REMEMBRANCE Day Commemarations in Barnard Castle will return to pre-Covid normality with a service taking place in St Mary’s Parish Church.
Last year, due to the pandemic, a pre-recorded service with representatives of the town council, police and other uniformed organisations was screened through social media channels before the traditional two-minutes’ silenced. An official service at the war memorial was not held.
Revd Canon Alec Harding confirmed this year’s Remembrance Day service, on Sunday, November 14, will return to a more traditional event
He said: “We will be back to our pre-Covid pattern. The only difference will be that Barney Band will not play at the service, though they will take part in the parade and act of remembrance at The Bowes Museum. This is to create more space in the church as we remain concerned about Covid.”
A public address system will be set up outside the church for anyone who may be concerned about being in a large congregation to hear the service. The congregation will need to be seated in church by 10.40am to observe the two-minutes’ silence at 11am. This will be followed by the service and parade to the cenotaph for wreath laying.
Before the pandemic, Remembrance Day events attracted large crowds of up to about 700 people in Barnard Castle. A temporary road closure application from St Mary’s Parish Church, along Newgate to The Bowes Museum following the service has been submitted with a traffic company managing matters. Town council clerk Martin Clark told members of the council’s partnership committee the police would attend the event, but would not be responsible for the closure, as a matter of policy. The estimated cost of the closure was expected to be about £500. Insp Ed Turner of Barnard Castle Police, said: “It is not a new policy. We haven’t been manning the road closures for some time. It was taken out of our hands some time ago. “We can’t guarantee that we could stay at an event if we were manning the closure and an emergency call came. It is not about us not supporting the Remembrance Day Services – we will be there laying a wreath – it is about ensuring everyone’s safety.”
