Bishop's Stortford prepares for Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday
People will be able to attend Bishop's Stortford's Remembrance Day service on Sunday (November 13) despite ongoing work around the war memorial as part of the Castle Park improvement project.
Road closures will be in place. Between 10.30am and 11.30am, the A1250 (Link Road and The Causeway) will be shut between its junctions with Northgate End and with Dane Street/Hockerill Street.
Royal British Legion representatives, veterans, serving armed forces personnel, members of youth organisations and civic dignitaries will assemble in the Link Road car park at 10am for the short parade at 10.40am to the war memorial in Castle Gardens.
Members of the public are invited to watch the march and attend the Remembrance service, which begins at 10.50am. They can only use the Causeway entrance to the war memorial as Castle Gardens will not be accessible from the Waytemore Castle mound or Sworder's Field.
They are also welcome at the war memorial on Friday (November 11) from 10.55am to mark Armistice Day – the end of the First World War – with two minutes' silence.
The town's Poppy Appeal is continuing, with volunteers accepting donations at the town's five supermarkets. Poppies are also for sale at the Indie's office at 7 Palmers Lane.
It was launched on Saturday October 29 by the town's branch of the Legion with support from town mayor Cllr Dave Anderson, Deputy Lieutenant of Hertfordshire Emma Robarts and Hertford and Stortford MP Julie Marson.
The event in Jackson Square included a poignant tribute to Cyril Banks, the Royal Navy veteran and appeal stalwart who died in May, aged 97.
He enlisted in the Royal Navy in 1943, aged 18, and joined the minesweeper HMS Ready. It cleared the way to Gold Beach on the night before the Allied forces' D-Day Normandy beach landings on June 6, 1944. In 2012, Cyril was presented with the Legion d'Honneur by France for his part in the operation.
The appeal ends on November 12 and organiser Denise Hudson said: "In these difficult times, anything you can give will be much appreciated."
Last year, the town raised more than £50,000 to provide employment, mobility, housing and mental health support, as well as general advice, for former and current military personnel.
