The people of Penzance came together last week to remember those from the parish who made the ultimate sacrifice.
On Monday, the Mayor of Penzance joined local veterans and senior Navy personnel to lay a poppy wreath on behalf of the town on a special ‘Poppies to Paddington’ Merlin Helicopter at RNAS Culdrose as part of ‘Routes of Remembrance’ 2023.
Routes of Remembrance, organised by The Veterans Charity, has seen hundreds of poppy wreaths travel across the UK and beyond by road, sea, rail, and air to honour the fallen since 2020 and Penzance Council were proud to once again be part of this poignant event for 2023.
Planned engineering works prevented trains from running between Penzance and Plymouth last week, so RNAS Culdrose deployed a Merlin helicopter to carry poppy wreaths from their base in Helston to Plymouth ahead of the GWR Remembrance service which took place on Friday 10 November at 11am at the iconic War Memorial at Paddington Station.
Cllr Stephen Reynolds, Mayor of Penzance said: “‘Poppies to Paddington’ is rapidly becoming an essential part of our local Remembrance commemorations, and this year’s event at Culdrose added a whole new dimension. At a time when images of war are in our minds daily, it’s more important than ever we remember those who gave their lives in past conflicts.”
This year marks 70 years since the end of the Korean War and the remembrance service at Paddington Station especially remembered the 81,000-Armed Forces personnel who took part in the Korean conflict.
Danny Greeno, CEO of The Veterans Charity, said: “Bringing communities, service personnel and Veterans together to remember in this special way is so important to ensure the sacrifices of the fallen are never forgotten. Our sincere thanks to everyone who is helping to make this happen, especially to GWR and RNAS Culdrose.”
The second act of Remembrance at the weekend, to honour and remember those from the Parish of Penzance who made the ultimate sacrifice, was a short service led by Pastor Charles Fleming and a two-minute silence at 11am on Saturday 11 November at the Memorial Gardens in Penlee Park.
The final act of Remembrance was the town’s Remembrance Parade & Service which took place on Sunday 12 November. Starting at St John’s Hall, the civic parade marched through the town to the War Memorial at Battery Rocks where a Remembrance Service was held. The Cornish language again featured prominently in the service, which was led by the Revd Howard Peskett.
The Mayor of Penzance and Councillors from Penzance Council were joined for the parade and service by the Deputy Lieutenant of Cornwall, Lady Mary St Levan; local veterans; representatives from the Royal British Legion Penzance Branch; Lieutenant Commander Simon Stevenson from RNAS Culdrose; Derek Thomas MP; Penzance Sea Cadets; Penzance Army Cadets; Penzance Police; Penzance Fire Station Crew; St John Ambulance; 1st Penzance Brownies; Penzance Salvation Army; Humphry Davy School; Mounts Bay Academy; St Mary’s C of E Primary School; the Penzance-Cuxhaven Twinning Association; the Rotary Club of Penzance and Penzance Lions Club. Penzance Silver Band also attended the service to play whilst the poppy wreaths were laid at the war memorial.
Penzance Council would like to thank Penzance BID and Jubilee Pool for their support of the event, Penzance Town Crier Phil Northcott, and Isaac Hutchings who played The Last Post. Thanks also to everyone who took part in the parade and service and to all the members of the public who lined the route and attended the service.
Remembrance Sunday Services were also held in Newlyn, Mousehole, Paul, Heamoor and Gulval to remember the service and sacrifice of all those from the parish – thank you to everyone who was involved in organising these events and to those who attended.
