap rang me the same night and said, 'parish doesn't mean the same thing, you can join now', so I said, 'yes'."

Being involved has given Mr Shelton enormous satisfaction - he showed me a clutch of awards and certificates from the Lions organisation - including the Melvyn Jones Fellowship Award for dedicated humanitarian service, the highest award a Lion can receive.

It is a busy time of year for Mr Shelton - or should I say the Sheltons - as he insists he could do nothing without the committed help of his wife.

The advent of the poppy season comes just after the Lion's bonfire and firework display, at the end of October, in Ilkley - which this year reached an important landmark.

Mr Shelton has been organising the breathtaking event for a quarter of a century.

He said: "We had always had a fair up until the war. It was at the time of the Silver Jubilee of the Queen that the club decided to change to a bonfire. I decided I would get involved.

"The week before, sometimes, I think why am I doing all this and then when you get down to the field and hear the kids going, 'ooh' and 'aah' it makes it all worthwhile."

As well as this extravaganza,

the Lions, which meet at the Red Lion Pub, in Burley, work tirelessly all year round in numerous

projects for charity, including Martin House Hospice, at Boston Spa and West Yorkshire Air Ambulance.

The group is now suffering from a lack of members - and Mr Shelton is keen to introduce more, especially younger people to the charity group.

Mrs Shelton said: "At one time when I started there were over 30 members and we were all younger but now we are down to a team of 11."

The couple also lament the loss of the social aspect of the Lions club.

Mrs Shelton said: "When Jim first went into it we were all a lot younger. The women and children, if people had any, went along and we'd do things together."

Mr Shelton, who is multiple district distribution manager, as well as district secretary for the Lions, said he thoroughly enjoys his involvement - and seeks no praise.

He said: "I am not in it for glory or reward. The satisfaction is seeing the benefit for others."

Mr Shelton is also well-known in the village for his work as a member of the former Ilkley Urban District Council, of which he was chairman in 1965 and 1972.

He said: "Times have changed since I first joined. I was chairman on two occasions. I was invited and another year they invited me again because I said I'd enjoyed it so much. ."

Tied with the position, at that time, was the opportunity to be an ex-officio magistrate for one

year.

When legislation changed and magistrates had to receive a formal training, Mr Shelton - in typical fashion - decided to stay on.

He was a magistrate from 1968 to 1996 enforcing the law - and rose to be chairman of the bench.

All this when he was holding a full-time job at Garnetts paper mill, in Otley, where he eventually became sales manager.

The couple, who have one daughter, Lesley, and two grandchildren, Andrew, 25, and Jane, 22, exemplify the term pillars of the community - and it is obvious that their hearts belong to Burley.

Hazel has only moved six doors from where she was born and both are obviously committed to contributing to village life.

Their history - and relationship too - are also inextricably linked to the village.

Mr Shelton said: "We knew each other from eight years old and I was a horrible boy and she hated me. She was on the moors with her friends doing some knitting. Being brave we went over and pinched her knitting.

"Ten years later, when we were both 18, she came to her senses. We met on leave and went out and carried on from there."

I leave understanding perfectly why Remembrance Day should be honoured.

Mr Shelton exemplifies the honour and integrity of a generation of men who risked their lives for people like me.

I feel almost guilty at my own inertia and certainly inspired by all that Mr Shelton - and his wife - have achieved in the name of a genuine charitable impulse.