Remembrance 2022

 

RBL Chairman Barbara Tolan welcomed everyone to the Act of Remembrance together with RBL Chaplain, Rev Erwin Lammens and standard bearers Will Wheatley and Dan Luxford.

Photo by Peter Hill

 

Mrs Bonnie Hill with High Sherriff of Essex Nick Alston CBE DL and his wife Philippa

Photo by Peter Hill

 

Standards of the Legion and Scouts & Guides who were present for the Act of Remembrance

Photo by Peter Hill

 

Crowds around the War Memorial

Photo by Peter Hill

 

Victoria Carrick, Poppy Apeal Organiser for the Wivenhoe Branch of the Royal British Legion lays a wreath

Photo by Peter Hill

 

Sir John Ashworth who laid the Citizen's Wreath

Photo by Peter Hill

 

Wreaths around the War Memorial with members of the Wivenhoe Scouts & Guides present for the roll call of names and wreath laying - November 2022

Photograph by Jeannie Coverley

 

One of three crowns and hundreds of poppies that were all around the church

A lot of thought and effort goes into the planning and preparation of the commemoration events to mark Armistice Day of 11th November 1918 and it involves a lot of people. It is good that so many people feel that the events of WW1, WW2 and subsequent conflicts need to be remembered and are willing to support the work of the Royal British Legion and other organisations still.  The significance of the poppy is as strong as ever,

This year we saw the creation of a Memorial Garden planted with 55 trees on land between Broadfields and Wivenhoe Town Football Club, one tree for each of the people named on the War Memorial who died from war in the last 100 years.  These trees were the result of an idea and hard work of Phil Long, the support and enthusiam of teachers and youngsters of Broomgrove Junior School who planted them, and Taylor Wimpey who allocated land for them off Elmstead Road and supported the project in different ways.   Click here to see more.

On Friday 11th November 2022, a group of about 40 people gathered around the War Memorial, led by RBL Chaplain, Rev Erwin Lammens, to mark the two minute silence and to remember all of the fallen.

On Sunday, 13th November, St Mary’s Church was full for the RBL Service of Remembrance. It had been decorated with hundreds of poppies by Mrs Bonnie Hill and a wonderful team of people from the Legion and the Church who had created a display based on a theme recognising the sad passing of Queen Elizabeth II, patron of RBL, just two months earlier,  We were delighted that the High Sheriff of Essex, Nicholas Alston CBE DL and his wife were able to join us this year. They were both impressed by the number of people who attended the event and especially all of the youngsters who joined Barbara Tolan, Chairman, RBL Wivenhoe Branch, and many other dignatories including Sir Bernard Jenkin MP, Cllr Tom Kane, Wivenhoe Town Mayor, after the church service to stand around the War Memorial for the Roll Call of names read out by the President of the Wivenhoe Branch, Peter Hill. This was followed by the laying of a huge number of wreaths by many people, led in her official capacity by Deputy Lieutenant Mrs Bonnie Hill JP MBE.

Poppy Appeal Organiser for the Wivenhoe Branch of RBL, Victoria Carrick, who has worked particularly hard and with her three assistants, Mary Hignell, Jenny Allen and Charm Wheatley, and was very pleased to announce that £9,650 was raised this year through all of the various things that had been organised – poppy tins, a daily stall at Tescos, raffles and more. This sum is considerably more than last year. People have been very generous.

Lest we forget

See also:

• About the Wivenhoe War Memorial unveiled in 1921 – Click here
• The refurbishment of the War Memorial in 2005 – Click here
• A Memorial Garden in Memory of the Fallen at the top of Wivenhoe – Click here