How the North East commemorates Remembrance Sunday

Remembrance Sunday, on November 8th, will be commemorated throughout the North East.

The country and globe will partake in a two minutes silence at 11am. Services and parades will be held including military personnel, dedicated charities and loved ones of soldiers. Poppies will be worn and wreaths laid in remembrance of all the fallen soldiers in conflicts.

In Sunderland, there is a Remembrance Sunday parade and service planned through the City Centre. Starting at Burdon Rd and ending at the War Memorial in Mowbray Park, the parade will include British Army personnel from 4^th Regiment Royal Artillery and 3^rd Battalion The Rifles, who both have the Freedom of the City. During the service, the First World War poem For the Fallen will be read out by Captain Joe Giles followed by a two minutes silence at 11am.

Throughout Sunderland, services will also be held at Castletown, Easington Lane, Fencehouses, Hetton, Houghton, Fatfield, Ryhope, Silksworth, South Hylton, Southwick and Washington Village.

Councillor Hutchinson said: “Remembrance Sunday is an important opportunity for the whole city to come together to pay tribute to all those who fought in conflicts past and present and those who made the ultimate sacrifice for their country.

“This year’s key anniversaries include the battles of the Somme and Jutland in the First World War, 70 years since the Suez Crisis and 25 years since UK forces entered Afghanistan after the September attacks of 9/11.”

Credit- Sunderland Council

In South Tyneside, many parades, services and wreath laying will take place across the area. Councillor and Deputy Litenants alike will join the services. Services will be held including at Westoe South Shields, Jarrow, Hebburn, Whitburn, Cleadon, East Boldon and Boldon Colliery.

The Mayor of South Tyneside, Councillor Stan Wildhirt said: “We owe an enduring debt of gratitude to those who gave their lives, as well as to our veterans and those who continue to serve today.”

In Durham Market Hall, Louisa Mclean started a project to gather thousands of handmade poppies to decorate the Market Hall. In the end she received almost double the amount of knitted or crocheted poppies then originally expected. The original aim was to make 16,386 poppies, one for each of fallen soldiers who died during WW1 and WW2 in Durham Light Infantry. However, she ended up receiving over 30,000 so the poppies have been spread across The Light art studio and The Story museum as well as the Market Hall.

Credits- Durham Market Hall

Louisa Mclean, from Durham Market Hall, said: “I wanted something visual that would make people stop, reflect, and think about the sheer magnitude of lives lost fighting for our freedom. Seeing a number written is one thing, but looking at a big display and realising that every single poppy represented a life lost is totally different and more impactful. It’s important to remember those who made the ultimate sacrifice, so creating this community project is a brilliant way of honouring them.”