Spalding’s Remembrance Sunday parade will return to the town centre this year, with marchers due to travel back to Spalding Market Place after the service at St Mary and St Nicolas Church and Ayscoughfee Gardens.
The change restores a route in which the parade marches both to and from the town centre. During the past two years, the event marched once to the church before ending at Ayscoughfee Gardens. That arrangement followed concerns about the cost of opening roads, and some veterans complained about the change.
The Royal British Legion says South Holland District Council has agreed that the parade will march back to the Market Place after the church and gardens service. The event is being organised by the Spalding branch of the Royal British Legion in collaboration with the district council.
Remembrance Sunday arrangements
This year’s main event will take place on Sunday, November 8. The ceremony will include a performance by local singer Jeff Woods, who will sing Bring Him Home from Les Miserables.
After the ceremony, the parade will once again be led by the Peterborough Highland Pipe Band. The return to the Market Place means the town-centre section will be part of the event again after the route was shortened during the previous two years.
Jan Whitbourn, chair of the Spalding Royal British Legion branch and one of the parade organisers, said the decision had followed views expressed by people in the community.
“We’ve listened to the views of the community as we want to make sure everyone is able to pay their respects in the ways they wish to.”
Whitbourn said the Remembrance period would be used to mark the people who had lost their lives and to ensure that their sacrifice was not forgotten. She also said the community would be able to come together in Spalding again in November to show its support for the Armed Forces.
Other local services
The town-centre parade is part of a wider programme of Remembrance events in and around Spalding.
A service will be held at Spalding Cemetery at 11am on Saturday, November 7. A further service is planned for Springfields’ Peace Garden at 11am on Armistice Day, Wednesday, November 11.
The Royal British Legion says everyone will be welcome to attend the parades being organised. People who would like further information about any of the events, or who want to order a wreath for one of the services, have been asked to contact Whitbourn.
The return route follows complaints from some veterans about the previous arrangement, while the organisers said they had considered the wider community’s views when planning this year’s event. The available information does not give details of the road-opening arrangements or any associated costs for November’s parade.
The Spalding and South Holland Voice reported that it had asked South Holland District Council for a comment. No response had been received from the council at the time of publication.