Remembrance Sunday: your guide to events in the Mansfield and Ashfield area

Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.

At the going down of the sun, and in the morning,

We will remember them.’

The famous verse from the poem, ‘For The Fallen’, by Laurence Binyon, that will carry extra poignancy on Armistice Day this year. For 2018 marks the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War.

At the 11th hour of the 11th day on the 11th month in 1918, hostilities ceased and a peace agreement was reached. And to mark the silencing of the guns, so the nation will fall silent at exactly the same moment at 11 am on November 11 this year.

Fittingly, Armistice Day coincides with Remembrance Sunday this year, and across Mansfield and Ashfield, a host of services, parades and events will pay tribute to the brave servicemen and women who lost their lives, protecting our future, not only during the Great War but also in wars and conflicts since.

The events will enable us to pause to remember. To reflect on the commitment and sacrifices of people who put themselves at risk for the sake of the freedom of their country.

Here is our round-up of many of the events taking place on the day:

MANSFIELD

The Royal British Legion parade will start with a wreath-laying ceremony at the Civic Centre war memorial at 10 am before heading to St Peter and St Paul’s Church for a memorial service at 10.55 am. The parade will then continue to the Market Place, where there will be a military salute on Market Place in front of a display of tens of thousands of knitted and crocheted poppies draped over the front of the Old Town Hall at about 12 noon. The poppies have been created by volunteers as part of a People’s Poppies project that aims to raise thousands of pounds for the Legion and its ongoing support for bereaved families, wounded servicemen and women, younger veterans seeking employment and housing, and older veterans needing age-related care.

After the parade, there will be a veterans’ tea dance, along with a display of vintage vehicles. This 1940s-style entertainment will begin at 12.30 pm, with free afternoon tea for veterans, a dance floor and live music. There will also be a wreath-laying ceremony at the Carr Bank Park memorial at 2.30 pm.

Elsewhere in Mansfield, the Bellamy Road branch of the Royal British Legion is holding a service at the Life Church South at South Mansfield Community Centre on Bellamy Road at 10.30 am.

MANSFIELD WOODHOUSE

A Remembrance Day parade begins at 10 am from Yeoman Hill Park and wends its way along Welbeck Road, Albert Street, High Street and Church Street before a brief service will be held at St Edmund’s Church. The parade will then return to the park for a wreath-laying service at about 10.30 am.

WARSOP

A parade, hosted by the Warsop and Meden Vale and District branch of the Royal British Legion, will start from Warsop Ex-Servicemen’s Club on Carr Lane at 10.20 am. It will make its way to the Warsop war memorial at The Carrs for a service and wreath-laying ceremony at 10.50 am.

The previous day, Saturday, November 10, the branch will also hold a service at the Warsop Vale cenotaph at 10.45 am.

CLIPSTONE

There will be a gathering at 9.30 am at the village’s cricket pavilion for a parade to All Saints Church on Church Road, where a service will be followed by a wreath-laying ceremony at the war memorial.

THORESBY PARK

To commemorate Armistice Day’s 100th anniversary, a Remembrance Exhibition of hundreds of poppies, made by local primary school children as part of a community project, will go on display inside Thoresby Gallery. The exhibition, which stands alongside other war memorabilia, opens at 11.02 am, after two minutes’ silence to remember fallen soldiers, and will run until Sunday, November 25.

KIRKBY

A Remembrance Day service will be held at St Thomas’s Church at 9.45 am. This will be followed by a parade, forming outside the church and marching to the cenotaph at Kingsway Park, where there will be a service and wreath-laying. The parade will then re-form and march back to the church.

Later that evening, from 6 pm, a service of peace and reconciliation will be held at St Wilfrid’s Church. It will be followed at 7 pm by the lighting of a peace beacon in the churchyard before the church bells ‘ring out for peace’.

SUTTON

A Remembrance Day parade assembles on Forest Street at 9.20 am and will march on to Lammas Road and Church Drive from 9.30 am before arriving at St Mary Magdalene Church at 9.50 am. After a service, the parade will re-assemble in the church driveway before marching to the cenotaph at the town’s cemetery, where a hymn and ‘The Last Post’ will be followed by a service at 11 am and the laying of wreaths. The parade will return to the church after the service at 11.25 am, with a saluting dias along the journey via Lammas Road.

Wreaths will also be laid at Pepper Gardens, where there will be an informal gathering, but no service, from 10.45 am.

A Remembrance Service will be held too on Friday, November 9 at the Victoria Cross Memorial outside Ashfield District Council’s headquarters. A wreath will be laid by the council leader, Coun Jason Zadrozny.

ANNESLEY

To mark the 100th anniversary of the end of the First World War, All Saints Church, Annesley is hosting a special exhibition and flower festival, which are open to visitors until the Remembrance Day Service there at 10.45 am on Sunday. The exhibition has collected stories from local people about the war and includes contributions from schools, Brownies and Girl Guides, a youth club and the local Acaica Centre, as well as the church. Associated activities have included a film show, poetry evening, family tree days, talks and events for children, while the flower festival has featured knitted and silk poppies.

Hundreds of people have already visited the the exhibition and flower festival, with money being raised for the Armed Forces Covenant and the Combat Stress charity, as well as the Royal British Legion.

HUCKNALL

A Remembrance day parade will form on Market Place at 10.15 am under the direction of the Royal British Legion. It will make its way along a designated route to Titchfield Park, where it will join members of the public for an Act Of Remembrance service and wreath-laying at the cenotaph from 11 am.