Remembrance Sunday

15 November 2011 |

Posted by Jim Masson |

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REMEMBRANCE Sunday is a special day when many paid tribute to those who have fallen in the two great wars in the Twentieth Century and in more recent times.

The main celebration is at the Cenotaph in London, but across the country in provincial towns, ordinary people from all walks of life gathered to pay their respects.

In Downpatrick the parade mustered at The Mall in front of Down Cathedral and marched to the War Memorial at the bottom of the Strangford Road where a short ecumenical service took place.

This day is a solemn occasion when survivors of the First World War are all but passed on and a few survivors of the Second World War still remain but are growing fewer in numbers.

The event in Northern Ireland has not been without its controversy with nationalist parties avoiding it or refusing to wear a poppy, while Unionist parties have embraced it full on. The Remembrance Sunday event has to some extent been caught up in the dynamics of the politics and way of life in Northern Ireland.

The new SDLP leader Alasdair McDonnell has refused to wear a poppy seeing the event as tinged with Britishness. And the UKIP representative at the Downpatrick parade was angered at seeing the Union Jack flying upside down on the flagpole outside the Downpatrick courthouse.

He said, "On a day like this you would at least think they would fly the flag the right way up on this government building. It really means so much for the British public."

After the parade marched back to the Royal British Legion in Church Street, they enjoyed a cup of tea and a sandwich in the Downpatrick Parish Hall. It was a time to meet old friends once again.

The chairman of the Downpatrick Branch of the British Legion Sammy Daye said he was delighted at the turnout out on Sunday, but added, "There has been a drop in numbers this year. Each year the marchers grow less and less as old servicemen get older and some pass on.

"The poppy day is really about ex-servicemen, their families and the public remembering the fallen and the appeal for support to those families and ex-servicemen who affected by the trauma of wars.

"There is always a great build up to the Remembrance Sunday and as soon as the day is over we think ahead to planning for the next one. In three years we will be celebrating the 100th anniversary of the start of the First World War.

"This celebration is an important social occasion when many people come together to support their local Royal British Legion and the poppy appeal. There has been excellent support to the Legion down through the years and this needs to continue. We will be doing what we can at local level to make this happen."