Remembrance Day reports

Remembrance Day was marked with ceremonies and church services around the country yesterday. Representatives from all faiths took part in the annual national service of remembrance at the Cenotaph in London. which was attended by the Queen with other members of the royal family and the main political party leaders. Nearby in Westminster Cathedral, a solemn Requiem Mass took place, attended by representatives of the armed forces. The chief celebrant was Fr Tim Dean. In his homily, Fr Michael Pava, Chaplain to the Grenadier Guards expressed gratitude to those who sacrificed their lives for their country. Remembrance Sunday in Stroud George Dickinson reports on the Remembrance Sunday service in the Gloucestershire town of Stroud. Ex-servicemen and women from the Immaculate Conception, together with those from the parish's Mass Centres, processed into the church, wearing the insignia of their service, to a specially built symbolic catafalque, to place wreaths, poppies, photographs and other mementoes of parishioners who are no longer with us. The congregation were also invited to place their own personal poppy or wartime memory of a loved one. The short but poignant ceremony culminated with the sounding of the Last Post, a minutes silence and then the Reveille played by an ex-Army Band Trumpeter. The British Legion Exhortation and Dedication was then recited. Parish Priest and Dean of Stroud Father David Ryan, an ex-Army Chaplain, brought this short ceremony to its close with prayers. The parade of ex-service parishioners included men of other European nationalities. One man escaped from a prisoner of war camp, travelled across Europe on foot to reach safety and eventually joined the British Army to continue his fight to free his country. Others took part in the battle of Monte Cassino. Also on parade were National Service men of all three services, men who have experienced first hand the problems of Northern Ireland and other trouble spots of the world. The nursing profession, past and present, together with members of other wartime services and civilian organizations were represented together with our own Leaders and members of the Girl Guide and Scouting organisations.