We will remember them: residents and veterans urged to pay respects at home this year as official Remembrance Sunday parades and services are cancelled due to pandemic

In line with the national advice, there will be no official parades and services taking place on Remembrance Sunday

This year’s Remembrance Sunday parades and services will not take place in the Rochdale borough, due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Following the latest government announcement on restrictions and public gatherings, Councillor Janet Emsley, the council’s cabinet member for the Armed Forces, confirmed that, in line with the national advice, there will be no official parades and services taking place on Sunday 8 November.

The annual Remembrance parades attract hundreds and thousands of local residents who gather at cenotaphs across the borough to pay their respects. Due to the numbers who attend each year, it would be difficult to socially distance and keep everyone safe.

However, commemmorations will still go ahead, as residents and veterans will instead be encouraged to pay their respects at home, by observing the national two-minute silence and following special council videos, pictures and social media coverage.

Councillor Janet Emsley said: “We are immensely proud of our Armed Forces past and present. This year’s Remembrance Sunday will of course be commemorated, albeit probably in a different way. With the safety of veterans and residents the number one priority, we will be asking people to ‘remember at home’.

“By working in partnership with the local Armed Forces community and the Royal British Legion, we will ensure everyone is able to reflect and remember, this will include the national two minutes’ silence, local online videos on the day and images of veterans paying their respects at home.

“Our Armed Forces have always fought for us, now it’s our turn to fight for them by ensuring these brave men and women are protected at this crucial stage in the pandemic, in line with the Covid-19 rules around public gatherings.”

Councillor Emsley added that the council would shortly be announcing further details of how the day can be followed online.

Wing Commander David Forbes, president of the Rochdale branch of the Royal British Legion, said: “We owe so much to so many so, as always, it’s fitting and right that the borough will be paying their respects on Remembrance Sunday, but in a different way to normal.

“I am pleased that the council is encouraging people to commemorate the day at home. The health and wellbeing of residents and veterans is paramount. Everyone will have the opportunity to pay their respects, from the safety of their living rooms, as the borough comes together to reflect and remember on Sunday 8 November. Lest we forget.”