THE FALLEN were remembered at the borough’s annual remembrance service and parade on Sunday (November 11).
Mayor Tom Mahoney led the civic party to the war memorial gates in Hillmorton Road.
Representatives from around 20 contingents, including the 4th Battalion of the Parachute Regiment (D Company), the Royal British Legion, ex-service organisations, Girls’ Brigade and Boys’ Brigade, marched on parade to the war memorial gates.
The service was led by the Reverend Imogen Nay, assisted by Father Tom Thomas. The exhortation was given by Martin Myatt, of the Rugby No.1 branch of the Royal British Legion, while the Kohima Epitaph was given by the mayor’s cadet, Cadet Ft Sgt Lewis Wakelin, from the 29F (Rugby) Squadron of the Air Cadets.
The Warwickshire and West Midlands Corps of Drums provided the music for the service.
Open letter from Tim Fountain, President Rugby No 1 Branch, Royal British Legion
On behalf of the Royal British Legion I would like to say thank you to the residents of Rugby and the wider Borough for the tremendous support given to the Poppy Appeal in 2018.
In 2018 the Royal British Legion led the nation in saying thank you to the First World War generation who served, sacrificed and changed our world.
The WW1 generation gave us the freedom we have today. The public were asked to be a part of their history – to do something big or small to say thank you. The residents of Rugby certainly did that, with tremendous displays at home, in businesses and public buildings with wonderful poppy festivals and music events. It was inspiring to travel round Rugby and to see poppies everywhere – be it on a lamppost, a fence or adorning statues and memorials. It was inspiring also to see so many people wearing poppies in their many different forms.
We wanted to thank all of those who fought and remember those who paid the ultimate sacrifice. We wanted to thank the arts, as arts and culture were impacted and influenced by the experiences of poets, artists and musicians. We wanted to thank the children whose lives were changed by either the loss of a parent, a sibling or a loved relation or faced a future living with the same maimed or injured by the horror of war. We wanted to thank the WWI pioneers, driven to innovate and introduce things such as the wrist watch and tea bags for example. We wanted to thank the women of WWI who played a huge part in the war effort and changed their role in society with so many women working in jobs outside the home and shaping the future for women in years to come. We wanted to thank the Commonwealth who answered the call to come and volunteer from far and wide places such as India, the Carribean and Africa, all of whom today form a vibrant part of our culture. We wanted to thank the Armed Forces not only for serving but also for bringing the resolve they had in war to bring about change in the social climate. Returning home they found a struggling economy and housing shortages. Despite this they brought the same resolve to peace that they had shown in war, helping to rebuild Britain.
The Poppy Appeal wouldn’t be possible without the dedication of volunteers and these are not just from the Royal British Legion but from many churches and other voluntary groups, as well as tremendous support from the Mayor, Tom Mahoney, so to all the volunteers, I say thank you.
I would also like to say thank you to all of the businesses and schools that helped support the Poppy Appeal by either making corporate donations or letting us leave a box of poppies and collecting on our behalf.
Without all of your support the Royal British Legion wouldn’t be able to carry on its work supporting both veterans and those that currently serve as well as their families. The Royal British Legion offers help in many different ways including advice on finances, support to help independent living, to provide care in dedicated Royal British Legion care homes, to provide help for those who need it during recovery and also providing respite care where that helps and finally helping service personnel with advice and support on adjusting to civilian life. If you want to know more then a good place to start is www.britishlegion.org.uk or call 0808 802 8080 between 8am and 8pm.
None of this is possible without your support and all I can say again is thank you. Together we can make a difference
Tim Fountain
President Rugby No 1 Branch, Royal British Legion
