At 11.00am on Sunday 11 November 2012, 94 years on from the signing of the Armistice in 1918, homage will be paid to those who died during the two world wars and in other more recent 20th and 21st century conflicts, including tribute to the many hundreds of Dover men and women who gave their lives in the service of their country. This year, as previous years, the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan have been brought into our homes in graphic detail and continue to cost the lives of British Service men and women.
The parade, organised again this year by the Town Council, will assemble by Marks & Spencer in Biggin Street at 10.30am and will proceed to the War Memorial in front of the Dover Town Council Offices, where it will be joined by the Town Mayor of Dover, Town Councillors and civic guests. The service will commence and the two minutes silence will be observed at 11.00am. Last Post and Reveille will be played.
The Royal British Legion and representatives of many ex-service and pre-service organisations will parade with their standards led by a Cadet Band. At the end of the Memorial Service (conducted by the Mayor's Chaplain, Reverend David Ridley) the parade will march back through the town to the Market Square where it will disperse. Councillor Mrs Anne Smith, the Right Worshipful Town Mayor of Dover, accompanied by the civic party, will take the salute at St. Mary's Church.
Service sheets will be available to members of the public. Priory Road will be closed temporarily from the roundabout to the Ladywell traffic lights while the service is in progress.
The event of recent years have bought the reality of war into the lives of many young people for the first time and it is important that the younger generation learns what Armistice Day means and how vital the Poppy Appeal is in helping those who survived the horrors of war. For this reason, the area to the right of the War Memorial is to be reserved for children and young people so that they can better see the service.
Any individual or organisation wishing to lay a wreath at this Remembrance Day Service is asked to contact the Town Council Offices, Maison Dieu House, Biggin Street, Dover, telephone 01304 242625, before 5pm on Monday 5 November 2012.
