On Sunday November 11, Church Services will be held at St Nicholas’ Church, Flimby, at 10.00am, followed by a wreath laying ceremony, & at St Mary’s Church, Maryport, in the afternoon. The Maryport Service will be preceded by a formal march, commencing in Fleming Square at 2.30pm, & will be followed by a wreath laying ceremony at Maryport Memorial Gardens.
The Church Services will be attended by the Royal Navy representatives, together with the members of Maryport Town Council and other organisations including the Borough Mayor. The Council is grateful to the Maryport Sea Cadet Force for its continued support in organising the events on Remembrance Day. The public are welcome to attend the church services & view the march.
In addition to the official commemorative arrangements, the Town Council is supporting Maryport Schools’ Partnership in the organisation & provision of a ceremony for schools’ representatives, in a similar format to the official ceremony, but designed to help with the children’s educational gain. This is seen by the schools as an important means of developing pupils’ engagement with the local community & understanding of the background to the Remembrance Day commemorations.
In recognition of the centenary of the end of World War 1, the Council has acquired six ‘Silent Soldiers’, which are a silhouette model of a soldier, promoted by the Royal British Legion. These have been on display at Maryport schools prior to the summer holidays, & are currently sited at St Mary’s Church, where they will form part of a special display, & at Netherhall corner. In due course they will be re-sited for permanent display in Flimby & Maryport.
The Council has also acquired six specially designed benches, in commemoration of the two world wars. Two are sited beside the Ned Smith Memorial Stone on South Quay, two in Maryport Memorial Gardens beside the War Memorial & one in Flimby Cemetery beside the War Memorial. One is currently on display outside Maryport Maritime Museum, in support of the museums World War 1 display, which runs until mid -November. The display features miniature copies of Maryport Victoria Cross winner Ned Smith, kindly loaned by his family.
The Council is providing Maryport Primary Schools’ children with commemorative coins in support of work they have been doing around World War 1.
The Town Council continues to support the operation of the Poppy Appeal in the Maryport area, arrangements being administered by Councillor Carol Tindall with support from other councillors & volunteers from the community.
