Bedworth Armistice 2021: Sophie Countess of Wessex leads proud parade

[dutchman]

The member of the Royal Family led the parade through the town



The member of the Royal family led the civic party part of the proud parade from the Almshouses to the cemetery in Coventry Road.

She then laid the first wreath at the war memorial before reading during the moving service.[news][/news]

It was a proud moment for the town on what was an historic day.

Bedworth prides itself on being the 'town that never forgets' and has observed Armistice Day every year for 100 years this year.

Ken Whitehead, chair of the armistice day parade group, spoke with pride about the royal visitor.

"It has put the icing on the cake and certainly put Bedworth on the map," he said.

Thousands lined the streets around the town centre, close to the cemetery and also along Rye Piece Ringway for the parade and service.

Ripples of applause broke out as they clapped when the civic party first emerged, followed by huge rounds of applause for the proud veterans as well as army, navy, airforce and police cadets as they marched by.

Children clutching Union Jack flags waved them excitedly as older generations looked on with pride.

Sadly, due to the weather, neither of the two planned poppy drops across the town could go ahead as planned.

But this did not dampen the spirits, nor the immense sense of pride those in the town felt during the event.

In fact, the Bishop of Coventry, Christopher Cocksworth remarked about how Bedworth was the town that never forgets during the service.

After the service, for the first time ever the marched past the brand new peace podium on Rye Piece Ringway and took the salute as the Countess of Wessex watched on.