Bury St Edmunds remembers the fallen during Armistice Day service on Angel Hill featuring schools
'We will remember them' cut through the silence on Angel Hill in Bury St Edmunds during today's Armistice Day service.
The event, held by Bury St Edmunds Town Council and the Royal British Legion (RBL), saw dignitaries, veterans, serving military, students and crowds gather to pay homage to those who died for their country in war and those caught up in current conflicts.
The Armistice, an agreement to end the fighting of the First World War as a prelude to peace negotiations, began at 11am on November 11, 1918, ans is marked annually with a two-minute silence at 11am on the 11th day of the 11th month.
At the war memorial on Angel Hill today, there was a service that began with Reverend Canon Tiffer Robinson, vicar of St Mary's Church in the town. The Exhortation and the Kohima Prayer were spoken by the RBL and there was a rendition of the last post bugle call by Imogen Foreman, 16, a student at Abbeygate Sixth Form College.
It ended with a wreath-laying ceremony including West Suffolk College, Westley Middle School, St Benedict's Catholic School, County High School (formerly County Upper) and Howard Community Academy.
Mayor of Bury St Edmunds Peter Thompson said: "First of all, it's nice to be able to gather in public and do this like this after the last couple of years. This year is particularly pertinent because of Ukraine.
"What is the main importance of this event for me is we engage with the schools and it was really pleasing to see so many young people here...and to be able to pass on this baton on Remembrance."
He added: "People see war on the TV and think it's very far away, but specifically with Armistice it was here and people from our town were fighting. We need to make sure the message is passed on to the next generation so it never happens again."
District and county councillor Robert Everitt said it was always an honour to come to this event and remarked that it was lovely to see so many children here.
He added: "Whilst standing here I think of our residents who cannot be here and therefore we are representing their desire to mark the occasion."
Nigel Wolstenholme, vice chairman of RBL Bury St Edmunds, said conflicts were unfortunately carrying on around the world all the time and it was therefore important to remember our armed forces.
"They are putting themselves between us and danger. I think of the ultimate sacrifice they can make - even when they come back they are not usually whole.
"It's important we remember that and show them our support and give them the support they need and their families."
He said Ukraine was a prime example of peoples around the world uniting to stand up to bullying, risking reprisals to ourselves.
People are invited to see schoolchildren's artwork on the theme of the Royal Navy at St Mary's Church in the town from Monday, November 14 - and the display is for the duration of November.
The local RBL branch challenged schools in the area to produce work on this theme.
