A WEEKEND of remembrance saw Reading pay its respects to people who died in armed conflict.
On Saturday, the mayor, Cllr Tony Page, led a two-minute silence at Forbury Gardens war memorial, and was joined by veterans, current serving personnel and their families, before laying a wreath.
Around the corner, at the Trooper Potts VC and Berkshire Yeomanry memorial outside The Forbury Hotel, the Armistice Day service was led by the Revd Andrew Bond, associate vicar of Reading Minster Church.
Attended by many from the BYRA, and partners, Reading Civic Society members, as well as Anne Ames, granddaughter of Trooper Fred Potts and Chris Andrews, grandson of Arthur Andrews.
Captain French read the stories of two men who are listed on the Roll of Honour, including 2nd Lt H P Dymore Brown, of the Reading Brewing family)
Sarah Jeffery, the great granddaughter of Fred Potts read the VC Citation, and Pauline Andrews and Jill Woodford read Flanders Fields.
And when it came to the two-minute silence, those assembled listened to the sounding of the Last Post and the Rouse from the nearby Civic Service. Afterwards, the Berkshire Yeomanry Collect was read.
Richard Bennett, chair of the Trooper Potts VC Memorial Trust, said: “As ever our thanks to Steve Woodford and Haslams Estate Agents who were instrumental in helping us to raise the funds to enable the memorials to be built.
“The sculptor was Tom Murphy and the Morris Singer Foundry, of Lasham, cast the sculpture in Bronze.
“The Memorials were unveiled in October 2015 by the Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire, James Puxley, and Patron Chris Tarrant OBE.”
Then on Sunday, the town turned out in force to pay its respects.
A civic service was held at Reading Minster church in St Mary’s Butts, with Scripture readings given by Andrew Try, Lord Lieutenant of the Royal County of Berkshire, Captain Ian Page, Second in Command HQ Company, 7th Battalion the RIFLES, and Cllr Page.
Afterwards, there was a march from the church to Forbury Gardens via Broad Street, headed up by The Waterloo Band and Bugles of the 7 Rifles.
A salute was given in Market Place.
A Remembrance Ceremony was held at the Forbury War Memorial attended by both Reading MPs, Matt Rodda and Sir Alok Sharma. It included the laying of the wreaths and a two-minute silence at 11am.
Mr Rodda said: “On Remembrance Sunday in Reading, we paid tribute to all those who fought to protect our freedoms, and committed to never allowing their memory to be forgotten.
“It was a privilege to join these ceremonies to honour all of those who have served.”
Sir Alok said that he was ‘humbled as ever’ to attend the service and lay a wreath at the Forbury Gardens.
Separately, Mr Rodda spent Armistice Day (Saturday, November 11) in Woodley, to commemorate the end of the First World War, and also laid a wreath at the Caversham War Memorial at the north bank of the River Thames.
Meanwhile, Sir Alok left a cross with a poppy Constituency Garden of Remembrance in the grounds of the Houses of Parliament in London.
Mr Rodda also laid a wreath at London Paddington station as part of the Great Western Railway Remembrance Service, where more than 200 poppy wreaths were laid on Friday, November 10.
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Ahead of the weekend, Cllr Page, said it was an honour to lead the silences, while Cllr Jason Brock, leader of Reading Borough Council, said: “Both of these remembrance ceremonies offer residents the opportunity to join the rest of our nation in paying tribute to the courage shown by those brave men and women who gave their lives in service to our country and in securing our freedom.
“Reading will always remember the sacrifices made by those who serve – past and present.”
And Major Robert Whittle, OC HQ (Berkshire) Company, 7th Battalion, The RIFLES, said: “We are proud to honour our community’s unbreakable links to the Battalion, our Regiment and its antecedents. We continue to recruit from, work for, and mark major events, such as our national remembrance, with the population and its civic representatives.”
Elsewhere, Reading Buses offered free travel to armed forces personnel in full uniform, as well as veterans to allow them to attend ceremonies across the weekend.
The company also let bus drivers pull their buses over to observe the silences on Armistice Day and Remembrance Sunday. It also made a donation to the Royal British Legion after adding poppy graphics to the front of its fleet.
Additional reporting: James Aldridge, Local democracy reporting service
