Cheadle Hulme & Bramhall Remember

After last year’s restrictions, it was both humbling and heart-warming to see so many people return to pay their respects once more. Remembrance Sunday in Cheadle Hulme and Bramhall brought hundreds of people, young and old, veterans and civvies, officials and onlookers together, to remember and respect.

They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun and in the morning

We will remember them.

Always a moving and emotional occasion, every year the turn out seems more extensive and stronger as more and more of us make the effort. And what a minuscule effort it is when compared to what our ancestors went through. It’s an even tinier effort to stop and hold your bike or to turn off your car engine and simply wait a few minutes. Those who didn’t, would you mind doing that next time?

When You Go Home, Tell Them of Us And Say,

For Your Tomorrow, We Gave Our Today.

It’s important to remember, pause for thought, and respect those who have gone before and teach our children the same. To appreciate the freedoms we have and to continue to strive for them. We will, hopefully, never truly understand the sacrifices made, but we CAN always appreciate them.

Cheadle Hulme Remembers

In Cheadle Hulme, the parade and laying of wreaths at the Cenotaph is earlier than elsewhere, at 10 am, before a remembrance service takes place at Cheadle Hulme Methodist Church at 11am. The parade left from the Methodist Church, heading up Station Road, where onlookers lined the road and waited at the Memorial.

Edward, Sam and Joe from the First Cheadle Hulme Scouts carried the Union Flag. Our MP, Mary Robinson, and local councillors and council candidates followed, then local police, countless more scouts, cubs, brownies and guides, beavers and explorers and all their volunteer leaders and helpers.  They, along with Assistant District Commissioner John King should also be thanked for organising the parade and helping install the poppies. Many other local clubs, groups and organisations joined in, too. It’s a true privilege to be part of it.

Bramhall Remembers

In Bramhall, the parade and service took place at the Memorial to mark the traditional 11^th hour. The 11am silence is to commemorate Armistice Day – the 11^th hour, of the 11^th day of the 11^th month – and is also observed on Remembrance Sunday. Numbers, once more, were vast with hundreds upon hundreds of people attending and pausing to pay their respects, the service was led by Rev Calum Piper of St Michaels Church and joined by our supportive and active local councillors as well as representatives from our local police, the Royal British Legion and the local Labour party.

I Love Bramhall joined these and many, many smart young people representing several Bramhall Scout Units: 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th as well as Brownies and Guides from Benja Fold and Bramhall Green. 55 (Bramhall) Squadron, Air scouts and RAF Air Cadets, with the reading beautifully done by one of the cadets. We also met students from Bramhall High School and wreaths were laid by representatives from Mark Masons, Churches Together, Woodford Cricket Club, MP Mary Robinson, Cheadle Mosque Association, the Mayor of Stockport, Woodford WI, Knit and Knitter group, Queensgate Sports Club and the Brookdale Club

Poppy for Peace

The poppy is a bright and distinctive symbol of remembrance, and to take a moment to read the wreaths is truly moving. John McCrae’s poem inspired poppies for remembrance:

In Flanders fields the poppies blow

Between the crosses, row on row,

That mark our place; and in the sky

The larks, still bravely singing, fly

Scarce heard amid the guns below.

We are the Dead. Short days ago

We lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,

 Loved and were loved, and now we lie,

 In Flanders fields.

Take up our quarrel with the foe:

To you from failing hands we throw

The torch; be yours to hold it high.

If ye break faith with us who die

We shall not sleep, though poppies grow

 In Flanders fields.

Poppies were a striking exception to the bleakness and desolation of the Flanders war zone. The resilient flowers flourished despite the destruction, growing in their thousands.

Royal British Legion Poppy Appeal

Earl Haig, the founder of the Royal British Legion, adopted the poppy as the organisation’s emblem. In 1921, nine million poppies were made and subsequently sold on 11 November. The poppy is a fitting symbol of Remembrance and hope for the future; a show of support for the service and sacrifice of our Armed Forces, veterans and their families. It represents all who died on active service in ALL conflicts, from the First World War to today.

The poppy also honours the contribution made by civilians and other uniformed services to national peace and security and acknowledges innocent casualties of conflict and acts of terrorism. Despite repeated social media posts to the contrary, there is no one, ‘correct’ way to wear your poppy, so it is only important that you buy one and wear one. Find out about the Poppy Appeal, its aims and achievements.

Lest we Forget.

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