The Ashbourne Remembrance Sunday Parade and Service is such a special event for so many people. My first public engagement as a candidate in Derbyshire Dales, before I was even elected, was attending the 2019 Remembrance Sunday parade and service in Ashbourne. It was very clear to me then that the people of Ashbourne are patriotic and incredibly proud of our service personnel, both past and present. This sense of pride has only become more evident to me over time. I am a member of the Royal British Legion and the Ashbourne Ex-Service Men’s Club, and I know from talking to residents that the people of Ashbourne, like me, are supportive of our armed forces and rightly so.
Remembrance can be a deeply personal experience for so many people and yet uniquely is shared across our communities, country and the world. We remember those who bravely fought for our freedoms that we enjoy today. We remember loved ones and strangers who gave so much for us all. As a mother of four grown up sons, I cannot imagine how difficult it would be to see them leave home to protect us. This is a reality every day for families of Armed Forces Personnel, and I want to thank not only those in the Armed Forces, but their families for the sacrifices they make for us all.
As a former Reservist I helped to steward veterans during the 50th anniversary celebrations of VE Day. Reservists give up their spare time to serve in the Reserve Forces, balancing their civilian life with a military career to ensure that should their country require them, they would be ready to serve. I am so very proud to have a Royal Naval Reservist as a member of Parliamentary team and as Sir Winston Churchill said, a Reservist is ‘twice the citizen.’
The turnout to the Parade on Sunday seemed even greater than in previous years and I want to thank everyone who was involved in the organisation. Ashbourne’s Royal British Legion President Brell Ewart DL and everyone at the British Legion did a fantastic job. I want to thank Brigadier Adam Fraser-Hitchen and Sgt Lewis Coulbert who I understand also spent time leading up to Sunday teaching the Ashbourne Scouts the purpose and meaning of the Remembrance period before taking them through the basics of the foot drill.
I was so proud to part of the parade, and I have to say I was moved to sing the National Anthem with the town, as I am sure many of us thought about the Late Queen. There was a fabulous mix of ages, with small children clinging to parent’s legs and elderly residents, all paying their respects and taking in the atmosphere.
It was so lovely to see so many constituents and bump in to several that I have helped over the past year with casework. The turnout was so great that the crowds on the pavements were many people deep. It was so lovely to see the pride on the faces of those in our brilliant voluntary organisations such as the Guides, Cadets and Scouts, all in attendance with their shoes polished and their heads held high.
As we laid our wreaths on the refurbished Memorial Gates you could not help but think of those young men and women who gave their lives. A few moments later a gust of wind rattled the wreaths which was a poignant reminder of their lives and how short they had been. It was a reminder of their bravery and of their sacrifice.
The good people of Ashbourne did our Fallen, the Late Queen and our new King proud.
We will remember them.
