Town falls quiet in Remembrance

Pictures Martin Bostock. Rememberance service at Blackpool Cenotaph.

A parade and civic procession lead off from the Town Hall to the War Memorial in Talbot Square, where thousands of people were gathered.

There was music from the Salvation Army and The Band of the King’s Division before a two minute’s silence at 11am, a short service and wreath laying.

Coun Gary Coleman, deputy Mayor of Blackpool, laid the first wreath.

He said: “I was very honoured to lay the first wreath today, I didn’t really feel worthy.”

He added: “The amount of people who attended was fantastic, I think it gets busier each year.

“I was at an event for Armistice on Friday and one man said that in the 1970s there were very few at such events.

“It was good to see cadets from the services and police force and youngsters from the Cubs and Brownies out today. This is educating them about the reality of war.

“You see films and it doesn’t seem real, but this was very, very real back in the day and wars are fought by predominantly young folk.”