The Crowds Return

Remembrance Day Service

No blue skies on Remembrance Sunday, November 14, this year, but it was unseasonably warm and a long way from the wet, cold and mud of World War 1 trenches when club members paid tribute to our fallen at the Billericay War Memorial.

Last year‘s Remembrance Day ceremony at the War Memorial was totally disrupted by Covid, so .... would the crowds of previous years return in 2021? or would fear of Covid etc keep them away?  The answer was a resounding “yes” as thousands thronged the High Street for the very moving tribute to the fallen, amongst the public were club members Ed Harrison, Peter Greene, Patrick Rothon and Keith Wood (and wife Gillian), and of course President Les Sheppard who was on wreath duty.

The Remembrance Parade by the Army and Air Force cadet forces, British Legion, Scouts, Guides, and other local organisations was greeted with applause by the waiting thousands.

A Moving Ceremony

Rev. Paul Carr, Team Rector of Billericay Churches and a former Billericay Rotary Club member, opened the moving ceremony.  Following initial prayers, the Last Post was sounded followed by two minutes silence, followed by hymns, and a bible reading.

Wreath laying at the memorial was led by the Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Essex, followed by John Baron MP, Mayor David Dadds of Basildon and Billericay, Billericay Town Council Leader Jim Devlin, representatives of the armed forces and the Royal British Legion, then other Local organisations and service clubs including Rotary, with the wreath laying by each group interspersed with the reading out of the names and regiments of all the fallen from the two world wars.

Finally members of the public had an opportunity to pay tribute by laying wreaths or planting crosses.

President Les Sheppard represented the Club in the presence of many Members, laying our wreath alongside our other Rotary Clubs – Billericay Mayflower (represented by Past President Barry Howe) and Billericay Town (represented by President Gytha Washington).

There ... Again

For the fourth year running, the War Memorial was flanked by the two “There but not There” Tommies, one of which had been fully funded by us in the memory of the late Club President Trevor Stansfield, also past Chairman of the Town Council and many other town organisations.

Trevor was dedicated to ensuring our War Memorial reflected the pride in which we hold those who had lost their lives on our behalf.

“At The Going Down

Of The Sun And In

The Morning, We

Will Remember Them”