Remembrance Day turnout in Worthing, Shoreham and Southwick was uplifting to see

The common observation from all the Remembrance Day commemorations held locally and nationally was that the crowds had never been bigger and it was particularly uplifting to see so many young people turn out.
Remembrance Sunday service at Worthing Town Hall. Picture: Eddie MitchellRemembrance Sunday service at Worthing Town Hall. Picture: Eddie Mitchell
Remembrance Sunday service at Worthing Town Hall. Picture: Eddie Mitchell

I laid wreaths at the formal ceremonies in Shoreham and Lancing and attended moving services at St Michael’s Church Southwick and Shoreham Fort and joined the town crier’s ‘sing-song’ for the lighting of the beacon on Worthing prom.

| Read more – Southwick ‘does community proud’ as more than 1,000 attend Remembrance event; Remembrance Sunday: huge crowds in Littlehampton honour soldiers on Armistice centenary; Worthing Remembrance Sunday Service: thousands pay their respects to the soldiers of the First World War |

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Amidst all the ceremony it was some of the more informal moments that I found most moving. With help from the Southwick Society, researchers identified the names of 146 Southwick men who had given their lives during the Great War.

Remembrance Sunday service at Worthing Town Hall. Picture: Eddie MitchellRemembrance Sunday service at Worthing Town Hall. Picture: Eddie Mitchell
Remembrance Sunday service at Worthing Town Hall. Picture: Eddie Mitchell

Amidst some very touching poetry readings at St Michael’s and a roll call of the 146 and their ages, the congregation was invited to lay a knitted poppy at the altar and a candle was lit for each of them. What really brought home the scale of the tragedy was the number of names from the same family and familiar names as that of Southwick families still living there now.

At Shoreham Fort on the Sunday evening Gary Baines, Sharon Penfold and their dedicated band of fort volunteers really did a fantastic job.

Again a lot of work had been done to identify the Shoreham men who died in the First World War and residents of the houses, or what are now shops where they once lived, were invited to place red lanterns on the top of the ramparts.

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A quietly moving chain of locals climbed the steps as a screen revealed the names and images from the war lit up the dark night.

Tim Loughton, MP for East Worthing and ShorehamTim Loughton, MP for East Worthing and Shoreham
Tim Loughton, MP for East Worthing and Shoreham

Father Terry was brought out of retirement to conduct a short service and at 7pm High Sheriff of West Sussex Caroline Nicholls was called upon to light the beacon, which she did far more effectively than when I was called upon to attempt to light some rather damp wood a few years earlier. In Worthing they were taking no chances and always use gas.

Well done to all those involved in making the tribute from across Adur and Worthing such a meaningful and successful one.

It was a unique way to end Remembrance Sunday when I was invited to attend the Sussex Bangladeshi Caterers Association Chef of the Year Award Ceremony and Gala Dinner at the Assembly Hall in Worthing and present an award.

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After the solemnity of the day we were entertained with an uplifting array of singing, Bollywood dancing and some of the region’s best ‘Indian’ restaurant chefs including several from Worthing, and eventually got some excellent curry too!

If you would like to get in touch with me, please write to me at the House of Commons, London, SW1A 0AA, or email me at [email protected]

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