Following the latest lockdown restrictions, Cheltenham Borough Council has announced that a number of changes will be made to the town’s Remembrance Sunday service on Sunday 8 November 2020.
Cheltenham locals will be encouraged to watch from home as a short, closed service takes place at the War Memorial, with the ceremony streamed live via Cheltenham Borough Council’s YouTube channel.
Together, the Mayor of Cheltenham and a standard bearer from the Royal British Legion will lay a wreath and observe the traditional two-minute silence at 11am, honouring the soldiers of the First and Second World Wars – as well as those serving in the armed forces today.
On special invitation, a small number of wreath bearers will then lay wreaths in two-minute intervals to maintain social distancing measures.
Councillor Roger Whyborn, Mayor of Cheltenham, says: ‘75 years on from the end of the Second World War, it seemed to us especially important to remember those who sacrificed with their lives to uphold the values of freedom and democracy, in spite of the practical limitations created in 2020 by Coronavirus.’
Keeping Cheltenham locals as safe as possible, members of the public are invited to commemorate the service at home on Remembrance Sunday – with those who wish to lay their own wreath at the War Memorial or pay their respects in person encouraged to do so in their own time.
Follow SoGlos on Facebook and sign-up to the weekly SoGlos lifestyle newsletter for the very latest Gloucestershire news stories.
