While you are not the only publication to do this, you are the only one that comes directly to my door every week, so I am addressing this issue to you.

Why is it that anyone over the age of 60 is referred to as 'an OAP'?  Similarly, why is any person (usually a man) who has ever been in the military referred to as a 'war hero' or just a 'hero'?

I have always found this irritating, but since turning 60 this year I have found it to be especially annoying. 

I am a professional flight nurse who flies worldwide repatriating mostly OAPs (I use that term deliberately) who are sick or injured, back to their home country.    I have also been a broadcast journalist (with a Master's degree in journalism), tour leader, veterinary nurse, press officer, recruitment consultant, sales clerk, English teacher, and a few other things. 

I have lived in a variety of countries, including in the developing world.

I would really like to think that if you needed or wanted to do a piece about some aspect of my life that you could find ways to refer to me other than just calling me an OAP.

I would not want the world to think that because of my age I just spend my time sitting around collecting government money.   It's so easy to generalise and remove a person's identity. 

I've got 2 cats – I'd rather be referred to as a Crazy Cat Lady than an OAP.  At least that would give me a personality.

As for members or former members of the armed forces, I can assure you that just because someone puts on a uniform, even in a time of war, they are not automatically a hero. 

While I mean no disrespect to anyone involved in the forces, you might be horrified to find out some of the things these 'heroes' have done while in uniform. 

I come from a very 'military' background and did a lot of my academic research on war, so I'm afraid I have strong views on the subject. 

Some military personnel can truly be called heroes but it is as wrong to generalise people in uniform as it is to generalise people over 60.

Today the term 'hero' is used in the same way as the term 'celebrity', and real heroes and true celebrities are cheapened by the media usage of these terms.

Such generalisations are just lazy journalism, and the type of thing you might expect from the likes of The Sun. 

The Review may have an audited circulation of only 46,034, and it may not be widely read outside of The Forest, but it's readers deserve better, as do the people unlucky enough to find themselves on the front page as a victim of crime.

– Deborah Neal, Broadwell.