Remembrance

It’s that time of the year again.

Known in the Royal Navy as ‘November Ceremonies’ the Remembrance Parade guard will have been in training for around four weeks already.
I was fortunate enough to be selected for both the Cenotaph Guard and the Festival Of Remembrance In 1976, Clare did both in 1996.

As a child I can remember everything stopping at 1100 on the 11th of November, traffic stopped, people stopped and a hush fell over the town.

So we come to today and the first Poppy Laying Of 2017 For Falmouth.
I laid my ‘official’ Poppy on behalf of the Royal Naval Association and then following the service I laid the six Poppies that represent my family;
George Roberts - East Surrey Regiment - Killed In Action 31/03/1916
Charles Stevens - Royal Artillery - Germany 1945
Alfred Stevens - 1 Royal Tank Regiment - 1939 - 1945 - A Desert Rat
George Fry - Merchant Navy - 1939-1945
Phil Le’Vesconte - RCT - Op Banner
Gustav Knoch - Free Polish Army - Monte Cassino

Like generations before mine my career in the Military was defined by conflicts so I therefore laid Poppy Crosses to remember the friends, colleagues and fellow service personnel lost on operations such as;
Op Banner - Northern Ireland
Op Corporate - Falkland Islands
Op Telic - Iraq
Op Herrick - Afghanistan
Not forgetting all other Ops, Bosnia, Kosovo, Enduring Freedom, Sierra Leone et al.

Lastly I was greatly honoured to lay two more Poppy Crosses on behalf of my friend Steve, one for his old Regiment, the Coldstream Guards and one for his father, ex RFA