Veteran urges public to respect the Poppy ahead of Remembrance Sunday
A Limavady veteran has urged people to respect the Poppy and the ultimate sacrifice countless members of the armed forces have made to secure the freedoms enjoyed in the UK today, ahead of Remembrance Sunday this weekend.
According to the Royal British Legion (RBL), Remembrance Sunday is a national opportunity to “remember the service and sacrifice of all those that have defended our freedoms and protected our way of life".
The RBL says the date sees the Armed Forces and their families from Britain and the Commonwealth to recall the vital role played by the emergency services and those who have lost their lives as a result of conflict or terrorism.
As usual there will be services of remembrance in towns and villages across Northern Ireland and the rest of the UK, focusing on the many war memorials that honour the names of soldiers from local communities who never came home.
Ernie Norris, 79, served in the UDR from 1972-75 and then in the 4 Royal Irish Rangers Territorial Army when he went to university.
Now the President of Limavady branch of the RBL, he was speaking to the News Letter as he was laying three crosses at the town’s war memorial for three relatives who paid the ultimate sacrifice at the Battle of the Somme on 1 July 1916.
They were his grandfather Henry Stewart Allen, who died aged 35; John Norris, his great uncle who was in his thirties, and Joseph Jackson, his mother's cousin, who was in his twenties.
"Each year, I put in three remembrance crosses at the memorial in memory of family members who served in the First and Second World Wars, some of who were killed and some of who survived," Ernie said.
"I do that each year at this time, but actually I'm going into hospital on Tuesday this week so I am not sure if I will be available to attend Remembrance Sunday, so I want to get these things done early."
As he looked at the three crosses he had just laid down, he said it annoys him when he sees people being disrespectful to the Poppy, which is worn as a symbol of remembrance for those who died.
"Such people have no understanding of the significance of that symbol," he said. "They assume that it is a political thing but that couldn't be further from the truth.
"Everybody is entitled to their opinion, and the fact that people can disagree and can choose whether they wear one or not - that freedom of choice was won by the sacrifice of people like those from family and many others.
"These people paid the supreme sacrifice, so that people today can enjoy that freedom of choice."
The Limavady parade will begin at the United Service Club Car Park at 10:15am and continue through the town to the war memorial. There is expected to be one band and 100 participants in the parade with some 200 supporters.
The national focus of Remembrance Sunday will be the Cenotaph Parade in London, led by King Charles. A march past of 10,000 veterans and eligible participants takes place every year on Remembrance Sunday following the National Act of Remembrance.
A service will also take place as usual at the cenotaph at Belfast City Hall.