“Don’t Rain on Our Parade ..”

Beautiful blue skies on Remembrance Day Saturday, November 11, although there was a chill in the air, and army cadets out early at the War Memorial doing a brisk trade in sales of red poppies to the public.

How we hoped for the same weather for the Remembrance Commemoration on the Sunday!  

It was not to be.  Come Sunday morning and at about 10.00 a light rain started to fall and kept going until just after the Parade was over, but, was it enough to dampen our spirits?  NO!  If anything, the crowds were larger than last year’s dry Commemoration.  Still even this was a much better than the wet, cold and mud of World War One trenches.

A Moving Ceremony

Thousands thronged the High Street for the very moving tribute to the fallen, amongst whom were club members Brian Wellman and Peter Greene, there to pay tribute to the fallen and watch President Roger Kettle lay the wreath from the club. 

As usual a Remembrance Parade by the Army, Navy and Air Force cadet forces, British Legion, Scouts, Guides, and other local organisations marched down the High Street from Sun Corner and took up positions around the memorial.  And what a smart and solemn presence they were. 

Rev. Paul Carr, Team Rector of Billericay Churches and a former Billericay Rotary Club Member, opened the moving ceremony.

Names of the Fallen

Following an initial hymn came the reciting of that symbolic poem:

They shall grow not old, as we who are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

And the response:

At the going down of the sun and in the morning,
We will remember them ...

The Last Post was sounded followed by two minutes silence, then followed by a bible reading, a hymn, and prayers. 

There are of 62 fallen from World War I and 54 from World War II inscribed on the War Memorial.  As each of their names, regiments and ages were read out by members of the cadet forces present at the service, the Queen’s representative, the Deputy Lord Lieutenant of Essex stepped forward to lay a wreath, followed by John Baron MP, and other dignitaries.

They were followed by the Armed Forces and Associations, Civic and Community Groups, Churches and Service organisations, Businesses, and Local schools.

Finally, members of the public could pay tribute withwreaths or crosses.

This year, as in 2022, the local Ukrainian community laid a wreath in the colours of their national flag.

President Roger Kettle represented the Club, laying our wreath alongside the town’s other Rotary Clubs – Billericay Mayflower (represented by President Barry Fagg) and Billericay Town (represented by President Brian Pratt).
The Service ended with the National Anthem and the parade dismissed and marching off.

There ... Again

For the fifth year, 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 for us.  

We end this report as is customary with the words of that famous poem of the conflict:

“At The Going Down
Of The Sun And In
The Morning, We
Shall Remember Them”